Week in Review

Pelosi backing Murtha
Was it a mistake for Rep. Nancy Pelosi to back Rep. Jack Murtha in his bid to become Majority Leader in the US House of Representatives? Before answering that question, let's acknowledge that this is a Republican talking point that everyone is falling for. Obviously, the answer is "No", it was not a mistake. Not backing anyone would have been a much greater mistake because that would have been symbolic of the inaction that the Democrats have practiced for the last twelve years. We should be applauding Pelosi for actually taking a stand on a candidate. She chose to back Murtha because of his stance on the Iraq War and she wanted an ally to help bring it to an end. If that is her priority in the upcoming session, as she recently wrote on The Huffington Post, then Murtha was the right choice and supporting him was not a mistake. Suggesting that it was an error in judgment simply plays into the hands of the Republicans and their media machine which will look to expose fractures in the Democrats at every opportunity.

To impeach or not to imeach? That is the question.
In my most recent post, a commenter raised a valid point about keeping Impeachment off the table, which is where Nancy Pelosi wants it, because of the potential cost to the American taxpayer. Also, I suspect that many Americans may be soured on the Impeachment process because of the way Republicans used it (or misused it) against President Clinton in 1998. While these concerns are understandable, I still believe that President Bush (and Vice President Cheney) should be impeached because of the gravity of the crimes committed as well as the ursurpation of powers not granted to the Executive Branch.

On Real Time with Bill Maher this past Friday, actor Richard Dreyfus put forth an excellent argument for impeachment based on the fundamental principles of our system of government. Dreyfus has been at Oxford for the last couple of years studying civics so his manner of addressing the argument was notably measured. Essentially, his argument was that President Bush has assumed powers that were never granted to the Executive Branch, and that one of the roles of the Legislative Branch is to check the power of the Executive. In this case, the Legislative Branch needs to act decisively to restore the balance in our system of government. If the Congress does not act on this and does not restore the balance of power, future Presidents cannot be relied on to simply give these powers back. Future Presidents will accept these powers as their own and will use them as they seem fit. The prospect of that should frighten all American citizens, regardless of ideology.

My argument for impeachment is that its necessary to show future generations of Americans that we as a people did not stand for the crimes of the Bush Administration and that we did something about it. To sweep it under the rug and hope that it goes away will not work. We need Congress to take action just as they did against President Nixon in 1974, which in my mind was one of the finest examples of our system of government at work. A President rum amok was dealt with effectively and the process of restoring confidence in government was begun. The actions of the Bush Administration appear to be far worse than that of Nixon's White House, yet there is hesitation to impeach this President. Why is that? Cost? Mistrust of the process? The fear of being accused of impeaching for political purposes only? All of the above? You can rest assured that Fox News Channel will use all of these as talking points, and more, if impeachment proceedings are begun. However, that shouldn't deter the process and in fact should embolden it. For the next two years, the Democratically controlled Congress must expose the GOP for what it truly is: the party that cares about power and wealth, not people, regardless of how it is obtained. See Paul Waldman's excellent essay on the topic of keeping the Republicans on the run for more.

Fox Propaganda Channel
If you actually believed that Fox News Channel was "Fair and Balanced", then your world must have been shattered when an internal Fox News memo was published this week describing Republican talking points to be used on broadcasts rather than reporting actual news following the recent mid-term election. For all the hype that "liberal media bias" gets, here is a pure, unadulterated version of the exact opposite - slanting of "news" in a way that can only be described as "anti-liberal". And while Fox News has the right to do whatever they want on their programs, their product should be understood by all as propaganda and the talking points used there shouldn't be employed by other organizations touting themselves as news organizations.

Bi-partisan Bush?
As expected, President Bush's claims of bi-partisanship were only words. This week's example: the renomination of several conservative judges. Jam 'em through says Cheney! Oh, and by the way, I think we're back to "stay the course" in Iraq with the possibility of sending more troops. How is Iraq not this generation's Vietnam? Apparently, the lessons of that folly need to be learned all over again.