Wednesday, October 19, 2005

The Creation of a Grey Zone Around the CIA Leak Investigation

Think Progress has a nice fact sheet which debunks the myths that many in the right-wing have tried to advance ever since it was revealed that high-level advisers, particularly Karl Rove and Lewis Libby, were connected to the leak of the identity of an undercover CIA Agent. These myths are as far-fetched as the one advanced by right-wing publication The Weekly Standard that leaking classified information isn't a big deal. Phrases like "criminalization of politics" have been pulled out of the air, care of neo-con pundits like William Kristol. For Kristol, the leaking of the idenitity of a CIA Agent in retaliation for an assessment her husband gave that delegitimatized a foundation for going into war (the Niger connection) is simply politics as usual.

I find this the most troubling defense of the CIA leak, because it legitimizes Rove's brand of "politics," which amounts to unleashing a barrage of baseless smears that is bound to tread in illegal waters. If John Kerry was a movie star, and the National Enquirer had printed an article featuring the slanderous accusations of the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" (Truth=Lies), he probably would have sued the publication for libel. That these characterizations were against a politician, however, made them merely political and thus acceptable even if patently untrue. Slanderous campaigns, the hallmark of Rove's career, should have been outlawed long ago. If we accept it as politics as usual, our country can only look forward to the deterioration of our democratic political system.

Finally, we often hear about how Washington is so partisan. Democrats and Republicans, it seems, are at an impasse, and it is everyone's fault. I disagree. I think the partisan impasse can be laid at the feet of Republican politicians like Newt Gingrich, Tom Delay, Bill Frist, and George W. Bush and his White House. The fact that some of these people saw it fit to impeach President Clinton for perjury and are now suggesting that it's not an indictable offense (From Think Progress: CLAIM – PERJURY AND OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE ARE “TECHNICALITIES”: “Don`t you sort of feel a little bad that your side is winning on essentially what is a technicality?” [Tucker Carlson, MSNBC, 10/7/05]), is the ultimate sign of partisanship. For years, Republican defenses for their wrongdoings have been thinly-veiled defenses for the idea that when they committ a crime or break a rule, it's alright. The defense of one's own side, sans principles, is the height of partisanship, and it is what is ruining Washington.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well said Ms. Elaine! These "kinds" of politics will cripple politics forever. We can call it normalization of things like

Treason
Incompetence
Cronyism x 10 years that is(I've known him/her for a decade) does not qualify someone for anything!
Torture

Anonymous said...

Oh BTW, I was in Chicago a couple weeks ago and there is a billboard on the way to Medway from WND (world NUT daily) that says

"Liberals Hate it"

I sent a letter to the sun but, it will not get in I'm sure, see what you can do please?

As you know, using the word "hate" and attaching it to a group of people is in of itself promoting hatred.

Elaine said...

Yeah, it sure is. Was it the Suntimes you sent your letter to? Republicans today are just such a perfect illustration of the psychological phenomenon of projecting on to others what they see in themselves. Take Bill O'Reilly's recent proclamations that he needs to retire because he is so tired of all of the "viciousness" that he has had to put up with. O'Reilly himself is a one man hate group.