Bending the Third Rail
Because We Should, We Can, We Do
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Patriots .... Can I Find Any Patriots?
In a piece on The Nation's blog, Carl Bernstein is quoted by John Nichols as saying:
"After Nixon's resignation, it was often said that the system had worked. Confronted by an aberrant president, the checks and balances on the executive by the legislative and judicial branches of government, and by a free press, had functioned as the founders had envisioned," he writes. "The system has thus far failed during the presidency of George W. Bush - at incalculable cost in human lives, to the American political system, to undertaking an intelligent and effective war against terror, and to the standing of the United States in parts of the world where it previously had been held in the highest regard. There was understandable reluctance in the Congress to begin a serious investigation of the Nixon presidency. Then there came a time when it was unavoidable. That time in the Bush presidency has arrived."
That was then.

This is now.

I must say that this aspect of our government's functioning has been the most surprising development, for me, over the past 5+ years. The fact that our government can be so bad, make so many costly mistakes, and damage the very foundations of our society to such a degree without people in power doing their jobs of checks and balances is astounding.

I think it's an indictment of our times that Republican party members and elected officials are so cynical about voters that they don't feel a need to really challenge George Bush. The fact that generals, of all people, are openly and defiantly challenging civilian authority is just one measure of just how bad it's become. Talk of actual revolt in the military is no longer tin-foil hat territory.

And who knows? Maybe the Rovian-like cynics who think a good ad campaign can keep them in power are right. The 2004 election would certainly lead you to believe that this cynicism is well placed. If the 2006 elections don't result in a real check on the Bush administration, the damage already done will become institutional. But if that happens, maybe that's what the American public deserves?
Written at 1:49 PM by Greyhair.
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