When it comes to bringing traitorous mass murderers to justice, Washington is a bit hypocritical. For example, Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about having sex, but George W. Bush, whose lies got us bogged down in the worst foreign policy disaster since Vietnam, hasn't even been censured. LRC columnist Butler Shaffer explains this phenomenon in his
latest article:
If one takes the trouble to examine the matter from the perspective of the machinations that dominate all political behavior, the answer becomes apparent. Though Republicans and Democrats have their personal and minor policy differences, they are in agreement on one basic point: their "bipartisan" support for the preservation and aggrandizement of the power of the state. They understand -- as do members of the mainstream media -- that their principal obligation is to serve the well-being of the political power structure that long ago laid uncontested claim to the ownership of modern society.
The interests of Democratic and Republican officials alike are best served by the maximization of political power. If "government" is defined as an agency enjoying a monopoly on the lawful use of force within a given territory, what politically ambitious person would not want to enjoy as much of that power as he or she can muster? And since such a purpose not only suits the interests of the ruling establishment, but defines its existence, a symbiotic relationship between these two groups is easily fashioned. ...
... The thought of impeaching Mr. Bush thus poses a major dilemma to all members of the political establishment. If the deceit, corruption, criminality, and downright stupidity of his administration have so embarrassed the system as to endanger its continued approval, is it possible to rehabilitate its image by any means short of impeachment? But since his impeachment would necessarily implicate the over-grasping for power that the rest of the political order would love to exercise on behalf of their own ambitions, dare any such hearings be undertaken?
Simply put, disciplining Bush for his war in Iraq would undermine everything the power-mongers in Washington have been working on for the last 140-plus years. Ever since Lincoln, the state has reigned supreme in America, and the last thing they want to do is risk losing that stranglehold.
That is why Bill Clinton wasn't impeached for his illegal and unconstitutional military actions in places like Kosovo, Haiti, Somalia and, lest we forget, Waco. No, he was impeached because he lied about an affair with a White House intern. As long as the sins of the ruling elite are held to a more personal level, the state's facade remains intact.
Labels: Foreign Policy, Party Politics, Tyranny
