Back to The Future Prosecutions Of Bushco

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Chris Matthews: BushCo Should Be Prosecuted

by srkp23  Fri Jan 23, 2009 at 04:02:04 PM PST

I was just watching Hardball and the last segment with Jonathan Capeheart of The Washington Post and John Heilemann of New York Magazine was extremely interesting:

Should Obama Investigate Bush Administration for Supporting Torture and Surveillance?

(The teasers had been "Should Dick Cheney Be Tried? Dick Cheney and War Crimes," &c.)

Matthews asked his guests if the Obama administration should see if laws were broken with regard to torture and surveillance?

Jonathan Capeheart began by saying that the truth is important and we need to find out what happened. (And to find out how high up it went, interjected Matthews). Capeheart became visibly uncomfortable, saying the problem is, once the truth is known, then what? Then what?

(There is no transcript and no video clip, so I've done a little transcribing myself.)

Matthews responded: "I have an easy answer. You do to the big people what you did to the little people."

Matthews then turned to Heilemann and said that they took the little people, threatened them with serious sentences and loss of liberty and got them to cop a plea. He then asked: "Why don’t we do the same things to the bosses that told them to do it? If you catch them, if you catch them."

Heilemann concurred, saying that Matthews was making a strong argument, that the only real question was if this would cost Obama politically and Heilemann said that he thought it would and that it would run somewhat counter to Obama's stated objective to look forward. Heilemann concluded, however, "I think justice demands certain things."

And then Matthews stated the real crux of the matter just as clearly as possible:

If waterboarding is torture and torture is criminal, and it came from Cheney’s office, I don’t see why there is a problem prosecuting. If waterboarding is torture and torture is criminal, and it’s been ordered from the top, I don’t see the problem with prosecuting unless there’s a political reason to obstruct it and I don’t think that’s justice.

And that's it in a nutshell. Cheney has already admitted to helping authorize the waterboarding:

Cheney's comments also mark the first time that he has acknowledged playing a central role in clearing the CIA's use of an array of controversial interrogation tactics, including a simulated drowning method known as waterboarding.

"I was aware of the program, certainly, and involved in helping get the process cleared," Cheney said in an interview with ABC News.

Asked whether he still believes it was appropriate to use the waterboarding method on terrorism suspects, Cheney said: "I do."

The bipartisan Levin-McCain Report (PDF) has already detailed that the torture policy came from high-ranking BushCo officials (although it doesn't mention Cheney):

A bipartisan panel of senators has concluded that former defense secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other top Bush administration officials bear direct responsibility for the harsh treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and that their decisions led to more serious abuses in Iraq and elsewhere.

WaPo

Chris Matthews gets it. We get it. The Republicans sure get it, as they are trying to get Eric Holder to promise that there will be no prosecutions for torture (eh? I thought the Rs maintained that we didn't torture?)

Let me just repeat Matthews' crystal clear formulation of the issue at hand:

If waterboarding is torture and torture is criminal, and it came from Cheney’s office, I don’t see why there is a problem prosecuting. If waterboarding is torture and torture is criminal , and it’s been ordered from the topfrom the top, I don’t see the problem with prosecuting unless there’s a political reason to obstruct it and I don’t think that’s justice.

Let's get Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor. There is already ample evidence to warrant opening investigations. Sign the petition.

And call your congress critters and let them know that justice demands investigations, regardless of political considerations. The country is ready for sunlight and repudiation of the dark Bush years.

Technorati Tags: Eric Holder,Dick Cheney,Prosecutions,George Bush,Torture,War Crimes.Illegal Wiretaps

Polls: How Did Obama Do for The Week?

   Very well, according to Rasmussen Reports as 45% of Americans approve of the President's job performance while 16% do not.

  45% of Americans also favor the $825 billion dollar stimulus plan put forth by Obama and the Democratic leaders. 34% oppose of the plan, and  40% think that the plan will become law within Obama's first 100 days in office.

   To my surprise, voters say that tax cuts ought to be part of any stimulus plan, but 59% are worried  that Obama and Congress will increase government spending in the next couple of years.

   I guess that the voters still haven't realized that massive spending is necessary, but it should be selectively targeted. Those tax cuts? All for them except for those given to business. They have enough cuts as it is. Business is not going to help with this economic mess, main street is where the action is and  main street should be getting most of those tax cuts. trickle down hasn't worked and it is not going to work this late in the game. Hey Obama. Try some trickle up for a change and while you are at it, tell the Republicans in Congress to go fuck themselves. Nobody cares about what they hell they want.

  A somewhat disappointing observation in the poll.

It looks like global warming may be sliding down the list of priorities for the new administration. Champions of the global warming theory appear to be losing the battle on the idea that humans are to blame. Forty-four percent (44%) of voters now say long-term planetary trends are the cause of global warming, compared to 41% who blame it on human activity.

  Some more poling stats for you.

Former President Bush has a way to go before he reaches those kinds of numbers. At least in his home state of Texas, he gets a little respect: 13% of Texas voters say Bush will be remembered as one of America’s five best presidents. Nationally, just six percent (6%) feel that way.

57% of voters think a foreign company will produce a car that uses alternative fuel before an American company does.

Fourteen percent (14%) of voters give Congress good or excellent marks, the legislature’s highest approval ratings since last February. But 47% say Congress is doing a poor job.

  I have a prediction that this Congress will get higher ratings once it stops worrying about what the GOP thinks, and then actually takes on the peoples business.

Technorati Tags: Polling,Rasmussen,President Obama,Congress,Tax Cuts,The Economy,Politics