...it's awfully hard even for folks like me to argue that mayors have an obligation to enforce the rule of law, when the rule of law so obviously only applies to the little people. In case you missed the 60 Minutes segment from last week, it's clear that the laws are only being enforced against regular people, even as the billionaire criminals skate free.

The failure to hold any of these egregious thieves accountable is fraying the social contract. It legitimizes the revolutionary worldview.

Part of the decision not to prosecute them has undoubtedly been (apart from pure corruption and the difficulty and expense involved in the prosecutions) the desire not to do anything too divisive. But the fact is that not prosecuting them has led to increasing political division in this country, as groups on both the left and the right believe the system incapable of dispensing justice. That in turn leads to a revolutionary theory of change, which (each in their own characteristic way) is what binds Tea Partiers with guns at congressional rallies promising "second Amendment remedies," and Occupiers illegally shutting down ports, declaring basic city zoning laws unconstitutional, and demanding the right to pitch tents on public property for years on end if need be to accomplish undefined goals.

Don't blame the Tea Partiers or the Occupiers for this state of affairs. Blame the elected officials who have refused to the prosecute the people responsible for the economic crisis. If people thought the system was working the way it should be and prosecuting the right people, it would do a lot to pull the release on the political pressure valve.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/failure-to-prosecute-bankers-leads-to.html