Arlen Spectre Does the GOP Goose Step Rag: Mock Checks & Balances

One of the main reasons that Bush-Cheney popularity is in the toilet is that Americans see the abuses of power by the executive branch and they are frightened :scared:. There seems to be no one willing or able to check the WH gone wild. Domestic wiretaps, torture of prisoners, illegal detention of American citizens, conspiracies targetting our own CIA agents---these are the stuff of nightmares. This is Orwellian fiction, the Handmaid's Tale, it is scary. Except for Fitzgerald and five Supreme Court Justices and a handful of intrepid journalists like Keith Olberman, there appears to be no one that cares to defend the US Constitution or the rights of US Citizens. Not Al Gonzales and the Department of Justice. He answers only to his boss, W. Not the Republicam controlled Congress. If Democrats try to question the administration, they can not even get a room in the capital for their meeting. The majority of the federal courts are being stacked with conservative apppointees.

Americans, by nature, distrust their government. We are the poor, huddled, mad as hell masses from other countries who came here to be free from government control, and we do not like or trust the government any farther than we can throw it. Every 6 to 8 years or so, we like to change our government, just to keep it on its toes. And we like to know that someone is keeping a watchful eye on those in power so that they do not get too powerful. That is why we value the system of checks and balances which the Founders put in place.

It is the loss of checks and balances which scares Americans so much. Knowing that Dick Cheney can strip an American of his Constitutional rights and have him imprisoned on a military ship is just plain nerve racking. The thought of W. lying about WMDs and never having to face the consequences does not sit right with people. So, they get mad. And Bush-Cheney poll numbers drop, Congressional poll numbers drop and a majority of Americans decide that it is time for Congress to go back to Democratic control so that some one will be there to keep watch again.

What is a guy like Karl Rove to do in a situation like this? Here is where the so called maverick Republicans like Arlen Spectre and John McCain come in. These are the guys that the MSM loves to feature, because they raise their voices in righteous indignation, decrying administration abuses of the Constitution, saying that something must be done, Congress must fulfill its responsibility to oversee the executive branch. They make the American people feel safe again. They give them hope that maybe a Republican Congress can actually do its job, which is to provide a chack to the excutive branch.

But look closely. It is all just "sound and fury, signifying nothing". Their actions never seem to match their words. John McCain wrote a bill to prohibit torture, but when W. atached one of his personal ammendments ok'ing torture. McCain did not do a thing. Now, Arlen Spectre has written a bill that gives the executive branch the ability to spy on whomever it likes whenever it likes without any oversight from anyone. Pretty weak action from someone who talked real tough.

Both men fulfill an important function in the new Republican Party. They are the Faux Barry Goldwaters. They are the pretend mavericks. They step up to the microphone and pretend that a Republican Congress is capable of checking the power crazed Bush-Cheney administration. Their goal is to fool the American people so that the Republicans can retain control of Congress, so that the Bush-Cheney administration can continue to break the law, so that Republicans in Congress can continue to get away with dealing with the Jack Abramoffs of the world and so the courts can be stacked with conservative judges who will protect the rich and powerful once the Bushes finally lose control.

The Spectre/McCains are worse than the Delay/Frists in a way, because they are liars. They are playing a game, making a mockery of the memory of true mavericks like Barry Goldwater, stringing voters along with promises they have no intention of ever filling.

So, the next time a Republican stands up to criticize the Bush-Cheney administration, the next time a Congressional committee leader vows to hold an investigation into something the WH has done, do not applaud, do not give that person a minute of media coverage. Instead, demand to see action. Recall what Rep. Bob Ney did when it came time to keep his promise to investigate Ohio 2004, how he prsented witnesses to claim that the NAACP gave out crack cocaine for votes and used his "investigation" as an excuse to recommend some of the most voter's rights violating laws around.

There is more than a little bit of Bob Ney in both McCain and Spectre.

By the way, Goose Step Rag comes from a little piece of art I did a few months back:

http://www.grandtheftelectionohio.com/Flash/GooseStepRag/GOPGooseStep.html

John Whoremonger McCain

He loves Bush and he loves war, so it is fitting.