Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Show Trials

Dafydd has the right idea on the Gonzales debacle, or whatever you call it:

Alone among all the issues that divide Congress, there is one that unites them all -- Republican and Democrat, Right and Left, conservative and liberal, good hair and bad hair: They uniformly agree that Congress should be the preeminent branch of government, and the other two branches mere appendages whose only function is to implement the decrees from the Capitol Dome... and be quick about it!

Accordingly, Congress demands that close advisors to President George W. Bush scurry over and take their seats for the "show trials" to come:

Mr. Bush reiterated his support for his embattled attorney general, Alberto R. Gonzales, and said Mr. Gonzales would testify before the appropriate legislative committees. But Mr. Bush said he would only allow close White House aides to be interviewed privately by the lawmakers rather than be placed under oath.

“We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honorable public servants,” Mr. Bush said, vowing to fight any attempt by Congress to subpoena his top political adviser, Karl Rove; the former White House counsel Harriet E. Miers and others.

“Initial response by Democrats, unfortunately, shows some appear more interested in scoring political points than in learning the facts,” Mr. Bush said. “It will be regrettable if they choose to head down the partisan road of issuing subpoenas and demanding show trials when I have agreed to make key White House officials and documents available.”

Bush's use of the Stalinist-era term "show trials" is both heartening and illuminating. The key distinction between a "show trial" and a real trial is that in the former, guilt is assumed; the only purpose of the show trial is to humiliate and beat down the supposed "defendant" (actually, the victim of the State) and ideally force a public confession out of him.

After which, he is taken away and shot.


Read it all.

6 comments:

buddy larsen said...

Smirkin' Pat Leahy is just lovin' it--he be da Big Cheese now.

God almighty, those people make me sick. We don't have a Congress, we have a carnival geek freak show.

Hope all those voters who put them in control, are happy happy now, having made their points about their favorite issue(s).

chuck said...

First impressions are so important. This congress will never manage to recover and look serious.

buddy larsen said...

How many different defeat-insuring war-plans have they now put forward? Fifty? What a travesty, what a complete disgrace. What are we gonna do? Revolt? They're already blowing the pork barrel open, even tho running a public approval number lower even then Bushitler's. It's as if they're beyond caring about anything at all.

Unknown said...

buddy:

H A T E and H U B R I S.

If there is is any justice, it will be their undoing.

buddy larsen said...

That he do, for a fact. So do the rest of us, too.

Our Senators-for-life have far too little respect.

Unknown said...

I thought when we did that Revolution thing we left behind the House of Lords.