...[T]he idea that the Rule of Law is only for common people, but not for our political leaders and Washington elite, is pervasive among the political and pundit class, in both parties. While common Americans should be imprisoned in record numbers when they break the law, the worst that should happen to the political elite when they commit crimes is that they should be voted out of office. That’s the dominant mentality governing how our political system works.
For all the talk about how radical and lawless the Bush administration has been, this widely-shared view that our political leaders should be immune from consequences for lawbreaking is the administration’s defining belief.
This is a common belief on the far fringes of the right wing in this country — and the not-so-far fringes as well. It seems to be caused by the insane levels of fear that some folks have regarding terrorist attacks. To hell with the laws, just keep us safe!
Fear is never a reliable basis for dealing with a problem. Those who have surrendered to their fears simply do not — cannot — think rationally about how we can best confront and defeat the terrorists.
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July 21st, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Orion
You kinda missed a critical point there, Meaty…”BOTH parties”...Not just the right. BOTH parties.
The Liberal Left is famous for their ‘one rule for me, another for thee’ political philosophies.
It hits BOTH sides of the aisle in our political class, most of whom seem to pick a party based upon electability rather than any true beliefs.
Orion
July 22nd, 2008 at 6:22 am
meatbrain
Of course both parties are complicit in the breakdown of the rule of law in this country. My point is that it is the extreme right that has consistently acted out of terror. They have allowed the terrorists to win — by allowing themselves to be terrorized.
July 23rd, 2008 at 6:28 am
Orion
Coulda fooled me. The only people I know who I could describe as ‘terrified’ are my friends on the left. They’re the ones who are constantly afraid of being attacked – Most of my friends on the right have a fair understanding of the risks, many joined a Service to go and fight terrorists on their turf instead of ours, and so on.
Since the vast majority of my right-wing friends are gun-owners, and many are vets, police, firefighters, medics or the like, their usual attitude is ‘bring it on.’
Hardly ‘terrified’.
You remind me very much of my brother. You see only one side of every debate. One side is pure, unadulterated truth, beauty, and justice – the other is black-hearted evil, incapable of any pure motive or behavior. The sad thing is this utter lack of contrast in your life completely blinds you.
There is much good and bad on both sides of the political spectrum – indeed, I’ve found that the old ‘left/right’ axis doesn’t work well. I prefer one based on individual liberty vs statism and, if I’m really into detail, adding a second axis as well. (A good analysis by Steven den Beste on this subject)
But that comes from analyzing issues and doing actual research, not a child-like faith in my political masters on a single ‘side’ of any given issue. Obama is not the promised Messiah, and George Bush is not Satan incarnate. They’re both politicians, and generally disgusting ones at that. In my view, Bush’s only redeeming feature is his willingness to pursue the Long War, which is (his desperate need to surrender) also one of Obama’s biggest faults. Obama has some pluses as well however – just not nearly enough to overcome the negatives in my mind.
But each to their own…As a side note, I find it comical that you feel the right has allowed the terrorists to win – when it’s the right that has led the fight that has gutted al Queda world wide and destroyed innumerable nodes in their networks as well as neutralizing hundreds of thousands of their effectives. I hope we keep letting them win like that…
Orion
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:11 am
meatbrain
Burhans is again being willfully blind. It is the vast majority of right-wing pundits and politicians, not to mention bloggers, who have led the charge to eviscerate the rule of law in this country, all out of mindless, unreasoning fear of terrorist attack. The left, for the most part, has argued that while we must protect ourselves, we must do so within the framework of the law.
And, of course, being unable to actually discuss the extreme right wing’s surrender to terror, Burhans once again burrows into the muck he so loves and pretends that he knows something about my life.
Burhans never met an ad hominem attack he was not willing to use. Open, honest discussion is simply not one of Burhans’ skills, nor has he any interest in such.
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:46 am
meatbrain
A perfect example of what I am talking about was recently featured at Think Progress:
The message? BE AFRAID! BE AFRAID! TERRIFYING BROWN PEOPLE COMIN’ TO GETCHA! BE AFRAID! BE AFRAID! This has been a mantra of the far right for the past seven years.
July 23rd, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Orion
Thank you very much for, again, proving my point for me, Meaty…
Wow.
Orion
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:52 pm
meatbrain
This is another favorite tactic of the wingnut: victory by proclamation. Burhans doesn’t bother to explain how I proved his point, nor even what point I supposedly proved. He merely declares himself the winner, and slithers away.
If there is an intellectually dishonest way to end a discussion, Jeff “Orion” Burhans will happily employ it.