The 'commuting' of Scooter Libby's prison sentence was inevitable. The cry from the right has gone out since the whole thing began that he should be pardoned. They did not want him tried because he only lied about something that was not a crime. Never mind that the reason it was not a crime was because obstruction of justice was in full force.
The same people who believe Iraq secretly carried out 9/11 were gung-ho on seeing Libby do no prison time. They would have been furious and made their fury felt with their dollars. Bush could not afford to ignore them as they are his only contributers and fans left. If you were among those who thought Bush did right, you are in the right wing no matter what you want to call yourself.
A jury found Scooter Libby guilty of perjury-- which happens to be a crime unless you are one of the President's men or is that Vice President's. The judges who oversaw his case were all Republican appointees... who maybe valued the rule of the law more than most on that side. Oh yes, he claimed he didn't remember important events (after all sending people off to war based on lies is not that big a deal to keep in mind, now is it?), but is there anybody right or left who doesn't know his lies and bad memory were all to cover up for his boss and most probably the President.
They say it wasn't a crime to out Valerie Plame because she was not covert by their legal definition which meant it was not enough that she go overseas with a false identity to spy or help spying (and remember what she was looking for related to the terrorists who attacked us), she had to live over there so many months or years. That is like 'it depends on what the definition of is is.'
There was never any chance Bush would dare have let Libby go to prison due to the secrets Libby knows. He has been a loyal soldier but not to this country. No, it's been to the Bush administration and their plots-- wherever they would take this country. None of these men (including that whole slate currently running on the right) are patriots.
The first president of this country, George Washington, was a man who truly did believe in democracy, rejected being made a king, fought courageously with his troops when he could have been in a safe, warm house directing the war from afar. He was no perfect man but who is? Maybe the stories of the beginnings of our nation were not all we might have been taught in grade school, but they are sure a lot more to be proud of than what we currently have leading our nation.
To this supposed law and order bunch a pardon was the right thing-- because Scooter's a nice guy. Yeah, he's the kind that falls on his sword for his king and doesn't care what that does to the nation for the values that his group supposedly are there to uphold.
Sad day for some of us. Yes, I know the right is cheering but they lost more than they gained as you always do when you trade honor for power. They have betrayed everything this nation has supposedly stood for and the worst part is their time in power isn't over. If any of the current Republicans, with the possible exception of Ron Paul, get in office, we will have more of the same and someday it'll be too late to save our nation from them. That's scary.
I didn't like the idea of anybody going to jail but Martha Stewart did her jail time for something that didn't even impact people's lives, didn't cause others to die, didn't get us into a war. Where was that law and order bunch on that?
What we witnessed yesterday was the ultimate obstruction of justice as now Libby has no motive to tell the truth and the Bush administration continues on their merry way.
9 comments:
As usual, Rain, you hit it squarely dead center. This is just another reason that Cheney is constantly smirking -- and I would dearly like to slap it off his face. I wonder what our founding fathers would think of Bush and Cheney's shenanigans? Thank you for clarifying yet another muddy situation for me.
You said everything I'm thinking and feeling. I did a short blog this morning for tomorrow, the birthday of our country.....and based on Monday's events, it wasn't the happy holiday kind of blog entry I'd intended.
I'm too disgusted, angry, sad, betrayed to think about anything "happy" in relation to this country of ours.
What happened to Libby is unforgivable....but only further proof that this Adm. has always considered themselves above the law. As an American....I'm terribly embarrassed that this could happen. Clinton was a choir boy compared to these current transgressions.
So sorry about our system of justice!!!!
I knew you would do your research and state succinctly what your take was on Libby's commutation. Marcy wants to slap Cheney's smirk off, but when I see him, I am chilled to the bone. There is nothing like a righteous powerful man who will do anything to force his POV. He scares me. Bush, on the other hand, is a laughing stock; I see his smirk and I cringe with embarrassment. Of course, he is dangerous, too, but he's not real somehow. He's a schoolyard bully, but God he has been the front man for pure evil.
You say, "Yes, I know the right is cheering but they lost more than they gained as you always do when you trade honor for power."
I expect a full pardon to follow at some point Rain. The pardons given out at the end of the Clinton reign still rankle me too. Bush wasn't the first in this regard.
And then there was poor Paris!
I am not a fan of hers but she and Martha Stewart do seem to have been jumped on more than their "crime" warranted. It has always been that way, though with the rich AND powerful. If I had done what Ted Kennedy did on that bridge from Chapaquidic (SP?) I'd probably still be in prison. I don't think he ever saw a single day in jail.
yes, Dick. Ted Kennedy wasn't properly investigated in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne and it was because of his family's wealth-- which happens a lot. I don't think he murdered her, as some conspiracists think, but I do think he committed manslaughter when he had the accident and didn't go for help immediately. She might have survived but for his drunkenness that night and maybe fear of consequences. We will never know for sure but manslaughter seems to me what he did and wasn't ever really investigated.
The difference with Libby isn't that he got away with a crime but possibly a crime against this country, by the president and vice president, was covered up and it's one that led us into war as well as has taken away many of our liberties. Much as I think it's not good that the rich have so often gotten off (if you are of the right political party who is in power at the time), my real upset this time is that this was a political cover-up. They try to compare it to Clinton's pardons but nobody has found evidence he got any pay-off for any of them, nor did they relate to possible crimes he might have committed while in office. That's what sets this apart
You may be on to something, Dick. It seems women get harsher penalties. Queen Latifah was sentenced to a year in prison for lying to a grand jury. Bill Clinton did it and was only disbarred for a few years. Definite double standard.
Lil Kim (not Queen Latifah) lied about something that involved a violent act and tried to protect her friends by avoiding them being found guilty of it. Bill Clinton lied about a blow job. Do you equate the two? And Scooter Libby outed a spy and got his sentence commuted. It will be pardoned by not until they don't have to worry about him testifying. That one involved betrayal of our country and you think they are all the same???
Post a Comment