[img]583|left|Eric L. Wattree||no_popup[/img]Many observers have found quite curious Liz and Dick Cheney's fervent crusade to ensure that President Obama define terrorists as “enemy combatants,” and the fight against terrorism as a “war” on terrorism.
Why would a former vice president break the long established tradition of fading into the woodwork to engage in a silly debate over semantics?
Now we also have his daughter, Liz Cheney, attacking standards set down by the United States Constitution guaranteeing due process and equal protection under the law. Liz Cheney has branded attorneys who defended “alleged terrorists” the “Al Qaeda 7.” She is calling the United States Dept. of Justice, that simply is carrying out the prescription set down by the United States Constitution, “The Dept. of Jihad.”
Could there possibly be a reasonable explanation behind such radical behavior? I think there is.
The Cheneys are engaged in a pre-emptive strike against the Obama administration in general and the Justice Dept. in particular to stir up public opinion against the prospect that the Obama administration will finally decide to prosecute Dick Cheney for war crimes, as the rule of law demands. They are busily laying the groundwork to incite insurrection across this country to counter the application of the rule of law.
They Did Not Wait for Long
While the GOP is atrocious when it comes to governance, they are absolute geniuses when it comes to stirring up their base for war. In this case, they are preparing the nation for an all-out internal conflict. One can hear it in every speech as they sprinkle little gems like “secession,” “socialist” and “government takeover” into the political dialogue. The threat they pose to America makes Al Qaeda pale in comparison.
They started exactly one month after President Obama entered office. On Feb. 21, 2009, the New York Post published a cartoon portraying President Obama as a monkey being shot by the police.
There was a lot of subliminal messaging in that cartoon.
True to their usual method of operation, they began to dehumanize the enemy, just like they did Saddam, by portraying the enemy, President Obama, as a monkey. They show the police shooting the President to prevent him from pursuing what they consider an unpopular initiative. By showing the police, respected authority figures, shooting the President, that is intended to lend legitimacy to the action.
I immediately recognized what was afoot. I pointed it out in my article, “The Assassination Cartoon”:
“That cartoon literally sent a message out to every deadbeat and bigoted loser in the country that they can finally make something of themselves. They can finally find purpose in their previously miserable and lackluster lives by assassinating the President of the United States. Thus, what the New York Post is calling a meaningless joke is actually a clarion call to every bigoted fool in the United States. It says there are people in this country who will consider you a hero if you bring violence against the President–and they know it. Can you imagine the hue and cry coming from Republicans if The New York Times had run a cartoon depicting the assassination of Ronald Reagan?”
I also pointed out:
“We’ve had enough experience with neo-cons and radical conservatives where anyone with even an ounce of common sense recognizes that nothing is a joke with them, especially when they’re out of power. They are dead serious, and they are desperate. Conservative Republicans know better than anyone that considering their atrocious eight years of governance, combined with President Obama’s competence and responsible statesmanship, that the Republican Party faces an extremely bleak future. So they’ve gone to Plan B, to eliminate Obama at all costs, by any means necessary. As ugly as it seems, anyone who doesn’t recognize that reality has blinders on.
“Look at the facts. Their proven method of operation is to demonize, dehumanize, then eliminate. When the neo-cons decided to exploit Iraqi resources instead of going after Osama, as was the intent of the American people, they first began to demonize, then dehumanize Saddam Hussein, a former ally, to prepare the American people to accept the idea that it was necessary to take him out.”
If there was any doubt about my contention, however, it should have been immediately resolved when they trotted out turncoat and perennial loser Alan Keyes. He called into question President Obama's legitimacy as President. He referred to the President as “a radical communist.” He went on to say, “[Obama is] going to destroy this country. We’ve either got to stop him or America will cease to exist.” He also indicated that since Barack Obama wasn’t legitimately the president, if something wasn't done about it we were going to end up in “civil war.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DlTgrMCxPg&feature=player_embedded
They Have a One-Word Goal
These people are without limits. They have a disdain for the United States Constitution. They are only concerned about power, all that they respect. So President Obama’s inclination for compromise and appeasement is totally lost on them. All appeasement does is give the GOP the breathing room to engage in further calculation and plotting. Their strategy was demonstrated in the healthcare debate. Even after the President allowed them to water down the bill, they voted against it. That is their method of operation. They are not interested it compromise. They want nothing short of complete control.
When the President signaled Attorney General Holder that “we should look forward, not back,” even though the President was obviously ignoring the rule of law to accommodate them, they didn't appreciate that. They didn't say, “Wow, this is a good guy.” They said, “This guy is weak. We are going to run over him.”
Had President Obama followed up his campaign promise of change and allowed the rule of law to play out, his entire base would still be behind him, and the Republican party wouldn't have dared engage in the obstructionism.
First, politics as usual wouldn't have flown in such an environment. Secondly, Bush and Cheney sank the roots of corruption deep into the Republican party. In response to DOJ investigations, they would be too busy covering their butts to be obstructing the President's agenda.
During a recent debate I had on this issue, a gentleman indicated this was no time to investigate war crimes. President Obama has to pick his battles. I strongly disagree. I wonder if the gentleman would have taken the same position if one of the charges was that a member of his family had been tortured and killed?
In a democracy, maintaining the rule of law must take priority over everything else. Without it, there can be no democracy.
What is the sense of enacting healthcare reform if a precedent has been set that renders the rule of law meaningless?
Mr. Wattree may be contacted at wattree@verizon.net
You may learn more about Mr. Wattree at wattree.blogspot.com
Religious bigotry: It’s not that I hate everybody who doesn’t look, think and act like me. It’s just that God does
