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{1} Monster
Once the religious, the hunted and weary
Chasing the promise of freedom and hope
Came to this country to build a new vision
Far from the reaches of kingdom and pope
Like good Christians, some would burn the witches
Later some got slaves to gather riches
But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands to court the wild
And she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light
And once the ties with the crown had been broken
Westward in saddle and wagon it went
And 'til the railroad linked ocean to ocean
Many the lives which had come to an end
While we bullied, stole and bought our a homeland
We began the slaughter of the red man
But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands to court the wild
And she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light
--Steppenwolf
Sarah Palin has been exposed as a petty criminal in the weeks since her being selected as John McCain’s vice presidential "soul mate." The scandal known as "troopergate" and the more recent revelations about her scamming Alaska for travel expenses for her children have shown her to be as corrupt as Spiro Agnew. The $150,000 for clothes and hair and Tina Fey have combined to make Daniel Quayle seem almost statesman-like in comparison.
But perhaps the most important issue being discussed is her apparent confusion over the role of the vice president in the federal government. Many people believe that her talking about expanding the power and influence of the office of the vice president is evidence of her lack of familiarity with the Constitution of the United States. I think that there is a potential danger in considering this a laughing matter, because I do not believe it is a result of her ignorance. Rather, I am convinced that her positions are the result of her being prepped by the group that convinced John McCain to select her: the collection of interests that are known as the "neoconservatives." And the neoconservatives, as John Dean pointed out in his book, "Worse Than Watergate," have no respect for the Constitutionally mandated separation of powers.
{2} Dick Cheney and the OVP
And though the past has it's share of injustice
Kind was the spirit in many a way
But it's protectors and friends have been sleeping
Now it's a monster and will not obey
The spirit was freedom and justice
And it's keepers seem generous and kind
It's leaders were supposed to serve the country
But now they won't pay it no mind
'Cause the people grew fat and got lazy
And now their vote is a meaningless joke
They babble about law and order
But it's all just an echo of what they've been told
Yeah, there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into a noose
And it just sits there watchin'
--Steppenwolf
The role of the vice president underwent significant changes during the Eisenhower and Reagan administrations. VP Richard Nixon is generally associated with the planning of the Bay of Pigs invasion. However, he was actually in charge of the military intelligence operations in Central and South America. VP George Bush continued the intelligence operational role under Reagan, including the series of crimes known collectively as the "Iran-Contra Scandal." Even more than Watergate, this activity displayed an utter contempt for the balance of powers defined by our Constitution.
But no vice president in history has made the OVP as revolutionary in scope, and as unconstitutional in its crimes and abuses of power, as Dick Cheney. In considering this, it is important to recall how he became VP. Governor Bush was running as a "Washington outsider." As Barton Gellman notes in "Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency," Bush was promising to bring other "outsiders" into his administration. When Cheney began his "search" for a VP for Bush, several republican governors were considered, including Engler, Ridge, Racicot, Keating, and Pataki.
Cheney did the most intense background checks on these men. His efforts to find and file "dirt" on each would have made J. Edgar Hoover proud. Of course, Cheney and Bush never interviewed a single one of them: the entire charade was to provide Cheney with embarrassing information on those people who might potentially oppose future administration positions. In fact, when Keating made a statement that offended Cheney during the election campaign, Cheney had someone close to him – guess who? -- leak information to Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff that ended Keating’s political career.
Not only did Cheney "select" himself for VP, but he went a huge step further. During the weeks that the Florida results were being contested, Cheney played virtually no role in the republican effort to secure a Bush victory. Why? Because he knew the outcome, and was far more intent on creating the new administration.
In the Reagan era, there was a saying that "personnel is policy." Cheney understood that George Bush was only sure to bring three people of consequence with him: Condi Rice, Karl Rove, and Karen Hughes. His goal in the weeks between the election and the US Supreme Court selection of Bush as president was to create his own administration. And, in order to see if he did just that, let’s look at a partial list of the people that Cheney selected to serve.
They included Spencer Abraham at Energy; Christina Todd Whitman (who worked for him under Nixon) at the EPA; Robert Zoellick as the US trade representative; Gale Smith, an oil, lumber, and mining advocate for Interior; Ann Venemann, from Nestle, Kraft, and Archer Daniels Midland, for Agriculture; Sean O’Keefe for deputy director of OMB; Stephen Hadley to work for Rice; Paul Hoffman for deputy assistant secretary of Interior for Fish & Wildlife; and David Addington, who believed in an imperial presidency, for counsel to the VP.
Cheney made two selections he later regretted: Paul O’Neill at Treasury, and John Ashcroft for Attorney General. He also picked Colin Powell to exploit his popularity, but placed John Bolton near him, to keep Powell in check. Numerous other neoconservatives were also put in strategic positions to promote the Cheney agenda, including Paul Wolfowitz.
In order to counter the anticipated influence of President Bush1 and James Baker III, Cheney selected Donald Rumsfeld. Baker spoke to Bush about the potential conflicts this could cause, due to the acrimony between Bush1 and Rumsfeld. Cheney advised George W. to prove he was in control by agreeing to Rumsfeld.
Most significantly, Cheney put Scooter Libby in three key positions: chief of staff for the VP; assistant to the President; and national security advisor. Thus, not only would Libby have direct access to any paper before it reached George W. Bush’s desk, but he would be in a position that was "higher among equals" – meaning Rice and Rove.
By making these appointments while Bush was preoccupied with the Florida election, Dick Cheney create his own "shadow administration." As noted in New Republic, "Cheney’s office came to be viewed as the administration’s neocon sanctuary." (12-1-03; page 20) The OVP would even run its own intelligence operations, which brought about, among other things, the war in Iraq.
{3} Palin Comparison
Our cities have turned into jungles
And corruption is stranglin' the land
The police force is watching the people
And the people just can't understand
We don't know how to mind our own business
'Cause the whole worlds got to be just like us
Now we are fighting a war over there
No matter who's the winner
We can't pay the cost
'Cause there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into a noose
And it just sits there watching
America where are you now?
Don't you care about your sons and daughters?
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster
--Steppenwolf
John McCain showed he is as willing as George W. Bush to allow the necroconservatives to make important choices for his administration, when he "selected" Sarah Palin as his VP. It would be easy to view them, to paraphrase LBJ, as a couple of pimples on the ass we call the republican party. But, in fact, they are far worse: they are twin tumors on democracy.
Yesterday I read that Sarah Palin said that on Election Day, "God" would decide what is best for America. Her only prayer is that the republican machine can steal the election, as they have done in the recent past. As a Water Man, I say that John McCain is the very definition of a man who has sold his soul in his attempt to gain worldly power. And he is attempting to ride the whore of Babylon, Sarah Palin, into the White House. But that’s not going to happen.
This election will be decided by the efforts of an awakened citizenry, that recognizes the damage these republicans have done to our society. They are that "monster" that Steppenwolf sang about when many of us were young. They have damaged the foundations of our Constitutional democracy, and we are going to begin the hard work needed to repair that damage.
Less than two weeks until we decide what’s best for America. Let’s step up our pace, and move towards victory.
Thank you,
H2O Man
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