Jun-16-2008
Political Perspective by Tim King Salem-News.com
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/june162008/exler_are.php
Media Grinder continues to paint efforts to bring about Presidential Impeachment with undue prejudice. But hey, this is the land of Jeb Bush and rigged elections, so what is the surprise in the Sun-Sentinel's attack on Rep. Robert Wexler?
Sun-Sentinel's editorial titled "Impeachment not worth another minute of anybody's time"
(SALEM, Ore.) - In a supposedly law-abiding country like the United States, what right does the media have to say that the President should not be held accountable for his actions? That is exactly what is happening this week in Florida as the staff of the Sun-Sentinel Newspaper in Miami roast Representative Robert Wexler, a Democrat from Delray Beach, for siding with Representative Dennis Kucinich's attempt to make George W. Bush face the music for his long string of possibly illegal acts that began after September 11th, 2001.
Kucinich read the 35 articles of impeachment against Bush last week from the House floor. There are so many seemingly credible allegations that it seems ridiculous to not pursue the impeachment process. Yet even before it was out of the gate, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made it clear that in her view, the impeachment of George W. Bush was "off the table".
Wexler said, "This war has cost us the lives of 4,090 US soldiers, injuries to over 30,000, and more than a trillion taxpayer dollars when it is all said and done." To him and many others, it seems ridiculous to not pursue the Impeachment while utilizing a system in place successfully for so many years in this country.
Yet the Sun-Sentinel whines that because these miserable acts committed by a President over the last seven years are now at end stages, he should be allowed to skate entirely.
They wrote in the editorial, "Actually, it's nobody's sworn duty to take up any time to go after a badly battered president with only a few months left in office."
Badly battered? These pathetic writers need to take a trip overseas to one of our war theaters and see the real description of "badly battered" and not try to excuse this wretch of a man who was not even elected by the American people, but by the Supreme Court, for sending countless numbers of good Americans to their death for a war that never needed to be fought in the first place.
Representative Robert Wexler of Florida. Photo: facebook.com
Wexler responded by saying, "In fact, it is this very war -- entered into following an unprecedented campaign of lies and manipulated intelligence by the Bush Administration -- that necessitates impeachment hearings. It is a dark day when the Sun-Sentinel has the gall to tell the parents of the soldiers who have died in Iraq that pursuing consequences for those that prosecuted this war of choice based on outright deception is not a 'REAL' issue that Congress should address."
This media group probably has their hands so deep inside Bush's pockets and vice verse, that they have no choice but to try to degrade the acts of real Americans like Kucinich and Wexler. They should be ashamed but then what is new about that.
We are raised to believe that there are consequences for our actions, yet the Sun-Sentinel believes the person who led this country into its darkest time in recent history and may be guilty of high crimes that other national leaders are tried for, needs a break. Isn't that sweet.
I would be willing to bet that Bush will ultimately be regarded as a criminal President who abused his power and directly lied to the people of the United States. Maybe he'll slip by the next few months, that is possible, then move to Dubai, closer to the people he really works for. With most Democrats refusing to do their jobs, the odds are good that he won't be impeached now. The Democrats didn't take care of Al Gore when he was named President and then un-named President, nor did they back John Kerry when the Florida election was rigged and thrown. They almost all voted to go to war in Iraq and are indeed as guilty as Bush. Maybe that is it: just the simple fact that an indictment against Bush for war crimes is an indictment against themselves.
Good thing Bush has his thugs in place in the media at operations like the Sun-Sentinel, to make a mockery of real efforts like the Impeachment process Kucinich and a few other gutsy politicians like Wexler are trying, against the odds, to push through. Their editorial is the ultimate expression of everything that is wrong today with the status quo - the sheeplike Americans who have that mushroom like approach to life... feed 'em BS and keep them in the dark and they will grow up just the way you like.
Wexler says that sadly, the war is only the beginning of the list of problems involving George W. Bush.
"We now know that this Administration illegally ordered the torture of prisoners, obstructed justice by lying about the outing of a covert CIA agent and authorizing warrantless spying on American citizens. No one can deny that if proven these allegations amount to High Crimes. Our failure to act sets an awful precedent and enables future Presidents to break the law and violate our Constitution without sanctions from Congress."
He says that according to the Sentinel, impeachment is the wrong "remedy" for this litany of crimes. "What then is the proper remedy?" he asked. "A harsh lecture? A strongly worded editorial? Or how about doing absolutely nothing in the face of these outrageous abuses of power?"
The job of the news media is to cast a critical eye on elected politicians who are supposed to be held to the highest standards of the law, and are expected to lead by example - for the benefit of the public that elected them. There is no possible excuse for what this Miami, Florida newspaper suggests. Robert Wexler and Dennis Kucinich may be offbeat with others in the House of Representatives, but millions of Americans agree with them and it is the interests, affiliations and past mistakes of the majority of Democrats that continue to haunt the integrity of the very soul of our political system.
This is the original letter to the editor by Wexler:
Sun-Sentinel Editorial
Impeachment not worth another minute of anybody's time South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board
June 12, 2008
ISSUE: Some in Congress want an impeachment.
"The nation does have a few pressing issues pending that could use some attention from our federal lawmakers.
Let's see. There are a couple of wars going on, unemployment is on the rise as the value of a house continues to fall, millions of Americans have no health insurance, and did we mention that gas prices are expected to hit $5 a gallon? You get the idea. And still, some in Congress feel the nation is just itching for another presidential impeachment.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, who has made a career out of eye-rolling issues like these, said this week he wants the House to consider a resolution to impeach President Bush. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Delray Beach, who is smarter than this, supported the Articles of Impeachment, which won't go anywhere and thankfully have been buried in a committee not likely to hold hearings before Bush leaves office.
Last year, Kucinich led the misguided charge to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney, and Wexler supported that. In the case of Bush, Wexler called it a "sworn duty" of Congress to act.
Actually, it's nobody's sworn duty to take up any time to go after a badly battered president with only a few months left in office. This is a president so unpopular, presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain won't make many public appearances with him. This is a president who is such a non-entity, peace activists didn't even bother to protest his appearance in Berlin this week.
Nor should Congress bother with the ridiculous idea of impeachment, which Kucinich contends is warranted because Bush deceived the nation into war.
There's plenty of evidence to fuel Kucinich's ire, but not his choice of remedy. If Congress needs more things than impeachment to keep lawmakers busy, it has myriad options.
BOTTOM LINE: Get on with REAL issues."
The comedy here is the paper's failure to even try to connect the reason for all of the "real issues" existing in the first place. Blue blood apparently carries an awful lot of weight in the southern states.
This video from CBS News shows activists in England who turned out in droves to protest George W. Bush's visit. Germany is an extremely conservative country in most respects. It seems wrong to make an example of how the nation that supported Adolph Hitler a few decades ago, fails to protest George Bush:
Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. Today, in addition to his role as a war correspondent in Afghanistan where he spent the winter of 2006/07, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website, affiliated with Google News and several other major search engines and news aggregators. Tim's coverage from Iraq that was set to begin in April has been delayed and may not take place until August, 2008. You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com
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