Creeping Tyranny

Creeping Tyranny: The last Session of Congress passed a little noticed amendment to the Patriot Act which, in impact, authorizes the President to dismiss United States Attorneys without cause, then appoint his choice without Senate confirmation. By early 2007, a substantial number of those appointments have been made - without Senate approval - or disapproval.

Confirmation of US Attorneys was put into the law to limit the power of the White House to select US Attorneys to manage particular cases or causes. Needless to say, when the President can bypass Senate review on the senior prosecutors in the country, enormous opportunities for abuse exist. This statutory sample of the "checks and balances" process failing can correctly be called "creeping tyranny."

New legislation to reestablish the confirmation requirement has been introduced and may well be passed by the Congress controlled by the Democrats, although President Bush could easily veto that bill. Eventually, it will be passed and until then, the US Attorney's will be under close scrutiny.

By custom, the Senators from states where US Attorney and Federal Judge appointments are being made have high influence in confirmation proceedings in the Senate. Those Senators will be eager, regardless of party, to regain that power. But it is the political conflict between the Executive and the Congress that works to the service of the citizen because agendas are examined and important information about candidates made public.

Through all of US history - and all history in general - people in power have moved to enhance their power. It is part of the territorial imperative that this should be so - and it is part of the civilizing process that the conflict between various powers be regulated. In the US, we do that through the elaborate checks and balances built into the Constitution and subsequent laws.

The Bush Administration, partly through the struggles of war - and partly through the forces of overpaid and over energetic seeking of power - has often failed to genuinely provide their services On Behalf of the People.

Generals at the State Department

The President has been filling top appointments with retired military.

Finding people to fill top positions is tough when at that point in an administration when there is deep trouble. People who make good Under Secretaries have to have a serious background in an area to even want the job - and those sorts of highly skilled people are not inclinded to work for a basic amatuer President like Bush, or a hack political like Clinton that can't keep his sex private. Good people know those are loser appointments - by the President, or not.

Ex-Generals and high ranked military officers are easily bored when they retire, and are handy appointments for the President that can't get other candidates to say yes. I know the White House atmosphere well enough to know that the key movers at the top know that they screwed up in Iraq - and like a person in a bad marriage with a half-dozen kids, can't get out easily. Military appointments at the State Department as so so, probably not a threat - but not very interesting either.

The Bush crew is in trouble in about every way - politically - economically - and can't get out - except by ending their term in 23 months. Retired military are the easy way out to fill a huge number of vacant positions.

Part of the Bush problem is that the super-conservative crowd behind the throne don't wash very well in public - in short - they can't get past the Senate confirmation.

We deal with these problems every day at Presidential-Appointments.org and know the real game in appointments at this point is January 20 - 2009. The present political horse is a dead horse.

John Isaacson
Director@Presidential-Appointments.org

CAUGHT BY THE SYSTEM

A system governed by law – like ours – is victim to men and women like Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, and those found in the Congress – they consciously and intentionally place human over law in acts of real treachery to the People. This has been the prime characteristic of the Conservative movement since its inception prior to WW2 – screw the law to do what individuals want to do

We all know that there is a system of structural checks and balances in the Constitutional system. It worked again when the Federal Courts recently applied the law to the illegal Bush prison camps. Certainly national and international public opinion was a player in the President’s announcement to bring the illegal CIA camps into the legal structure and to the Court decisions – the Constitutional standards were applied. While it is improbable that the entire locked up terrorist group will be included in the change – such a public admission by the President is a loss to tyranny’s cause.

In considering the conduct of leaders to defy the law, it is important to have deep contempt for their inner being – they are gutting your world and your safety – they are dishonest at a level of the soul that is putrefied by dishonor to every person.

It is the collective perception of a people – of a Society – that controls the depth of political anarchy toward the Law. If we are tricked by lies and misdirection into approval of a war – such as has been proven to be the case in the Iraqi War – we need to remove our support of that war and withdraw into the honor of Truth and suffer the sorrow of those we have caused to die – our own and others – and struggle to repair those we have injured – our own and others – to redeem our constitutional honor.

The occasional imperialist attitudes that arise in the Presidency are predictable in the nature of human government – and can usually only be imposed by wealthier societies. Our Constitutional system has shut down many imperialist leaders over its lifetime – usually by the People in harness with a Free Press – but it has been a close call more than once.

When those who govern defy the Law of the People – we are at risk of personal slavery. Whether by voting, by good citizenship, by exercise of the legal system, or by educating about the Law, we have a deep self interest in demanding leadership that acts first On Behalf of the People.

A New Liberal Movement

While it may have the appearance of a pendulum swing - the Liberal Movement is emerging again. The reasons are complex and matters of some serious historical interest - but the practical impact is a new kind of political coalescence - and looks an awful lot like the Liberal phenomenon which had its roots in the late 19th and early 20th Century. These produced or supported the ACLU, the worker's movements, the Women's Movement, and ultimately, was the core of both the desegregation battle and the rejection of the Viet Nam War - not to speak of literally thousands of other social changes. How it wore out is not much different than what is happening to the Conservative Movement - leadership personnel die off - the focus is lost - and the movement loses its constituency among the general population.

While the Liberal reemergence was fully predictable in the early 1960's when we saw it winding down - it is now happening. The importance of this particular comment on this page at this time is to remind those interested in executive appointments that there is massive change in the air - "times are 'a changin" - and those who think they have it knocked for an appointment might be on soft sand, and those who feel lost and disenfranchised may have future in executive government before too long, and for a long time - if history follows history.

Sucker Punch to the Christian Right

The Christian Right - the hard rock Conservative Evangelical churches - have been victims of the so-called Republican Conservatives for almost 50 years - the plan was to play to the part of this nation that dislikes women - other women - blacks - Jews - Catholics - people of any sort of non-white tint - give them as little as possible, and get their votes. It worked in spades - divided the country thoroughly - re-established a divisive class system - elected four Presidents and a bunch of other politicians. But it caught up with the power brokers in background this year - and it is going to get worse.

However naive that Christian Right leadership was - it paid heavily for its role in the world of the GOP - and got little in return. Worse yet - matters which mattered to that politic have been dumped - where was the push this year for anti-abortion wins - no real push on the stem cell issues - and after GOP Congressmen and a significant leader of the Evangelical movement got caught in the sack with the boys - red faces on gay issues. The next thing you know - we are going to consider everybody equal - let people live their private lives they way the like in private - and stop trying to tell other people what to do with their bodies in private - be forgiving - oppose the death penalty and all in the name of an executed Messiah. Damn it is going to be good to be rid of the conservative GOP.

The real victims in the Christian Right movement are the parishoners - those decent folks screwed over by the words of the GOP leadership in cahoots with paid clergy - in matters of faith - in matters of political choice - and worse -in the way that clergy and church leadership raped the pocketbooks of those in the pews.

Even with all this - the decent Christian people in the country will find their way to good candidates and support of issues -- but as good US citizens rather than as disciplined robots of the Church and the State.

John Isaacson
Director
Presidential-Appointments.org

Bush is a Real Lame Duck - Completely Trumped by Iran

Bush is a genuine, really wounded lame duck - and he took a new wound today when Iran's political leadership took over the management of the Iraq War. They snatched it right out of the Oval Office and have established a premier role as arbitrator of the War - standing right between Bush the Junior and Iraq's political leadership.

For the most powerful government in the world - the most signficant democracy on the planet to get caught playing second fiddle to Iran in the Iraqi War is absolutely absurd and illustrates the immaturity and lack of historical perspective in the Rummy-Cheney-little Bush coalition that got us into the Iraqi mess. To think that our military has been trapped in that situation is as close to political criminality as a President can get.

To have this happen while the President is trotting around in Viet Nam is a silk gown - in a country that disgraced the United States is essentially beyond political imagination.

John Isaacson
Director
Presidential-Appointments.org

Presidential Appointments.org Blog

Presidential-Appointments.org is a private internet site which provides information about Executive Appointments by Presidents of the United States. This comment is an invitation to anyone interested in posting a blog or commenting on others.

Throughout the history of the United States, Presidential Appointments have been key to the way the Nation was governed. The site - www.Presidential-Appointments.org - throughout its 7 year history - has been educational - and often - the source of spirited - angry - often very sensible and bright comment and controversy.

Have your say - ask your question - comment on other comments - try to keep it at least as civil as the comments of government officials - (a standard which allows a huge amount of opportunity for expression) - and have at it.

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Thank you for your interest. John Isaacson, Director, Presidential-Appointments.org