What’s The Big Secret Mr. President?
March 15th, 2007 | by Ken Grandlund |For the last six years, the Bush presidency has operated under a veil of secrecy, not so unlike those worn by women in the stricter Islamic countries, and under a rationale not too dissimilar: what is hidden isn’t known and what isn’t known can’t hurt (or tempt) you.
While Congress sat complacently by and allowed Team Bush to run amok with American reputation, treasure, and future generations, all sorts of malfeasance was taking place, from crafting secret energy policies with major private energy interests to plotting against his own appointed federal prosecutors. Since the day the Supreme Court installed Bush as Dunce in Chief the American public has been increasingly shut out of their government. But in the two months since the Democrats have taken the reins investigations have turned over several rocks, providing evidence that in the Bush White House, politics and political fealty rule supreme.
The stain Bush has put on the ‘honor of the office’ is a whole lot bigger than the one left on Monica’s dress.
But it seems that Congress has finally found themselves a bottle of Spray-n-Wash, and in a rare bi-partisan effort, nearly 3/4 of the House voted to reverse one of the first pieces of the Bush House of Deceit. By a vote of 333-93, Congress has reversed a November 2001 Executive Order that allowed former presidents to keep their official documents secret indefinitely. Prior to that, the normal time span for the release of presidential archives was around 18 months. Since the Bush order, that time span has increased to 78 months. And under the Bush order, researchers who wanted to view presidential papers had to prove their ’specific need’ for wanting access to any documents.
But more than just trying to create a black hole for presidential documents (that could-gasp-provide evidence of deliberate deception or conspiracy to commit fraud for example), Bush’s order extended the provisions to include Vice-Presidential papers as well, something that had no precedence whatsoever. I wonder why Bush felt that Cheney needed such cover so early on?
With this executive order coming so early in Bush’s reign, one may wonder if he (a) had a batch of “evil-doing” already planned or (b) just had a general idea that he’d be doing some pretty shady things. Either way, this order seems to show that Bush was clearly worried about keeping his tracks covered, even in the early days of his new Global War on Terror.
The House vote is so lop-sided as to be veto-proof. And the Senate has plans to produce a similar bill. Let’s hope it receives the same support as in the House.
[tag]Bush+secrecy, presidential+papers, Cheney+secrecy, congressional+oversight[/tag]
6 Responses to “What’s The Big Secret Mr. President?”
By tos on Mar 15, 2007 | Reply
That is your perception Ken. What exactly are they keeping secretive. I guess if you say it enough the rest of the country will believe your “secretive” accusations.
You guys have been using this from day one. Maybe because it looks good in a headline. So you are claiming all past administrations called press conferences of every little detail of what they were doing? Give it a rest already you are sounding like a broken record. Speaking of which if Bush shoved documents in his pants and socks maybe there would be more to talk about. Oh wait we don’t talk about that stuff unless it was Nixon,Regan or Bush that did it. waaaa!
By SteveIL on Mar 15, 2007 | Reply
Ken Grandlund said:
How convenient. Clinton again gets a pass since his piece of shit former national security advisor, Sandy Burglar, destroyed many of the secret Clinton documents. It’s bad enough that Bush and the DoJ did squat about Burglar, but I’ve never heard one of the congressional Democratic jerks chastise Burglar one bit. Hell, the asshole was even part of some of their campaigns.
Never let it be said that Democrats aren’t always the hypocrites.
By ken grandlund on Mar 15, 2007 | Reply
tos- again it seems that you can’t see the forest for the trees.
This post, and the EO in question deals with presidential papers of former presidents. It has nothing to do with current day to day operations or information being disseminated. I hesitate to even bother setting you straight, as the post was written in plain English and shouldn’t be too confusing, but I have hope you’ll actually read and comprehend what you’re reading from time to time.
SteveIL- I’ve never defended Berger’s actions. And what the hell does Clinton as a former president have to do with Berger’s actions anyhow? It’s not Clinton that went to the archives to retrieve anything.
And you two talk about broken records…
By tos on Mar 15, 2007 | Reply
Yeah Clinton probably sent him there after all it happened under his watch.
By Carl Gordon on Mar 15, 2007 | Reply
What tomfoolery are they up to now? I don’t mean to engage in paradiddle, or to make light of the encroaching darkness, but as I haven’t heard anything in the form of strong language coming from the drooling crippled gobs of the once mighty now impotent Congress in the immediate interim, it certainly makes me nervous and jacks the angst-o-meter past the red and into the black. People aren’t treating other people very nice around here, hitting things with other things, a groundswell of grumbled withering remarks as to a persons true proclivities, misinterpreted intentions, callous self-serving nepotism, and the throwing of good brickbats after bad – there’s bile a-rising and it’s all too much for me to even kid myself about accepting let alone use as a point of action.
I don’t know but I’ll throw my beret into this Congress’s attempts at impartiality against the charging yak of Neo-con degradation if it gives me only a few cherished seconds of opaque meaning to what is becoming a miserable trudge in my journey to find some plateau of relief from all this mentally painful incompetence. Come back Sheba and the good Doctor Feelgood, all is forgiven, although no trespasses were filed against you on my behalf. We’ll empty flagon after flagon of high alcohol content ale and curse the moon until the inevitable shoe comes whizzing by. It’s scary standing on the edge contemplating the void, but it’s even more of a vacuous gaping maw when you observe the daily pratfalls and missed synapses at Casa de Bushbrain, which is in full stoopid bloom now that Georgie the younger is ensconced there like a suppository. I am in extreme optic discomfort from too much eye rolling. DICK is the brains of the outfit if that gives you a clue.