Playing Politics
July 25th, 2007 | by Omnipotent Poobah |
Playing politics, politicaliza tion, partisan politics, partisanship - all these terms colloquially mean the same thing…”you lying SOB”. People often use these terms in the face of opinions opposite their own. The legitimacy of the opinions doesn’t seem to make much difference.
Gonzogate is a good example. Republicans maintain Democrats are persuing him solely to make political points that damage Republican competency and credibility. However, that argument ignores Gonzo and the Gang repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot without a Democrat holding the gun or pulling the trigger - after all, the Big Dick has proven the Republicans’ ability as crack sharpshooter s.
Gonzo Politics?
But is the relentless pursuit of Gonzo playing politics? Of course it is. That’s what politics are about. No matter how valid the claim or strong the evidence, the side holding the winning hand will use that strength as leverage. Sometimes they’ll use it to advance a case that should be advanced. Sometimes, not so much. Relentlessly prosecuting an investigatio n when there’s reasonable suspicion or evidence of malfeasance isn’t “playing politics”, it’s called doing your job. It’s how you prosecute the investigatio n that’s the rub.
Overall, I think the Democrats are doing a reasonable job of going after the truth, a fact borne out via support from many Republicans. However, they have done some “political things”. They’ve chosen “advantageou s” times to make announcement s or leak information. They’ve called witnesses under less than optimal conditions. But none of that changes the basic facts of the case as we know them so far - plenty of things were done that were either illegal or incompetent and deserve to be evaluated. I don’t think the Democrats’ prosecution of the investigatio n has inaccurately portrayed the events. If there are inaccuracies , the witnesses created them on their own. Broad statements of executive privilege didn’t build up a wellspring of trust either
What About Plamegate?
Other cases aren’t quite so clear cut. Both Democrats and Republicans howl about Plamegate being unfairly partisan. The Dems think Fitz didn’t go far enough and the Repubs think he went too far. There’s some latitude to argue that the whole investigatio n was needless, just as there is evidence that an “underlying crime” may have occurred. It’s true Fitz didn’t turn up sufficient evidence to prove the “underlying crime”. That’s why he didn’t indict those the Democrats would love to string up. But it’s also true that he did turn up enough evidence to convict Scooter for perjury. A law was broken and a punishment was meted out. Again, that’s not partisan, that’s Fitz doing his job.
The final resolution of the affair is what most people see as truly partisan. Republicans are irked that no one was indicted for the serious crime of outing Plame, yet someone got caught up in the “less serious” matter of perjury. For them, no indictments were the correct answer - an answer the Democrats pillory as partisan. The Dems on the other hand see the commutation of Scooter’s sentence as the partisan act. Their argument: the prosecutor got a conviction based on evidence and the judge sentenced Scooter within the Federal sentencing guidelines, so no one could reasonably call that decision partisan (particularl y since both the prosecutor and judge were both Republicans) . Yet, Scooter was spared jail.
If It Walks Like a Partisan Duck and…
Was the commutation partisan? It was certainly advantageous for the White House and Scooter. It walks like a partisan duck and talks like a partisan duck to me, but was it wrong? Legally? No, the President has that power and plenty of latitude to use it as he sees fit.
How one plays politics, and the notion of right or wrong attached to it, are opinions that will differ. Everything is political. The way to referee the political game and assess penalties is the issue. There’s even a benchmark: If you’re making the partisan claim, can you look yourself in the mirror and see an honest and fair person staring back?
If not, rethink your position.
Tags: BIO, bringiton, gonzales, omnipotentpo obah, partisanship , plamegate, politics
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