The Need to Hold the GOP Accountable
Robert Parry - May 5, 2009 - http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/050509.html



Perhaps it was the image of Jeb Bush expounding on the future of the Republican Party or Condoleezza Rice channeling her inner Richard Nixon with the imperial logic that “by definition, if it was authorized by the President, it did not violate our obligations under the Convention Against Torture.”

But what is increasingly clear is that the modern Republican Party – with its unwillingness to face up to its responsibility for many of today’s calamities and the crimes of its leaders – has become a clear and present danger to the founding principles of the United States, and to the nation’s security.

The issue is not “rebranding” – as the mainstream news media endlessly says – but accountability. The concern should be more about the Republican past than its future or, put differently, whether the GOP deserves a future considering what it has done in the recent past.

Yes, I know that former Secretary of State Rice later clarified her remarks to assure us that she wasn’t echoing Nixon’s famous claim that “when the President does it, that means it is not illegal.” But the truth is that Nixon’s assertion of above-the-law presidential powers was at the core of George W. Bush’s unbridled view of executive authority for eight years.

Rice wasn’t just parroting Nixon ........

The Invasion and Occupation of Iraq is only the tip of the "iceberg" of danger.

Indeed, a lawless government is a threat to the People.

Thom Hartmann is giving out Eric Holder's phone number. It's on my desk at work; I will use it tomorrow

:shrug: This is one of those "Dream On" threads if anyone ever expects the GOP to hold themselves accountable..