Latest Republican "False Outrage" - Nancy Pelosi

Let me see if I understand this correctly. No outrage from the right-wing about torture, outing an undercover CIA agent, politicizing the Justice Department, Hurricane Katrina, record budget deficits, crumbling infrastructure, and destroying the economy in less than 8 years. BUT if there is any possibility that Nancy Pelosi may have been briefed by the CIA about waterboarding then it is the crime of the century. Or is the crime of the century Obama shaking hands with Chavez, or ordering a hamburger with mustard, or using a teleprompter. This transparent "false outrage" tactic in order to deflect attention from real news is getting old fast.

I am actually not a big fan of Nancy Pelosi primarily because she took impeachment off the table at a time when the facts were screaming out for impeachment of President Bush due to his clear violations of federal law and the Constitution (warrantless wiretapping, torture, etc.). And it really doesn't matter to me whether she gets burned by this issue or not. If investigations and criminal prosecutions of torture cause political damage to some democrats in Congress, then so be it. As I have said on many occasions I am for holding anybody accountable for ordering torture whether they be in a Democratic or Republican Administration. It is not a political issue for me. It goes way beyond that.

For at least a short period of time the mounting evidence that Dick Cheney was suggesting that an Iraqi detainee be waterboarded in order to try to establish a link between Al Qaeda and Iraq gets pushed completely to the side as the media focuses exclusively on the relatively insignificant sideshow of Nancy Pelosi. I have got to give the right-wing credit for their effective "divert attention from Bush/Cheney complicity at all costs" campaign.

At this time it is not clear what was really said in those briefings. There were caveats in Panetta's response which were largely overlooked by the media and Bob Graham's statements cast a lot of doubt on the credibility of the CIA's briefing dates, etc. I will withhold judgment until I see clear evidence one way or the other. But this in no way affects the overwhelming case mounting against high-ranking Bush Administration officials. Let the chips fall where they may.

Republicans Cannot Call For Impeachment For ANY Reason!

Although I am predicting an Obama win in the fall election, I do not feel it is guaranteed by any means. My recent postings about current polling data and Obama's pending VP decision have me a little concerned. But, for now, let's go with the assumption that Barack Obama is sworn in on January 20, 2009 as the President of the United States. What follows is my instructions for all the Republicans who continued to defend the current President and his administration during all of the illegal and impeachable offenses committed during the last 8 years.

Since we have now entered the era of "anything goes" when it comes to the illegal activities of the President, you Republicans will need to keep your mouths shut when you see illegal activity by any future Democratic President. No whining! You got it? If we did not impeach the current occupant of the White House for his blatant law-breaking, then I am officially declaring any and all President Obama illegalities off-limits for impeachment. Any calls for his impeachment or any complaining about these activities will be considered unamerican and unpatriotic, just as those of us who have criticized President Bush have been labeled. Please, no statements by Republicans who are shocked and outraged, but didn't "bat an eye" as Bush trampled on the Constitution (warrantless wiretapping, torture, etc.), outed undercover CIA agents for political reasons (treason-punishable by death), and made a joke out of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Obama does not strike me as the kind of guy who would commit blatant unconstitutional crimes. I would be profoundly disappointed if he did. I actually wish he would instruct the Justice Department to vigorously pursue indictments against Bush (warantless wiretapping, torture), Cheney (outing of an undercover CIA Agent), Rove (outing of an undercover CIA agent, political prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman), Gonzales (torture, U.S. Attorney firings, illegal hiring practices). It looks like this probably won't happen based on Obama's recent comments.