For many of us on the left coast, President Bush’s pardon of Scooter Libby was a non-event; we’ve grown blasé about Bush abuses. As a result, we shrug and say to the rest of the nation: What did you expect? You supported a conservative demagogue whose most notable “accomplishments” were a series of business failures. Why are you surprised that he’s become the worst President in modern history? Nonetheless, while it’s comforting to bask in self-righteousness, that won’t fix our common problem: Bush will be President for another 18 months and the immorality of the Bush Administration infects us all. The President is a moral termite.
If you’ve ever had a termite infestation in your house, you know how pernicious the insects are: they chew their way deep into your woodwork and, before you know it, your home’s structure is jeopardized. Then the infected area has to be treated to ensure the termites are destroyed - often the entire house needs fumigation - and the damage has to be repaired - whole sections of your residence require reconstruction. That’s exactly where America is with the Bush Administration: first the pests have to be treated and then the structure - the federal government - has to be repaired.
How do we remove these moral termites from the White House? The best alternative is for Bush and Cheney to resign. After all, even Richard Nixon had the sense to resign once he realized that he’d lost the support of three-quarters of the US electorate. Unfortunately, Bush and Cheney don’t have good sense, so it will be necessary to impeach them. There are specific, factual grounds for impeachment such as their falsifying the justification for the invasion of Iraq and illegally eavesdropping on domestic communications. But, the larger grounds are the damage the Bush Administration has inflicted on the U.S., the corruption of America’s moral infrastructure.
Bush and company has caused four types of destruction: They’ve severely damaged the reputation of the United States. Recent polls indicate the US continues to lose favor with much of the world. It’s not only that non-Americans don’t like us, think we’re fat, greedy, and brutal, but also that they listen to our talk about democracy and don’t believe we are sincere. After all, in many parts of the world the face of America is our military or our most aggressive businesspeople. As a result, when we say “democracy,” many non-Americans see militarism and unrestrained capitalism. Throughout the world there’s deep cynicism about Bush’s claim that the US is spreading liberty and democracy. This has affected our reputation and the security of Americans who travel overseas. Moreover, in some parts of the world it’s made theocracy look attractive.
Secondly, the Bush Administration has jeopardized the security of the United States. The invasion of Iraq has done more harm than good: it has promoted the cause of Al Qaeda, and other Islamic extremists, and made it easier for them to attract recruits. As serious as that is, it’s overshadowed by two more debilitating injuries: the prolonged occupation has weakened the US military and the Bush Administration’s tight focus on Iraq has delayed the implementation of the recommendations of the 9-11 commission, kept the U.S. from common-sense actions that strengthen domestic security.
Thirdly, Bush Administration termites have adversely affected the lives of most Americans. Some of this deterioration has been psychological: recent surveys indicate that American confidence in the future is approaching an all-time low. Most Americans don’t like the road that America is on and don’t have confidence in the President or Congress. They have good reasons for this pessimism: for millions of Americans, life got much harder under the Bush Administration. For the past six years, the White House has catered to the rich and powerful. As a result, the social fabric of democracy has been weakened as average Americans are forced to spend more time workingand less time participating in public democracy.
Finally, the Bush termite infestation has undermined the office of the Presidency. After six years, it’s become painfully apparent George Bush never accepted a fundamental tenet of American democracy: the balance of powers doctrine. Bush and Cheney believe in the Imperial Presidency, the notion that the President is above the law. Bush’s conduct has disgraced the office of the President and created a situation where a majority of Americans do not trust him or the government. This is bad at any time, but it’s particularly troubling in an era where American is battling militant fundamentalists.
So, what needs to be done? The obvious first step is to remove Bush and Cheney from office. The next step is to replace them with someone who is committed not only to occupying the White House but also to restoring public confidence in the presidency. The problem is larger than politics, it reflects the public morality that runs America: do politicians govern from the perspective of their own self-interest or with respect for the common good? We need to clean the termites out of the White House and restore integrity to our government.
Bob Burnett is a Berkeley writer. He can be reached at bobburnett@comcast.net
Beautiful analogy, painful truth.
Does this mean that the B*sh/Cheney junta has turned the entire American body politic into pest eliminators? And just when we thought we had no more use for Tom Delay. . .
We’d better call a real professional, like Dale from King of the Hill.
Burnett’s remedies ain’t gonna happen. You know that. The Dems are only interested in grabbing the lucre at the the end of the electoral rainbow, principles be damned. The American people are either too lazy, too fat, too dimwitted, or too comfortable to care. The point is fast approaching that the house is going to collapse owing to the depredations of the Termite Jerk Of Wyoming and his pathetic sidekick King George IV. Loud hosannahs to ‘Democracy!’ won’t cut it in the world. Too much hypocrisy on the part of the Yanks. They were right, this century belongs to China. Too bad, because I love the idea behind America.
Jaymarx: Good segue into Delay’s TRUE and former occupation!
Termites everywhere are insulted. At least they know what they’re doing, and they are very good at it. It’s not their fault we’re using their wood to build our homes.
“What did you expect? You supported a conservative demagogue whose most notable “accomplishments” were a series of business failures.”
Actually, most supported Gore, who won the popular vote, remember? And before 9/11, Cheneybush polls numbers were in the toilet. And the massive Ohio evote scam combined with other evote scams nationwide prove Kerry won in ‘04. So, no, WE didn’t support Cheneybush - a small minority did, and still does.
If all the termites and the ants in the world were to die off, the world would wither and die in a few months. Nothing would grow. Plants would not be able to penetrate the ground with thier roots. No new organic matter would become nutrients to support them. This is what the termites and ants of the world do. Pest control is a conveinient lie we tell ourselves. Rachel Carson had it right.
If, on the other hand, humanity were extinguished in one fatal second, the world would not even notice. Plants would still grow, animals would go about their lives with no further concern of urban encroachment upon thier habitat, the ocaens would recover, and day would be followed by night. Nature would not even notice we had left.
To compare Dubya to the noble and nessesary termite is an insult to nature. Humanties technological excess is a cancer on this planet, and he is just one of the tumors that should have been excised long ago.
Kudos Galen. Right on target.
all the bush crimes (w/lots and lots of help from the dems, the msm, etc.) start w/the premise that there is a war on terrorism.
“we could fight the GWOT better w/o W.” typical liberal BS. if you accept the whole premise of this “war on terrorism” nonsense, it’s only a matter of time before you are back w/someone like prez dumbass, though this time they will not be such a dumbass.
www.wsws.org
Thanks Galen! I love your comment.
Clear away the termite image (which was too fun) and re-read the final paragraph of this article:
So, what needs to be done?
1. The obvious first step is to remove Bush and Cheney from office.
2. The next step is to replace them with someone who is committed not only to occupying the White House but also to restoring public confidence in the presidency.
The problem is larger than politics, it reflects the public morality that runs America: do politicians govern from the perspective of their own self-interest or with respect for the common good?
[I would add a step 2b….replace them with someone who is committed not only to occupying the White House but also to restoring world confidence in the trustworthiness of the American people and its government.]
Termites? I was thinking more along the lines of blood-sucking vampires.
Sorry Bob, your points are all somewhat valid, but you just haven’t quite gotten it quite right:
1) “many non-Americans see militarism and unrestrained capitalism. Throughout the world there’s deep cynicism about Bush’s claim that the US is spreading liberty and democracy. This has affected our reputation and the security of Americans who travel overseas.”
It’s not just non-Americans who can see through the lies. This kind of rhetoric is used to justify all US imperialist ventures, and it is far too mild to adequtely describe the full extent of our vicious destructiveness. Moreover, for many people, the true nature of US involvement in other countries has been quite apparent before the Bush gang exposed it so clearly for all to see.
2) “The invasion of Iraq has done more harm than good: it has promoted the cause of Al Qaeda, and other Islamic extremists, and made it easier for them to attract recruits.”
It is hardly “extremist” to oppose a brutal occupation. And exactly what is the “good” that has been done? The deposing of a brutal dicatator who was supported by the US for years? The gift of “democracy”?
3) “For the past six years, the White House has catered to the rich and powerful. As a result, the social fabric of democracy has been weakened as average Americans are forced to spend more time working and less time participating in public democracy.”
Was this country ever a democracy? Bush and cronies simply removed the masks and deceptions and made corruption plain for all to see. In fact, you might even consider this the one good thing that has come out of this nightmare. As for average Americans participating in public democracy, I must have missed this aspect of the pre-Bush era.
4)”the Bush termite infestation has undermined the office of the Presidency”
Undermined? Are you kidding? How about exalted the office of President to the level of divine right monarchy?
Ah, now here we are. All you folks in downtown DC. Take some vacation time…
RIGHT NOW!
The president said “al Qaeda’s top commander in Iraq” issued an audio statement saying “that he will not rest until he has attacked our nation’s capital.”
Now you know the ‘where’ for the staged pretext event.
The ‘when’ is likely to be very soon since their bluff is now being called.
Everyone else in the world knows, when they hear of the US spreading democracy it means killing and taking their belongings. American’s know it too, they just like to call it by a different name.
As for the weakened military, you mean just because we can’t secure half of one city with the biggest, most hi-tech military the world has ever known it is weak? Gotta call bullshit on that one. Security is and was never on the agenda.
As for life gettin harder on millions of Americans, if they’d just suck it up and go on making bombs for the oligarchy all would be fine. It’s only the dissent that gets us in trouble. Unless you ask the good folks of New Orleans.
And finally, it has been Bush’s calling to express the fact that not just he, but those with cash are above the law. Laws are made for people who don’t have anything else.
Heh, then there’s the “What needs to be done?” question…Restore the integrity to our government. Is that all, shucks that’s easy.
Send em some more money!
Though I do not agree what “we get the government we deserve,” I do believe that the government we get is a function of the character of the American people. And as the American people become more and more decadent, their government becomes more and more corrupt and murderous, blatantly so with Bush and Cheney. The proportion of people reading the trash magazines at the checkout lines in the grocery store give testimony to how hopeless the political situation is in the US.
It will take an economic collapse to get the attention of enough people to effect any significant political change, but only a fool would wish for the social chaos that will inevitably follow such a collapse.
The Cheney/Bush crime family will neither resign, nor be impeached, even though the people want one or the other. They won’t even let Rep. DeFazio who has all the creds necessary as a chair of a Congressional committee to see the contingency plan to continue the government in case of an attack. What that tells me is that they are planning another inside job and will declare martial law, and there will be no election in 2008 because the crooks will still be in charge until they are slain, and they probably will put someone else in charge.
What a snobbish remark to open your piece with.
I’m not sure why Mr. Burnett thinks the views on the “left coast” are such that he or anyone else has any authority to pontificate “to the rest of the nation” claiming that we “supported this conservative demagogue”.
Didn’t you Californians start us on this path with your Ronald Reagan? And, outside of Berkely or SF, aren’t there plenty of supporters of Bush in California?
This is why the jerk is still president and the congress is still congress. All of you who nit pic or take it pesonal when the larger issues is this crook we have for a president.
Termites analogy, left coast (because everyone blames the that coast for being liberal- just a statement not an indictment), who cares? It’s the message that counts!
Let’s do everything we can to impeach and convict these people however you want or don’t want to call them and quit begrudging those who are trying to communicate and educate all of us.
PJD: I have to agree with you about the tone of the opening remarks. I am on that “left coast” and the Libby pardon sure as hell didn’t just role off my back. I was devestated by the true meaning of that action by Shrub/Darth. But I disagree with the Reagan retort. There is no free lunch just because you didn’t vote for the bastards. What matters is what are we doing to remove this cancer on the body politic and our democracy.
Kitty: I’ve been on Peter’s behind about impeachment and signing off on HR333. I called his office again to see if not being able to see the disaster plan would put him over the edge. No word back yet. By the way, Kathyodat, who posts here regularly, is in our district too and is on the same page with us.
IMPEACH THE DICK FIRST! Call your House critters and get them to sign on to HR333. The more the merrier!
If our next choice is Mit Romney (slick liar and another moral termite) and Arnold (formerly muscular dumb-bunny, “actor”, and driver of 5 Hummers); then a Darwinist might conclude the human mind is too disconnected from reality to survive.
More evil is done in this world by predatory corporations, republicans and numerous other corrupt politicians, and most organized religion, than had been done by all terrorists past present and future.
Not a few of the wealthiest Americans support W for protecting the wealth and power of the upper class. They also consider middle class americans and joe six pack working class, losers; to be exploited as much as possible and discarded if no longer useful. Then there are the republican wingnuts who want W to bring on armageddon–one of the few other things he might be capable of at least starting.
Funny how hardly anyone “notices” all the hundreds of brain-damaged, nonsense statemants, the leader of the “free” world makes. Bring on the profits and bring on armageddon, see you can please everyone!
It should be disturbing, when some people hope that he might be replaced by a military dictator; as our best way out of the sordid mess this nation has become.
Don’t worry though Bush and Rom will protect this great nation from the ultimate evil of gay marriage. Never mind that overpopulation will lead to human disaster greater than both world wars. Just don’t worry your little head about that.
That is interesting about the ants and termites. Calling Georgie a moral termite is letting him off easy… moral sodomist might be a bit closer.
Immoral sodomist would be even closer, given how he has raped the US Bill of Rights and Constitution.
Basis For Impeachment
Americans must blame themselves for the dreadful policies of Bush’ team. After allowing them to steal two elections, we then stood by while the Senate defaulted their primary duties by allowing this theocratic (and unelected) president, to select unfit and dangerous people to key judgeships and other vital positions. Other unprecedented abuses that have proceeded unabated (or with token resistance) from congress include manipulation of science and facts to impede vital environmental reforms, impediment of investigations into 9/11, gross misinformation concerning the war and terrorism, character assassinations of those who oppose his policies (remember Senator Max Cleland, a triple Vietnam amputate who was branded unpatriotic and unseated for sponsoring an investigation into 9/11 which Bush opposed)–and the list goes on.
The gravity of abuses from this administration eclipse the Lewinsky scandal which led to an impeachment, and are more serious than the Watergate affair which brought down a presidency.
The US does not need impeachment. It needs fumigation. Your government is not termite-ridden… it is infested with diseased, verminous cockroaches that strut about in two peice suits, polluting the very fabric of life with their existance.
See, Galen, I think impeachment or trial by the International Criminal Court is precisely what is needed. I would, again, recommend Bill Moyer’s Journal piece, Impeachment on the Table. Moyer’s guest called impeachment the “cure for a monarchial president.” Moyers and his guests lay out the claim very aptly that impeachment is NEEDED to make the statement that the abuses of the Bush Whitehouse are not tolerated and will not be allowed to stand as precedent. What is most alarming is that NOT ONE presidential candidate is saying, “IF elected I will not abuse the office the way GWB has.” They are ALL salivating to get their hands on that much power. This is the real and tangible threat to our democracy. Moyer and guests were saying that impeachment IS the tool of choice for fumigation.
So creating an environment where all legislators understand that if they are not discussing impeachment, they are not doing the will of the people is critical. This is very hard because ALL legislators are in love with the status quo power structure.
Kittyladyoregon, I agree entirely with you. I think this president will create some ploy to say that it would not be wise for him to cede the Whitehouse in 2009. When that thought first started creeping into my consciousness, I thought I was reading too much Commondreams and not getting enough exercise. But I have allowed the idea to percolate and I think it is a real concern.
Impeachment now for Bush and Cheney are critical to short circuit any attempt to allow him to retain the Whitehouse after 2009.
Even Moyers and his guests muse about the lassitude that prevents house personnel from seriously discussing impeachment. It is frustrating. The inert press doesn’t help.
It is a small thing but when multiple letters to the editor of a local paper start coming in and creating a legitimate voice for an idea, it can be powerful mover of opinion. My own local paper is weak, very invested in the republican power structure. But listening to Bruce Fein on Bill Moyer’s program has absolutely convinced me that progressives must build coalitions with concerned conservative patriots who are equally concerned about what this president is doing to the constitution.
Remember, at our countries founding, the seminal ideas were spread by the pamphleteers and the printing press. I think that is how “grass roots” we must start. We must in each of our communities get a group of people that are willing to send enough letters to the editor every week, every month that even the most somnolent editor will understand that this point of view needs legitimately to be aired.
Find like minded people in your community and start a LTE (letter to the editor) campaign on impeachment!