Cleansing Moment of Clarity, Pt. Deux; Burn, Baby, Burn; Dems’ Culture of Corruption

Isaiah Washington had a Howard Beale moment upon hearing of ABC’s decision not to renew his contract on Grey’s Anatomy. Guess he should have thought about that before dropping the other F-bomb in reference to former co-star T.R. Knight. I’m a little sad to see him go, as I thought his character showed a surprisingly human and vulnerable side in the last several episodes of this latest season of Grey’s. Perhaps the show’s producers weren’t convinced that life was indeed imitating art.

The vultures and vermin are swarming, as reckoning day could be fast approaching for I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby. Hermann Goer Dick Cheney’s former Chief of Staff may have to start serving his 30-month jail sentence in a matter of weeks. Presiding judge Reggie Walton published more than 150 letters, many of them supportive of Libby and urging the judge to allow him to remain free on bail pending an appeal. So far, he has indicated that he has not been inclined to do so, even after a number of prominent legal scholars question the constitutional authority of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald. He even publicly issued a backhanded compliment to the scholars, calling their brief “an impressive show of public service” while questioning whether they would do the same for those who lacked the financial and political clout of a defendant like Libby. Personally, I wish they could have sentenced Libby to 3,000 months, or 300,000. I lament the fact that his crime did not carry a heftier maximum sentence.

On it’s own merits, Libby should probably remain free pending an appeal. The disturbing possibility that President Bush might pardon him or commute his sentence could factor into whether Judge Walton, ironically enough a Bush appointee, allows Libby to remain free or orders him into custody within weeks. Personally, I’m with presidential candidate Jim Gilmore and his opinion that a pardon for Libby would destroy the “rule of law”. Libby is another drone in the dark administration of the president, an administration that has done more damage to the classic American concepts of civil liberties, Constitutional checks and balances on the authority granted each branch of government, and the separation of church and state than any prior to it. Taken in a larger context, the assault on the Constitution and abuses heaped upon the American people by this administration should have warranted an impeachment for our top “unitary” executive. The testimony of Jim Comey on the NSA surveillance program, the Federal Prosecutor firings, the Lurita Doan debacle, and the president’s blind loyalty to those in his service in the face of extraordinary proof of their incompetence, misfeasance or even malfeasance continue to baffle me. This is an administration that is corrupt to its very core. If there’s a silver lining to this, it’s going to make life very difficult for the Republican presidential hopefuls. Should another Republican be elected in 2008, it’s likely that he would be a very different type of president.

Now it’s time to take on the Democrats. After swiftly dismantling the Republicans’ “Culture of Corruption”, they set out to construct their own. First, House Dems fail to reprimand noted blowhard and House Defense Appropriations subcommittee Chair John “Abscam” Murtha for violating House rules by threatening to block all defense earmarks for House Republican Mike Rogers. Then I see this link on Fark that Hillary Clinton has named Florida Representative Alcee Hastings as one of her national campaign co-chairs. Yes, that Alcee Hastings, only the sixth Federal Judge impeached in American history. I can appreciate his links to the Congressional Black Caucus and his importance in winning the state of Florida and its valuable electoral votes, but this is not the way to win the White House.