The President's Apologist
Guy T. Sturino
February 14, 2006
In an interview on cspan this morning, Senator Kyle defended the President’s initiative of warrantless wiretapping by the NSA. He did so in the same fashion as has been evident in much of the press coverage. What’s wrong with wiretapping in a search for terrorists, he asked? The answer to that question is obviously that there is nothing wrong with wiretapping in a search for terrorists. There is a problem, however, with doing it without a court order. It says so in the Bill of Rights. But, that question was not addressed this morning, and will never be addressed by an apologist for the President.
Partisan politics” is a phrase which was repeated many times during Senator Kyle’s speech and in the Q&A which followed. Pointing to “the Democrats,” Senator Kyle suggested that the people who call for investigation and even possible impeachment of President Bush are doing so because they are Democrats. That is simply not the case. In fact, he’s got it backwards. They are Democrats because they believe in the principles of the “New Deal,” “the great society,” and the Bill of Rights.
There is one thing common to all Democrats. They insist on being individuals. Because of this, one of the favorite lines for a Republican is that Democrats have no central core ideology. Well, that’s right. Democrats don’t look at party politics as a religious endeavor. They are people who think alike and have banded together. They are not people who banded together to learn how to think.
When a Democrat thinks through an issue and then speaks their mind, and is then accused of being ‘partisan’ - simply parroting the party line, that individual has received the ultimate insult. Senator Kyle should be ashamed of himself. Surely, he wouldn’t want his careful deliberation reduced to such a level. However, since Senator Kyle has opened the door, I have this to say about that.
As I watch C-Span, I find that much of the apologetic rhetoric which attempts to justify the excesses of the President is about as shallow as a puddle of water on a glass tabletop. Therefore, I find those arguments without reflective thought and clearly partisan. I find Senator Kyle’s effort in this regard to be on that same level. It is amazing, to me, how easily Senator Kyle avoided all mention of the one salient underlying issue during his speech. I didn’t hear him once mention the Fourth Amendment, which clearly and concisely prohibits unwarranted searches.
The President does not have the authority, no matter how much he wishes he did, to disregard the Bill of Rights. Saying he has the right does not make it so.
It’s one thing for political pundits, and even corporate news editors, to engage in spin, obfuscation, misdirection, and all the other methods used to redefine reality. It’s quite another when a Senator, someone who should be demonstrating the epitome of honor and integrity, uses these same tactics.
Partisan politics” is a phrase which was repeated many times during Senator Kyle’s speech and in the Q&A which followed. Pointing to “the Democrats,” Senator Kyle suggested that the people who call for investigation and even possible impeachment of President Bush are doing so because they are Democrats. That is simply not the case. In fact, he’s got it backwards. They are Democrats because they believe in the principles of the “New Deal,” “the great society,” and the Bill of Rights.
There is one thing common to all Democrats. They insist on being individuals. Because of this, one of the favorite lines for a Republican is that Democrats have no central core ideology. Well, that’s right. Democrats don’t look at party politics as a religious endeavor. They are people who think alike and have banded together. They are not people who banded together to learn how to think.
When a Democrat thinks through an issue and then speaks their mind, and is then accused of being ‘partisan’ - simply parroting the party line, that individual has received the ultimate insult. Senator Kyle should be ashamed of himself. Surely, he wouldn’t want his careful deliberation reduced to such a level. However, since Senator Kyle has opened the door, I have this to say about that.
As I watch C-Span, I find that much of the apologetic rhetoric which attempts to justify the excesses of the President is about as shallow as a puddle of water on a glass tabletop. Therefore, I find those arguments without reflective thought and clearly partisan. I find Senator Kyle’s effort in this regard to be on that same level. It is amazing, to me, how easily Senator Kyle avoided all mention of the one salient underlying issue during his speech. I didn’t hear him once mention the Fourth Amendment, which clearly and concisely prohibits unwarranted searches.
The President does not have the authority, no matter how much he wishes he did, to disregard the Bill of Rights. Saying he has the right does not make it so.
It’s one thing for political pundits, and even corporate news editors, to engage in spin, obfuscation, misdirection, and all the other methods used to redefine reality. It’s quite another when a Senator, someone who should be demonstrating the epitome of honor and integrity, uses these same tactics.
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