The People vs The Government

by Mariella Konings


After citing the dramatic decline in a poll of Bush (who enjoyed a mere 30% approval rating), Congress (25% approval), the Democrats (51%) and the Republicans (36%) in June 2007, CNN put this remarkable comment on it’s official website: “The new dynamic in American politics right now isn't Democrat versus Republican (...) The new dynamic is the people versus the government.” (1)

While we are made to believe differently, the Americans have been the fiercest opponents of Bush and the Iraq War, and this has been so from the very beginning. Never has there been a government as impopular as that of George W. Bush, and never before have the American people held such a low trust in their president.

The reason for this is that almost everything that the administration has done has been illegal or criminal one way or the other. The scandals of the Bush presidency rise far above the usual sordid bribery scandals, sex scandals and mudslinging campagnes characterizing a ‘normal’ western government. What stands out about the Bush administration is the consistent manner in which they desecrated the US Constitution, the Habeas Corpus, the Geneva Conventions and the Universal Declarations of Human Rights.

While millions around the world protested the War the international community didn’t even attempt to hold the Bush administration accountable for their warcrimes and their crimes agains humanity. Meanwhile, democrat and republican politicians fought their own government hand in hand with human rights organisations, hordes of young soldiers deserted, veterans organised peace demonstrations while highranking officiers leaked plans to the anti-war press. But as over 2000 soldiers died and more than a million Iraqi citizens were killed, nothing seemed to be able to stop Bush and his warmongerers.

And then, in the early hours of December 31, 2006, Saddam Hussein was executed.
And then things changed as the anti-war crowd gained a new focus. For now that Saddam had been hanged for warcrimes, it was the turn of Bush, Cheney and Blair to be tried for warcrimes.

Malaysia’s former premier Mahathir Mohamed (1925) proclaimed in a speech on February 5, 2007: “What Blair and Bush had done is worse than what Saddam had done. We should not hang Blair if the tribunal finds him guilty but he should always carry the label as a war criminal, killer of children, liar. And so should Bush (...) Bush and Blair are now totally reviled and condemned by the world and by their own people. They should have full frontal and profile pictures put up everywhere as war criminals. And historians should always refer to them as war criminals in history books.” (2)

Rosie O’Donnell, talkshow host, said about Bush: “This President invaded a sovereign nation in defiance of the UN. He is basically a war criminal. Honestly. He should be tried at The Hague.” (3)

Through their own actions Bush and Cheney can be held accountable for their crimes via the US Constitution. For in Article II, Section 4, is written: “The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” (4)

Actor and director Tim Robbins said in an interview: “We have right now a media that is willfully ignoring the high crimes and misdemeanors of the president of the United States. [Bush] got us into [the Iraq] war based on lies that he knew were lies (...) His war has recruited more Al-Qaeda members than Osama bin Laden could ever have dreamed for (...) yet no one in the media is calling for impeachment.” (3)

On sept 26, 06, a meeting on the Iraq war was held by a rebellious segment of Congress and the US military in the basement of the Capitol. Organised by Congresswoman Lynne Woolsey (D-CA), the discussion on the disastrous policies of Bush 43 was led by Lt. Gen. William Odom. As 16 Members of Congress were present, the discussion focused on the threats against Iran. During the meeting, Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) asked Lt. Gen. William Odom: “How do we get out?” to which Lt. Gen. William Odom replied: “Well, the Constitution gives the House the right to impeach.” (5)

Ever since, more and more politicians and celebrities have openly called for the impeachment of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

Actor and director Sean Penn exclaimed his anger about the Bush crime syndicate in March 2007 in a talkshow hosted by Bill Maher. A tormented Penn, at first a staunch supporter of the war against Iraq and later a fervent opponent, adressed the deceit and lies the Bush administration used to invade Iraq: “When you have a precedent set like that and you have somebody – George Tenet – acknowledging in his book that he knew that the administration was deceiving the American people into a situation that is murdering young men and women from this country and others, then George Tenet and Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice and George Bush et al should be in fucking jail!” (applause from the audience). (6)

Michael Moore, after the release of SiCKO, received a wave of applause when he said in an interview on MSNBC’s ‘Hardball Plaza’ that Bush and Cheney should be impeached. Question: “Michael Moore, would you state on these various degrees of punishment, should the president be punished through a censure, for the bad intel we get going in the war?” Michael Moore: “Yes, and he should be impeached, and...” Question: “How about put in prison for warcrimes?” Michael Moore: “Yes [applause from the audience], eventually I think we need a trial in this country where Mr. Cheney and Mr. Bush would be brought up on charges for causing the death sof so many people. This is absolutely something that, eh, if this were any other country or if any other country did this we would be going after them.” (7)

Richard Dreyfuss, actor: “Unless you are willing to accept torture as part of a normal American political lexicon, unless you are willing to accept that leaving the Geneva Convention is fine and dandy, if you accept the expansion of wiretapping as business as usual, the only way to express this now is to embrace the difficult and perhaps embarrassing process of impeachment.” (3)

Lawrence Wilkerson, chief of staff to former Secretary of State Colin Powell, remarked on the public radio program ‘On Point’ on May 10, 2007: “The language in [the Constitution] about impeachment is nice and precise – it's high crimes and misdemeanors. You compare Bill Clinton's peccadilloes for which he was impeached to George Bush's high crimes and misdemeanors or Dick Cheney's high crimes and misdemeanors, and I think they pale in significance.” (8)

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson said in an interview on Jun 25, 2007 with Democracy Now: “I can tell you, more and more, and I’m even hearing it not just from families of American servicemen and -women in active duty, I’m hearing it from people in the active duty right now: we’ve got to end this war. We're not accomplishing anything. We're working against our own interest and even have good longtime Republicans coming up and, mostly whispering -- they’re not out there in the streets yelling, although some of them do come to the demonstrations now -- they're telling me, “You’re absolutely right. This president is ruining this country. He needs to go.” (9)

Lee Iacocca (1924) the famous US industrialist who lifted the Chrysler company out of ruin and was President of Ford fumes at the Bush administration in his book “Where Have All the Leaders Gone?”: “Had Enough? Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course." Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out! You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies.Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs (...) I've had enough. How about you? I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. My friends tell me to calm down. They say, "Lee, you're eighty-two years old. Leave the rage to the young people." I'd love to, as soon as I can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention. I'm going to speak up because it's my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a straight shooter. So I'll tell you how I see it, and it's not pretty, but at least it's real. I'm hoping to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don't vote because they don't trust politicians to represent their interests. Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us. Who Are These Guys, Anyway? Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in Washington? Well, we voted for them, or at least some of us did. But I'll tell you what we didn't do. We didn't agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn't agree to stop asking questions or demanding answers. Some of us are sick and tired of people who call free speech treason. Where I come from that's a dictatorship, not a democracy” – (10)

The highly acclaimed investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, winner of the Pulitzer Price, said in a speech on Cheney and Bush: “These guys are scary as hell.” (Applause from the audience). Adressing the question of a student on what can be done, Hersh said: “You gotta change, you gotta have a coup. Overthrow this guy, he is not gonna talk to the Iranians.” (11)

Ralph Nader (1934), who ran in the presidential elections several times, including in 2000, was interviewed by Amy Goodman on October 6 2007. To Goodman’s question “Does George Bush matter anymore?”, Nader responded: “Yes he matters because he is a national security menace. (applause) He is a destroyer of our Constitution, a violator of our statutes. A revoker of our regulations. He is a warmongerer, he is a warcriminal, literally, a war criminal and he is still in charge. And as I said some time ago, he is a giant corporation in the White House masquerading as a human being. Although I sometimes wonder about the word ‘human’. I don’t think it’s possible to see a more obsessively compulsed person with so much contempt for the traditions of our country.” (12)

Former US Assistant Secretary of Treasury under Reagan, former associate editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page contributing editor of National Review, Paul Craig Roberts, writing in July 2007: “The American people were deceived and tricked into supporting two invasions that are war crimes under the Nuremberg standard (...)Bush's and Cheney's lies and assaults on the US Constitution and American civil liberty, their plans to attack Iran, and the war crimes for which they are responsible provide an open and shut case for their impeachments. The latest polls show that 54% of Americans support impeachment of Vice President Cheney, with only 40% opposed. Bush hangs on by a hair with 45% favoring his impeachment and 46% opposed. But Democrats, like Republicans, have failed the electorate and refuse to do their duty. Congress is a creature of special interests and no longer represents the American people. Obviously, some new method is needed for removing incompetent or dictatorial presidents and vice presidents (...) If America is to remain a democracy, the people need refurbished powers to hold "government of the people, by the people, for the people" accountable. One way of doing this would be a vote of confidence by the people. The question can be put to a national referendum: ‘Shall the President remain in office?’ ‘Shall the Vice President remain in office?’ (...)As the American people can no longer rely on elected officials to respond to public opinion, the people must do what they can to gather power back into their hands before they become the subjects of tyrants.” (13)



Sources:

(1) “It’s the people vs. the government, new poll suggests”, CNN, June 29, 2007, http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/29/schneider.angry.voters/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

(2) “Mahathir fires war crimes volley at Bush”, Gulf Times, feb 6, 2007,
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=131231&version=1&template_id=45&parent_id=25

(3) “Celebrity Lunacy”,
http://wallofshamearchives.blogspot.com/2007/02/celebrity-lunacy.html

(4) “The Constitution Of The United States”,
http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution.html
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.overview.html

(5) “Lt. Gen. Odom Speaks Truth In US Capitol Basement”, David Swanson, sept 27, 06, http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/14319
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0609/S00384.htm

(6) Youtube, http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=9d-_D15ebJY

(7) Youtube, http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=TkX5p8-ns1A

(8) “Former Powell aide says Bush, Cheney guilty of ‘high crimes’”, Nick Juliano, May 10, 2007,
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Former_Powell_aide_says_Bush_Cheney_0510.html

(9) “Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson Slams His Friend Mitt Romney for "Flip-Flopping" on Abortion, Stem Cell Research, Torture in Attempt to Win GOP Presidential Nomination”, Democracy Now, June 25, 2007,
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/06/25/1421228

(10) “Iacocca: Where Have All the Leaders Gone?”, Lee Iacocca and Catherine Whitney, 2007, http://depression2.tv/d2/node/261

(11) “Seymour Hersh details Bush-Cheney’s lunatic plans for Iran”, Information Clearing House, June 29, 2007,
http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/1801/1/

(12) Youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1wxoEqPncI

(13) “A Reform to Restore the People’s Power”, Paul Craig Roberts, July 13, 2007, Information Clearing House,
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18009.htm