Monday, June 20, 2005
Political Flashback
I've heard the argument made that, while Nixon was impeached for Watergate, he was really brought down by Vietnam. In other words, the war was the reason but the break-in was the excuse to force him out of office.
And I'm having these strange hopeful tinges, as W's approval numbers plummet, as popular support for the wars on Iraq and terra dissolves, as even Republicans start to distance themselves from the administration, that, perhaps, the Downing Street Memo (Downinggate?) will begin to snowball and, with any luck, we can impeach the perpetrators of this fraud on the American public, and then jail them as the war criminals (and profiteers) that they are.
But... we can't rely on the mainstream media to do it. At Hullabaloo, Digby reports on some disheartening statistice pointed out by Arianna Huffington:
So, if we're going to get this story noticed beyond the beltway -- and, surprise surprise, Washington does seem to have taken notice -- we're going to have to do it ourselves. Tell your friends. Direct people to blogs that cover the memo. Tell them about sites like Downingstreetmemo.com. Explain to them that the Administration all but admitted they were going to have a war, they just had to cook the facts to sell it.
Explain to them that at least 1,700 Americans are dead because of this, countless thousands more maimed or crippled for life.
It really is as simple as the slogan. Bush lied, people died. And for that, he should be run out of office on a rail. For that, Congress should be starting impeachment proceedings this very minute.
If we yell loud enough, we can make it happen.
And I'm having these strange hopeful tinges, as W's approval numbers plummet, as popular support for the wars on Iraq and terra dissolves, as even Republicans start to distance themselves from the administration, that, perhaps, the Downing Street Memo (Downinggate?) will begin to snowball and, with any luck, we can impeach the perpetrators of this fraud on the American public, and then jail them as the war criminals (and profiteers) that they are.
But... we can't rely on the mainstream media to do it. At Hullabaloo, Digby reports on some disheartening statistice pointed out by Arianna Huffington:
Here are the number of news segments that mention these stories: (from a search of the main news networks’ transcripts from May 1-June 20).Pretty disturbing. In a world that wasn't upside down, the Downing Street Memo would be the news. Instead, we're treated to a parade of unimportant crap. Does anyone really care that some British comedy show squirted Tom Cruise with water and the over-inflated star got all pissy?
* ABC News: "Downing Street Memo": 0 segments; "Natalee Holloway": 42 segments; "Michael Jackson": 121 segments.
* CBS News: "Downing Street Memo": 0 segments; "Natalee Holloway": 70 segments; "Michael Jackson": 235 segments.
* NBC News: "Downing Street Memo": 6 segments; "Natalee Holloway": 62 segments; "Michael Jackson": 109 segments.
* CNN: "Downing Street Memo": 30 segments; "Natalee Holloway": 294 segments; "Michael Jackson": 633 segments.
* Fox News: "Downing Street Memo": 10 segments; "Natalee Holloway": 148 segments; Michael Jackson": 286 segments.
* MSNBC: "Downing Street Memo": 10 segments; "Natalee Holloway": 30 segments; "Michael Jackson": 106 segments.
So, if we're going to get this story noticed beyond the beltway -- and, surprise surprise, Washington does seem to have taken notice -- we're going to have to do it ourselves. Tell your friends. Direct people to blogs that cover the memo. Tell them about sites like Downingstreetmemo.com. Explain to them that the Administration all but admitted they were going to have a war, they just had to cook the facts to sell it.
Explain to them that at least 1,700 Americans are dead because of this, countless thousands more maimed or crippled for life.
It really is as simple as the slogan. Bush lied, people died. And for that, he should be run out of office on a rail. For that, Congress should be starting impeachment proceedings this very minute.
If we yell loud enough, we can make it happen.
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