Political Games - Where the fuck’s the reset button?

And that’s a good thing apparently!!! Next time you get accused of being shrill, irrational, or whatever when you accuse the Bushies of installing a police state and wanting to be a Dictator, point this out: their own supporters say that the President should have these powers. Glenn immediately says:

So apparently, the American Founders risked their lives and fortunes in order to wage war against Great Britain and declare independence from the King — all in order to vest “near dictatorial power” in the American President in all matters of foreign policy and national security. And, of course, for the Michael Goldfarbs of the world, “war” and “national security” — and the “near dictatorial power” vested in the President in those areas — now encompasses virtually every government action, since scary and dangerous Muslims are lurking everywhere, on every corner, and the entire world is one big “battlefield” in the “War on Terrorism,” including U.S. soil.

Until the Bill Kristols and John Yoos and other authoritarians of that strain entered the political mainstream, I never heard of prominent Americans who describe the power that they want to vest in our political leaders as “near dictatorial.” Anyone with an even passing belief in American political values would consider the word “dictatorial” — at least rhetorically, if not substantively — to define that which we avoid at all costs, not something which we seek, embrace and celebrate. If there is any political principle that was previously common to Americans regardless of partisan orientation, it was that belief.

Go read the whole thing. I recommend playing some sort of violent video game to vent our your rage. Any WoWers in my tiny readership?

Share This