The degree to which Republicans conveniently forget the existence of George W. Bush as President of the United States continues to be a source of amazement. To listen to Republicans, the Obama administration is the most scandal-prone since that of Ulysses Simpson Grant.
But they’re skipping right over Bush. Just as they typically skip over him when mention of terrorist attacks are made, or the war in Afghanistan, or the war in Iraq. If the Bush administration was guilty of some sin of omission or commission, you can be pretty much guaranteed that Republicans will blame Obama for it.
Case in point: On Monday, Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), forgot not only President Bush but his fellow ethically-challenged House Republicans, and excoriated President Barack Obama from the House floor, claiming “the president’s “dishonesty, incompetence, vengefulness and lack of moral compass lead many to suggest that he is not fit to lead,” and that, “The only problem is that his vice president is equally unfit and even more embarrassing.”
He should have been addressing his words to,
Congressman Vern Buchanan (R-FL) – under investigation by the IRS for financial improprieties.
Congressman Michael Grimm (R-NY) – under investigation by the FBI for campaign fundraising improprieties.
Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL)- under investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics.
Congressman Rodney Davis (R-IL) – refused to comply with Office of Congressional Ethics investigation.
Congressman Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) – fined after investigation by Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners.
Congressman Jim Renacci (R-OH) – after refusing to pay his taxes, is still refusing to pay the fine.
Congressman Mark Sanford (R-SC) – paid fee after admitting to trespassing at his ex-wife’s home.
Or to Darrell Issa himself, but he is not, because they are Republicans. There is no crime, remember, for those who have Christ. And only Republicans can have Christ.
I continue to wonder where these righteous voices were from 2001 to 2008, when appearing more to be trained lab monkeys than elected officials, Republicans in Congress gathered worshipfully around the knees of George W. Bush as he fumbled and stutter-stepped his way through two terms. And of course, not only did they not object then, but they pretend it never happened now.
Rep. Bridenstine’s one-minute diatribe:
The president’s Justice Department sold weapons to narco-terrorists south of our border, who killed one of our finest.
The president’s State Department lied about Benghazi with false information provided by the White House.
The president’s attorney general authorized spying on a Fox News reporter and his family for reporting on a North Korean nuclear test.
The president’s Justice Department confiscated phone records of the Associated Press because they reported on a thwarted terrorist attack.
The president’s Treasury Department uses the IRS to target political opposition.
The president’s Health and Human Services secretary pressures insurance companies she is supposed to regulate to promote ‘Obamacare,’ which is the same law she uses to force citizens to pay for abortion inducing drugs against their religious liberties.
Never mind that Bridenstine is making this stuff up and that right-wing outlets like The Blaze then run with it as though Jesus himself has spoken.
Just to put things in perspective, let us now take a look at some of the scandals that rocked the Bush administration:
Let’s start with Bush’s illegal invasion of Iraq. Bush launched his attack on Iraq with the same degree of legitimacy as Hitler’s invasion of Poland: in short, because he wanted to. There were no weapons of mass destruction, his excuse for attacking, and what is more, he knew there were no WMDs when he launched the attack.
We can move quickly on to torture and Gitmo. Since when is torture in alignment with American values? Since when is it even legal?
While we’re on the subject of the Iraq war, let’s talk about wartime profiteering: Dick Cheney’s Halliburton made $39.5 billion off that war. We won’t mention the $1 million Halliburton paid Cheney while he was vice president. Cheney continued to hold Halliburton stock until 2005, by which point his company had been plundering the people of Iraq AND the United States for two years.
How about Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who was Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. In 2007, Libby was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in the Plame Affair. Libby was sentenced to 30 months in prison but Bush commuted his sentence.
You might remember Alphonso Jackson, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development who, in 2008, had to resign his office while being investigated by the Justice Department for allegedly engaging in cronyism by awarding contracts to friends.
There is Blackwater, the civilian security contractor which ran amok in Iraq, not only among Iraqi’s but its own female employees. You might remember Richard J. Griffin, Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security, who resigned late in 2007 when, in the wake of the Blackwater Baghdad shootings, it was found by the House Oversight Committee that he hadn’t done a very good job supervising people like Blackwater.
Speaking of Blackwater, there is Howard Krongard, a Republican of course, who was appointed Inspector General of the U.S. Department of President Bush in 2005, and who was later accused by the House Oversight Commitee of interfering with an investigation into Blackwater’s Baghdad shootings. Krongard resigned in 2007.
Filipe Soto, Bush’s Special Assistant for Intergovernmental Affairs and Duty Director at the Office of Public Liaison, resigned in 2008 when it was discovered he had misused grant money while working for the Center for a Free Cuba. He got 30 months in prison, too, but this time Bush did not commute it.
Though Rep. Bridenstine wisely did not bring up signing statements, other Republicans have shown less wisdom, so I will point out that during his eight years as president, Bush regularly disregarded any law he did not like with a signing statement – 157 of them. In 2007, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers Jr., launched an ironic investigating into whether the Bush administration had violated laws it ignored.
And who could forget Lawyergate? Remember when Bush dismissed eleven federal prosecutors (all Republicans) that he had appointed? Because they were not persecuting – excuse me, prosecuting – Democrats?
And I suppose, since Rep. Bridenstine brought up religious liberties, that I should mention Bush’s establishment of his “faith-based initiatives,” which forced our citizens – just to reuse Rep. Bridenstine’s words – to pay for the beliefs and activities of a specific religion. Because this specific religion is Christianity, Republicans don’t complain when tax dollars violate the religious beliefs of non-Christians. Let’s consider also the religious liberties of non-Christians who don’t have a problem with abortion or contraception but whom Rep. Bridenstine would force to live their lives in accordance with HIS religious beliefs? Where are religious liberties then?
Look, it’s time for Republicans to deal with the fact of the Bush administration. For eight years, Bush and his cronies plundered their way across the land, and not only this land, but foreign lands, like modern-day Vandals (who also happened to be Christians). They can’t wish it away, so they just pretend it never happened – just like Rep. Bridenstine and all those Republicans who think his speech was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
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