LeftOut

The Madness of King George

A monarchy with secret dealings and a shadow government –welcome to America?
by Daryl Moore

When terror struck on 9/11, Dick Cheney went underground and we all understood it. America was at risk and everyone could appreciate the need to separate the president and vice-president in case of an attack on the White House. Bush critics like me were quickly silenced. After all, no matter what we thought about George Bush before, we all shared a desire to see the accidental president succeed at the daunting task of stamping out terrorism and returning America to a sense of normalcy and pre-9/11 security.

Six months later, I still support the War on Terrorism. I don’t, however, support the war on democracy that the Bush White House has been silently waging of late. Bolstered by astronomic approval ratings, and with the American public preoccupied with "homeland security," Bush has been acting like the head of the monarchy rather than the elected leader of a constitutional government. Consider the following.

Since 9/11, the Bush administration has refused to tell Congress the names of business executives and others who met with Vice-President Cheney’s energy task force when it was formulating a new energy policy. Even after two federal judges have ordered the disclosure of the identities of the task force, the administration is dragging its feet. It is even providing Justice Department lawyers to defend agencies who refuse public requests for documents under the Freedom of Information Act.

Recently, Congress discovered that the administration secretly created a "shadow government," which it hand picked and placed at secret sites outside Washington in case of another terrorist attack. Reportedly, even House Speaker Dennis Hastert–the constitutional successor to the presidency after Cheney–was not fully apprized of the secret emergency plan.

And how about homeland security director Tom Ridge? When asked to testify before Congress about homeland security and the administration’s request to fund it, Ridge "respectfully declined." The reason according to the administration: that Ridge can’t be forced to testify because he’s not a cabinet member, just an advisor to the king, er, I mean the president.

Bush’s imperial attitude has both Democrats and Republicans squealing. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Joseph Biden of Delaware has complained that the administration is "getting a little imperious about not sharing any ideas with anybody." Likewise, Indian Republican Dan Burton has warned the administration of the possibility of a "war" with the White House if it continues to act like a "monarchy" and refuses to share information.

And while Dubya might wake up every morning basking in the glow of 85-percent approval ratings and thinking "it’s good to be king"–he’s not. This is not a monarchy.

American troops are not fighting in Afghanistan to protect a shadow government, a secret energy task force, and a security director accountable to no one. Democracy is about accountability. King George needs to get over himself.

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