U.S. Attorneys Scandal: The Media Is Missing The Point

The media, the pundits, the blogosphere is abuzz about the firings of the eight U.S. attorneys.

As usual, most everyone is missing the point.



The Senate Democrats are saying “were the firings politically motivated?” Of course they were, the documents even admit this. Move on to the crucial questions, you fools.

The Republicans are saying “Clinton fired U.S. attorneys too!” As always, blaming Clinton is the balm that cures all ills. Of course, this isn’t true. All new U.S. attorneys come in (and old ones resign) whenever a new president comes in, like any presidential appointments, and this has always been true. Never has a purge of U.S. attorneys happened in the middle of a term, or new ones appointed without Senate approval.

The media is giving copious coverage to what “both sides” are saying, but, when, as usual, both sides miss the point, the media isn’t following up and pointing out the obvious problems and asking the real questions.

The real questions are:

1) Did ya’ll fire the San Diego lady because she was about to expose your corporate pals for bribing Duke Cunningham?

and perhaps more importantly,
2
) You guys snuck a clause into the Patriot Act that allowed you to bypass Senate confirmation for installing U.S. attorneys. This is totally unprecedented. Why do you think it’s kosher to discard the separation of powers? Why is the consolidation of this power in the hands of the executive appropriate here? What other gems did ya’ll sneak into the laws that give you extra powers?

The media, as usual, is totally missing the relevant points, and it is excruciating to watch.

While their coverage is typically shallow, the news networks are hyping this as a “Constitutional Crisis,” with all sorts of flashy “Constitutional Crisis” graphics. It is all so lame, all so fake. What, do they think Senator Schumer (pictured at left) is going to wage an insurrection or something? lol…. The worst that will happen is a strongly-worded letter and a lot of wrangling in court.

The branches of government are supposed to challenge and block each other. Checks and balances. The Founding Founders gave us a Constitution for this exact reason! They hoped the government would be too tied up fighting amongst themselves to pass anything too loathsome (like the Patriot Act) and subjugate us. It may be a bad sign for how far we’ve drifted from our founding when we view something as minor as subpoenas of the President’s lackeys as a “Constitutional Crisis,” but this label is probably just a ploy for ratings that no one really believes.

Again, the media is missing the point, and letting the government cover for corruption and consolidate more power in the hands of the executive right under their nose.

And it’s SO frustrating.

Nick