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October 24, 2005
The Denial of Addiction
"I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors."
-- George H. W. Bush, 4/26/99 (text, video)
The nature of addiction is such that it prevents an individual from recognizing that he has a problem. The gambler, for example, risks his income in order to relieve stress, anxiety, or any powerful emotion. And even though his job, family relations and health eventually disintegrate, the grip of denial in addiction is so tenacious that the addict will never admit that there is a problem.So it is with our President and the leadership of the Republican party. Only – in this case – the addiction is to power and control. There is a lack of voices calling for reform and apologies from within the Republican party and Democrats, as usual, don't seem to have the spine to unify, stand up and demand justice. While that's sad, it's not surprising. The worse truth, the one that really hurts, is that America's soul is dying because We, The People, are allowing our leaders to abandon basic moral principles. It's hurricane season alright but what we are currently witnessing is a perfect storm of political incompetence and international embarrassments. And we're not doing enough to stop it because we're in severe denial.
-- George H. W. Bush, 4/26/99 (text, video)
"I want to see to it that the truth prevail."
-- George W. Bush, 10/7/2003 (text & video)
The nature of addiction is such that it prevents an individual from recognizing that he has a problem. The gambler, for example, risks his income in order to relieve stress, anxiety, or any powerful emotion. And even though his job, family relations and health eventually disintegrate, the grip of denial in addiction is so tenacious that the addict will never admit that there is a problem.So it is with our President and the leadership of the Republican party. Only – in this case – the addiction is to power and control. There is a lack of voices calling for reform and apologies from within the Republican party and Democrats, as usual, don't seem to have the spine to unify, stand up and demand justice. While that's sad, it's not surprising. The worse truth, the one that really hurts, is that America's soul is dying because We, The People, are allowing our leaders to abandon basic moral principles. It's hurricane season alright but what we are currently witnessing is a perfect storm of political incompetence and international embarrassments. And we're not doing enough to stop it because we're in severe denial.
How many more political scandals need we suffer as a nation until America understands that its current leadership undermines the validity of our democracy? How can we pretend to be a beacon of hope for other burgeoning democracies when we are so inept at taking care of our own house? The questions reach beyond partisan politics because – Republican or Democrat – any caring American should be alarmed at the list of top officials who are currently embroiled in investigations, allegations or actual indictments:
#1) Topping the list is Michael Brown, the former FEMA director who disgraced the nation with his utterly botched response to Hurricane Katrina. Brown's forged resume and lack of experience, created an atmosphere of mismanagement at FEMA. Despite dire warnings from one FEMA official in New Orleans, Brown was apparently too busy eating dinner to bother with the biggest natural disaster in American history.#2) Close behind is Tom Delay, the Republican House Majority Leader who was recently booked on money laundering and conspiracy charges. No stranger to ethics violations, Delay has been publicly rebuked three times by his own peers in Congress. Why? Because he has a record of repeatedly and flagrantly violating Congressional rules. So flagrant, that he actually tried to change the rules of Congress to preserve his status as Majority Leader if he were indicted. Which he now is...
#3) Not to be outdone, the Senate Majority Leader has a neat scandal of his own: Republican Bill Frist, is under investigation by the SEC and the Justice Department for selling stock in his family's hospital corporation several weeks before its price plunged. That company, HCA, was founded by Frist's family and, oh yes, paid the largest government fraud settlement in U.S. History, a whopping $840 million.#4) Batting "clean-up" is top Republican fundraiser Jack Abramoff who's currently under investigation by one grand jury in Washington D.C., by a second in Guam and was already indicted by a third in Florida resulting in his arrest. But it's the current investigation in Washington, that ties Abramoff to illegally giving gifts to Republicans Tom Delay, Conrad Burns and Bob Ney. Hey: at least he's consistent.
#5) David Safavian was appointed by President Bush to head the Office of Management and Budget (OMD) in 2004. Safavian was arrested on September 19th, 2005 on charges of obstruction of justice. The arrest came as part of the Justice Department's probe into Safavian's mentor: (surprise!) Jack Abramoff. Safavian obviously chooses his mentors using a well-honed moral compass: he previously worked for Abdurahman Alamoudi, a "fierce supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah" who was imprisoned as part of a plot to assassinate the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.#6) The President's top strategist, Karl Rove is at the center of the nation's largest political scandal: the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame's name to the press. Rove has an ugly and immoral history, having been fired from George H.W. Bush's 1992 Presidential campaign for leaking unethical information to Robert Novak. Not really a surprise given that Rove's been playing dirty since he was nineteen years old and was investigated by the Republican Party as early as 1973. Rove's nickname, chosen artfully by the President, is "turd blossom".
#7) Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was at the center of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, where Iraqi POW's were tortured physically and sexually by American troops. It is alleged by The New Yorker and Newsweek that Rumsfeld – along with President Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft – authorized the most aggressive torture possible in order to pry information from captives and sidestep The Geneva Conventions.#8) I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Cheney's Chief of Staff, is also under investigation in the Valerie Plame affair. And although you might not know much about "Scooter" (as he is known), he is, despite his low profile, one of the top advisors to the President.
#9) Vice President, Dick Cheney's had an incredible run of power and scandals in his lengthy career. Although nowadays he's most often under attack for the outrageous no-bid contracts awarded to his former company, Halliburton, it's nice to remember that Cheney also had the fortitude to stay on his Wyoming fly-fishing vacation after Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans. A former top aide to Colin Powell recently testified that Cheney is responsible for hijacking America's foreign policy. And if that wasn't enough fun, Cheney's also been fingered as being part of the Valeria Plame leak.#10) Last, and by no means least, is President Bush himself. Bush is a man who was dear friends with Ken Lay, the target of the most expensive corporate scandal in U.S. history; he's a man who lied to Americans in his 2003 "State of the Union" speech about Iraq seeking uranium from Africa; he's certainly a man who praised former FEMA chief Michael Brown for his botched job; he's a man who – according to George Stephanopoulos – may himself be involved directly with the Plame scandal; but, thank goodness, he's also man who "expects that members of his administration adhere to the highest ethical standards...". One might think, that with so many of his own party and cabinet affected by scandals, that the highly ethical and devoutly Christian President would offer some solace to a nation which continues to disapprove of his job performance. Instead, this week, Bush called the problems "background noise".
The last thing that an addict does before choosing to get well is called "bottoming out", a condition where reality and responsibility are altogether disregarded and the individual cocoons in a false reality until tragedy strikes. We are currently witnessing the Bush Administration bottom out.
The good news is that once America becomes willing to admit that her stewards suffer from addiction and delusion and then makes a sincere and honest effort to clean house, we can become a proud and well-respected nation. The bad news is that if Americans continue to live in denial about the corruption of our politicians, we're destined to repeat the future, acting stubbornly like a drunk who tries to fix a hangover with one more bourbon.
