Busheviks Launch Diversionary Attack Against Dick Durbin for Telling the Truth About Gitmo. If You're Not a Member of "The Liar's Club," Expect a Withering Character Attack from the White House.
A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL
Sometimes you think that you are in the middle of a Franz Kafka nightmare, when you are viciously attacked for upholding the rule of law, the Constitution and basic human rights. You find yourself on trial by the Busheviks for telling the truth. This is the ultimate unforgivable sin in the Bush regime that prides itself on the ability to get away with the brazen lie.
So, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, Assistant Democratic Minority Leader, found himself the victim of a Bush attack on the truth, as if he were "Joseph K." in Kafka's "The Trial." And what was Durbin's egregious, "reprehensible," unpardonable action? He dare to accuse the Bush Administration of torture at Guantanamo.
Forget for a moment that he was basing his disgust on a slew of Bush Administration reports that confirmed torture, psychological abuse and even "unaccountable" deaths at Gitmo, Abu Ghraib and in Afghanistan.
According to an Associated Press article, "White House press secretary Scott McClellan said it is 'beyond belief' that Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin would compare treatment of dangerous enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay to the death of millions of innocent people by oppressive regimes. `Our men and women in uniform go out of their way to treat detainees humanely, and they go out of their way to uphold the values and the laws that we hold so dear in this country,' McClellan said."
The only problem with McClellan's statement is that it is once again the big lie that the Bush Administration daily gets away with. As BuzzFlash has often said, the Rovian propaganda machine lies so boldly and with such abandon, it defies common sense; so they get away with it because most Americans can't believe that anyone would lie so big.
Durbin had said on the Senate Floor, "If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime - Pol Pot or others - that had no concern for human beings"
Okay, we have soldiers being indicted for abuse and torture; we have the photos and videos; we have accounts that are worse than the photos and videos; we have apparently innocent detainees who have been released providing first hand details of the horror; we have government reports; we have the FBI document Durbin was commenting on; we have documentation that the Bush administration approved torture and abuse as an official government policy; and reams of articles detailing even the concern of top Pentagon brass that they might be liable for war crimes given the torture, abuse and death that has occurred under the brutal "interrogation" policies of the Bush Administration.
If the Bush Administration had not pulled out of the International Court overseeing war crimes, it would be a slam dunk to convict Gonzales, Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld of such actions. That is just a fact. Because there is no process that allows them to be held accountable, the evidence comes and goes without their suffering any repercussions for their barbarian behavior, unbefitting a democracy that prides itself on having respect for life and dignity.
Durbin didn't back down, in the face of an orchestrated "message point of the day" barrage that began early in the day on FOX News and continued in the usual Stepford-like manner throughout the right wing media echo chamber. They wanted him to "recant." The Minority Whip countered that the Bush Administration should apologize "for abandoning the Geneva Conventions and authorizing torture techniques that put our troops at risk and make Americans less secure.''
Harry Reid, who has been showing a lot of backbone and party discipline lately, came to his Whip's defense. "The more the popularity of the president plummets, the more the people downtown try to play the game of attack," Reid said. "This is all an attempt at distracting us from the officials before us ... Do we have a problem with the issues [Durbin] is discussing? Yes, let's focus on them."
Of course, focusing on the problems that this nation is going to have to deal with because of the incompetence, arrogance, and unrestrained power of the Bush Administration is just what the White House doesn't want Americans to start thinking about. In fact, the other day the Wall Street Journal basically threatened that bringing up the truth about Bush Administration torture and deaths in their prison camps would likely result in another terrorist attack, which would bring about a bi-partisan consensus for something akin to dictatorial powers and martial law. In short, it's not the inhumane violation of the Geneva Convention that is causing a backlash; it's the reporting about it -- and condemnation such as Durbin's. That was exactly the basis of the Bushevik attack on Newsweek in the White House "KoranGate" diversion.
BuzzFlash and our readers have long demanded that the Democrats show some spine. We know Dick Durbin, and he has been showing his back bone for quite sometime. He's been the subject of attacks before by the White House, and he hasn't backed down. A lot of people don’t know about his courage, because he's not a flashy politician who prowls around looking for any television camera in range. There's a lot more we could say about him, including what an unusually decent and smart guy he is for a politician, but that's not what this editorial is about.
What it is about is this. We're not normally a site that asks our readers to take action, because our specialty is news and commentary.
But we can't help but think it would be the right thing for all of us to let a Senator know that we are thankful when he (or she) stands up for truth, justice and the American way.
We do a lot of criticizing on BuzzFlash, but sometimes even we forget that when a political figure puts his or herself on the line for the right thing and gets maligned by the mendacious Busheviks, the right thing for us to do is show our support.
You can call Dick Durbin's office at (202) 224-2152. Call during a business day and tell the person who answers what's in your heart. Let Durbin know that there are people out here in America who are grateful that he stood up for decency and integrity, and that we are most grateful that he didn't back down.
Dick Durbin is under withering fire for telling the truth. Tell Dick Durbin that you're standing by him as he stands up for democracy.
Don't e-mail, don't write, just call.
Because our country's fate is worth the price of a few long distance words of appreciation.
A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL