So Many Republican Hypocrites, So Little Time

January 25, 2008 | SEND TO A FRIEND | GET EARLY NOTICE OF THE HOTW

Dick Cheney

Welcome back to the BuzzFlash GOP Hypocrite of the Week.

Just when we were pondering about how long Dick Cheney had been hiding in his undisclosed cave of horrors, he popped up at one of those right wing think tanks on January 23.

Cheney used the Heritage Foundation as a forum for trying to intimidate Congress into passing a bill that would allow even more government spying powers on American citizens.

Beyond the violation of our privacy and Constitutional protections, Cheney has a more pressing concern. He wants immunity for the telecom companies that cooperated with the White House when they all broke the law, violating the FISA Courts.

"The intelligence community doesn't have the facilities to carry out the kind of international surveillance needed to defend this country since 9-11. In some situations, there is no alternative to seeking assistance from the private sector. This is entirely appropriate," Cheney said.

But what is really going on here is that the Bush Administration wants to make sure that the telecom companies are cleared of any illegalities, so that it would make it appear fruitless to try and prosecute Bush, Cheney, and others for breaking the same law.

So the excuse about how we need the telecom immunity and broader government surveillance powers is, in large part, the first step in a strategy to keep Bush and Cheney out of jail.

In additional to being hypocritical for claiming that America "needs" to become more of a "big brother" nation, when it's his legal jeopardy that is the real issue, Cheney is being specious in implying that there isn't a legal way to ask for telecom cooperation. All Cheney and Bush have to do is have the FBI go through the FISA Court, which is there to protect us from abuses, such as the ones Cheney and Bush have committed.

For demanding more unaccountable spying power, when Cheney's goal at this late stage in the administration is to stay out of the pokey, is some hypocrisy. And that is why Dick Cheney is, yet again, the BuzzFlash GOP Hypocrite of the Week.

Remember our motto: So many Republican hypocrites, so little time.

Catch up with you soon.