Rule of Law
I shouldn’t overdo using Ted Rall cartoons for blog posts, especially when my most recent post was a Ted Rall cartoon. But how do I resist? What has Obama been doing for weeks talking about wanting to look ahead, not worry about the past? And what was Rahm Emanuel doing last Sunday saying the Justice Department lawyers won’t be prosecuted? At least Obama got that right two days later, in saying it’s not his decision, it’s Eric Holder’s as Attorney General.
This is and has always been about the rule of law, not politics. Investigating and, if appropriate, prosecuting is an obligation, not a choice. I could go on, but let me instead turn to Glenn Greenwald:
The inability of so many people (both Republicans and Obama-loyal Democrats) to view the need for prosecutions independent of political considerations is a potent sign of how sick our political culture has become. The need for criminal investigations is motivated by one simple, consummately apolitical fact: serious and brutal crimes were committed at the highest levels of the government, ones that left a trail of many victims. A country that purports to live under the rule of law has no choice but to treat its most powerful members who commit serious crimes exactly the same as ordinary citizens who do so. That has nothing to do with Republicans or Democrats.
It has to do with the most central premise of the American system of government: that we are a nation of laws, not men, and all are equal before the law. People like John McCain argue that only “banana republics” prosecute former political leaders, but the reality is exactly the opposite. As the Western world has spent decades pointing out, the hallmark of an under-developed, tyrannical society is the very same premise we have embraced: that political elites are free to break the law with impunity and never suffer the consequences that ordinary citizens do. …
Punishing politically powerful criminals is about vindicating the rule of law. Partisan and political considerations should play no role in it. It is opponents of investigations and prosecutions who are being driven by partisan allegiances and a desire to advance their political interests. By contrast, proponents of investigations are seeking to vindicate the most apolitical yet crucial principle of our system of government: that we are a nation of laws that cannot allow extremely serious crimes to be swept under the rug for political reasons. That’s true no matter what is best for Obama’s political goals and no matter how many Democrats end up being implicated — ethically, politically or even legally — by the crimes that were committed.
