If you had to pick a point along time-line of the modern United States and say "There! Right there is when it should have been clear to anyone with a brain that something deep and spinal has ruptured inside the American Experiment!" the moment when our political and media elites decided to let the Reagan Administration get away with treason would be an excellent candidate.
...
3 comments:
There have been other 'points' - CIA coups in Guatemala and Iran for instance, but Iran-Contra made the papers. Every Repug President from Hoover on up should have gone to jail at some point.
Thing is, the CIA coups in Guatemala and Iran did not violate either the Constitution or U.S. law. But holding secret negotiations with Iran while the President of the United States was attempting to get hostages freed from Iran decidedly violated U.S. law and was arguably treason in that its purpose was to aid enemies of America, and then selling weapons to Iran and then funneling the money to the Contras again violated *multiple* U.S. laws.
Nixon should have gone to prison, and of course Reagan too. Once Reagan proved that the President could literally do *anything* and not get punished for it, well. Say goodbye to democracy, say hello to the Imperial Presidency.
_ Badtux the Democracy Penguin
It's a shame that overthrowing governments because they're going to do something big biz doesn't like, like trying to keep the money from their own resources like bananas or oil, isn't a crime.
Post a Comment