George W. Bush–The First American Dictator
They said it couldn’t happen here, but from late 2001 until January 19, 2009 we Americans were living in George W. Bush’s warped vision of a secure homeland, a totalitarian regime that anointed Bush supreme ruler and stripped all citizens of basic Constitutional rights.
The following paragraph is from a commentary I wrote three years ago–“Can democracy survive three more years of George W. Bush?”
What is it going to take for the American people to wake up to the presidential coup d’etat that is now underway, a takeover that is occurring in broad daylight by a president who has declared that as commander-in-chief he has unfettered power to fight an undeclared and never-ending war on terrorism, even if that means ignoring the courts, disregarding laws passed by Congress and circumventing the Bill of Rights in the process?
At the time, some readers considered my views extreme and unjustifiable. Based on the contents of the nine secret Department of Justice memos that were released this week, however, it’s apparent that I didn’t go far enough in calling 
George W. Bush out on his betrayal of his oath to protect and defend the Constitution.
As it turns out, Bush’s DOJ had clandestinely created memos that made bogus legal arguments to support a number of unparalleled policies that were either considered or actually carried out by the White House. These memos essentially suspended citizens’ Constitutional rights, declared Bush our omnipotent president and proclaimed an authoritarian state. Throughout most of his presidency, Bush claimed the authority to do anything he wished, unconstrained by laws, treaties, Congress, the courts or the Constitution, if he deemed the actions necessary in the struggle against terrorism.
What are the dictatorial powers bestowed on George W. Bush by the previously-undisclosed DOJ memos? He had the power to:
- Deploy the U.S. military inside the U.S.
- Order foreigners and citizens alike arrested and held indefinitely without charges
- Command the military to search citizens’ homes
- Instruct the NSA to spy on citizens, listen in on their phone calls and read their emails
- Suspend freedom of speech and freedom of the press
Apparently he only got around to implementing #2 and #4, but god only knows what he’d done if there had been another terrorist attack on American soil.
Since the election of President Obama, I had decided to relegate Bush and his associates to history, preferring to participate in bringing about change in my community and in our nation. But these memos reveal duplicitous and treasonous behavior, and DOJ officials have indicated that there is more damning evidence yet to be released.
The men and women responsible for these illegal and immoral acts must be held accountable. They, and others who might emulate them, need to know that we, the citizens of this nation, will not stand for further desecration of our civil liberties. They need to be held up as examples so that others will be loath to go down this path again. Bush and his pals need to do be investigated, indicted, convicted and imprisoned, for these men and women were the true terrorists, and they came closer to eradicating American democracy than Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda ever will.
* * *
Bush’s Secret Dictatorship by Dan Froomkin
The newly released secret laws of the Bush administration by Glenn Greenwald
George W. Bush’s Disposable Constitution by Scott Horton
Read the nine recently released Department of Justice memos by clicking here.
Thursday, March 5th, 20091 Comment »
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It’s clear to me that every American alive today has to make the decision that has never been made. We have to investigate and bring to justice every administration member even if it means that we go as far as throwing the former President in prison. The Bush years were the worst presidential years of any President. We already dropped the ball by not impeaching and removing. We can’t turn our backs again. If we do, a future President of any party could repeat what Bush has done.
Comment by Russ N — March 6, 2009 @ 2:09 am