The real shame behind the entire Senator Craig issue is how acceptable it still is to gay bash.  The Moral Majority, the Christian Coalition and other conservative pundits are all over the talking heads shows calling Senator Craig’s actions, “a moral failing”.

Mind you they aren’t talking about having sex in public, nope.  They are talking about being gay.  As the newest graduating class of Liberty University takes to the streets looking for jobs specifically designed to strips gays and lesbians of the civil rights (oddly enough in the name of upholding the civil rights of Christians), let’s all take a moment to reflect upon the coverage of the Craig scandal.  

The left is attacking him for being 99.44% pure hypocrite – and they are correct.  Craig is fighting what he considers moral demons to play at a pretend straight marriage.  And that would be fine in and of itself; but, he took it too far, he actually attempted to screw other gay people over with laws designed to strip them of the very rights afforded to every citizen in the US Constitution.

Being a hypocrite is harding BREAKING NEWS these days and the more concerning issue is the way the right is attacking Craig.  They are pure and simply gay bashing.  Questioning his morality not because he was a naughty boy in a public place, but because he is gay. 

The question as to if the Conservative Right Wing of American politics has any scruples has long ago been answered in the negative.  This for them is, however, a new low.

Former Speaker Hastert will be the first of many members of Congress with an R after their names to step down and leave the governing to others.  Why?  Because it’s simply not as much fun to be in the minority as it is to be in the Majority.

Republican’s treated the Democrats like dirt for twelve long evil years while they were in the Majority, and now they whine and complain that the Democrats are treating them about 50% as badly.

Look for many more Republicans to simply not run for reelection.  This “minority effect” will sweep an even larger Democratic majority into the House and Senate in 2008.

Fred Thompson couldn’t come up with better than, “I don’t recall”?  It must have occurred to Mr. Thompson that the American public is no longer amused by the phrase, “I don’t recall”.  It went over like a lead balloon when Nixon used it, it wasn’t funny when Regan trotted it out and at least Clinton said he did NOT have sex with that woman Ms Lewinsky — at least he THOUGHT he could recall.

Now, after six long horrible years of the Bush administration being unable to recall the most fundamental decisions our government faces on a day to day basis and the voting public having to put up with scandal and inexcusable pardons from the President, Fred D. Thompson of Tennessee actually had the will to use the words, “I don’t recall”.

Has Fred been hiding under a rock for the past six years?  No clue what has been going on with the current administration?  If there is a God in Heaven he will get the Republican nomination just so the people can have the satisfaction of voting against, “I don’t recall”. 

Three years ago, President George W. Bush said he assured the American people that any member of his administration responsible for the outing a CIA employee’s name would be fired and punished.  Period.

Today, however, the President of The United States admitted at a White House press conference that a member of his administration had leaked that name.  So, how is it that nobody has been fired, and the only person convicted of a crime in connection with the investigation has received a commutation?

Hello, Mr. Bush?  Hey, Mr. President?  YO, GEORGE?!  Wake up and do your job!  You, sir, stood on the steps of the Capital, placed your hand on the bible and swore to uphold the Constitution of The United States of America, and now no one is asking you do anything other than that which you swore to do.

The double standards your administration will be remembered for by history will cultivate the creation of a new term.  In years to come to “bush” will mean to say whatever is required to keep people silent just long enough to do what one was planning to do any event.  Congratulations, Mr. President, your wish has come true; you will be remembered by history after all – well, at least by etymologist.

Talk about impudence!  Tony Snow has the nerve, the gall and the unadulterated cowardice to say Hillary has “chutzpah” for criticizing President Bush’s “considered and well thought out” decision to let Scooter Libby go free?

Exactly how well thought out and considered could the President’s decision have been considering Mr. Libby didn’t even apply for any leniency from the President?  How could the President have spent any time at all thinking about Scooter’s excessive sentence before Bush sorted through the 3,000 requests for commutation that were in line ahead of Libby?

At the exact moment you thought the arrogance and deceit from the Bush White House simply could go no lower, they blast bedrock with this stick of dynamite.

Tony Snow, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney and George Bush would have gained at least some respect if the President had just said, “I pardoned him because I wanted to and I don’t have to offer anyone a reason why I did it, period”.  However, that is not what the Shyster In Chief at 1600 said, he wove a lie to start this sorted mess and now he is weaving a lie to wrap it up.

Then Governor Bush, on the Campaign trail in 2000 made promises to the American people while asking for their vote.  He promised to change the tone in Washington, he said he would swear to restore the honor and dignity to the Office of the President; he claimed he was a unifier and not a divider – now all proven to be 100% USDA certified lies.

Which begs the point, what is Texan for Shyster?

Think Like A Native
 

So?  Where was the big announcement from Fred Thompson on the Fourth of July?  Millions of Americans gathered around their televisions sets, foregoing hotdogs, hamburgers, watermelon and fireworks to wait all a breath for any news that a savior had come to rescue the Republican Party from defeat at the hands of Democrats in aught eight.  Sadly, there was nothing but stone cold silence.

Not even a firecracker from the Thompson camp – no, not the candidate Thompson, the actor, Thompson.  Geez, it will get confusing with two Thompsons in the race won’t it?

Here are several conspiratorial possibilities as to why Freddy let us down on Yankee Doodle Day.

The first possibility is that the Libby pardon left Thompson more in a dilemma than he let on.  That his terse statement that, “I am very happy for Scooter Libby” covered a more visceral reaction – maybe Thompson actually had the wind taken out of his sails by the Bush pardon of Libby. Yeah, yeah, commutation – but everyone on earth knows it will be a pardon before Bush leaves office.
 
Another theory might be that Thompson’s recently divulged role in the Nixon Watergate scandal as a Congressional mole for the White House might have the Thompson camp regrouping.  Is it possible there are more questions as to exactly what Thompson’s role was during that scandal and he needs time to formulate some answers?

It also is worth mentioning that Senators Clinton and Obama were throwing around numbers that together added up to over almost 100 million dollars in quarterly campaign contributions just before Thompson was supposed to have used the July 4th holiday as a springboard to the White House.  Maybe Thompson was taken back by the daunting task of raising so much hard cold cash – after all this is the man who was supposed to provide smooth sailing for Harriet Miers in her Senate confirmation process.

Lastly is it at least possible that Fred D. Thompson will not announce his standing as a candidate for President?  Maybe - just maybe - the Former Tennessee Senator is reviewing the paths taken by Wesley Clark, Howard Dean and Mario Cuomo and isn’t as convinced as his adoring fans that he will one day hear “Hail to the Chief” as he enters the room?

Nagh, that can’t be it, can it?

Here’s what the 2008 Presidential Candidates are saying about the Libby pardon:

Clinton:
“Today’s decision is yet another example that this Administration simply considers itself above the law. This case arose from the Administration’s politicization of national security intelligence and its efforts to punish those who spoke out against its policies. Four years into the Iraq war, Americans are still living with the consequences of this White House’s efforts to quell dissent. This commutation sends the clear signal that in this Administration, cronyism and ideology trump competence and justice.”

Giuliani:
“After evaluating the facts, the President came to a reasonable decision and I believe the decision was correct.”

Obama:
“This decision to commute the sentence of a man who compromised our national security cements the legacy of an Administration characterized by a politics of cynicism and division, one that has consistently placed itself and its ideology above the law. This is exactly the kind of politics we must change so we can begin restoring the American people’s faith in a government that puts the country’s progress ahead of the bitter partisanship of recent years.”

McCain:
(Nothing – no comment, no press releases, no statements to the press, just dead air.)

Romney:
No official press release.  However the Boston Globe Reports:
“Defending Bush, Romney said at a campaign stop that ‘the president looked very carefully at the setting’ before deciding to commute the 2 1/2-year sentence of Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, who was convicted in the CIA leak case.

The prosecutor in the case ‘went after somebody even when he knew no crime had been committed,’ Romney said. ‘Given that fact, isn’t it reasonable for a commutation of a portion of the sentence to be made?’”

Edwards:
“Only a president clinically incapable of understanding that mistakes have consequences could take the action he did today. President Bush has just sent exactly the wrong signal to the country and the world. In George Bush’s America, it is apparently okay to misuse intelligence for political gain, mislead prosecutors and lie to the FBI. George Bush and his cronies think they are above the law and the rest of us live with the consequences. The cause of equal justice in America took a serious blow today.”

Fred Thompson:
In an oral statement as reported by PBS News:
“I am very happy for Scooter Libby. … This will allow a good American who has done a lot for his country, to resume his life.”

How in the name of all that is holy in the heavens could George W. Bush justify his actions yesterday?  In giving Scooter a get out of jail free card, he in one stroke of the pen neutralized every single word he uttered during the 2000 Presidential campaign.

What became of the Governor from Texas who said at every campaign stop, that when he took the oath of office for President of the United States he would also, “swear to restore dignity and respect to the Oval Office” –This is what he meant?

According to Mr. Bush’s thinking it must only be wrong for a government official to lie about having oral sex.  It wasn’t the oral sex for which Bill Clinton was impeached - according to then Governor Bush; it was the perjury before a court of law. 

Then, the Republican controlled House of Representatives championing the virtues of the rule of law, impeached President Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice.  The Republicans argued, pleaded and begged the American people to understand what a serious and dangerous crime perjury is.   50 Republican’s in the Senate (Including Fred Thompson) voted to convict President Clinton for perjury.

Has the rule of law changed?  Has perjury become less of a threat to our system of justice?  How can the very same Republicans – who so eagerly condemned President Clinton and called for the removal of a twice duly elected setting President – now be so thrilled that Scooter has received what amounts to a pardon.

Oh there may be some technical difference between a pardon and a commutation of sentence.  But, President Bush will pardon Mr. Libby in due time.

Shame on President Bush for being so treacherous and shame on the Republican ditto heads for not seeing the double standard they are declaring.

Oh, yeah, and welcome to Like A Native!  What a day to start a new blog.  Well, at least there is meat to chew on today.

Think Like A Native.