Blog For Arizona

Michael: Limbaugh's Deep Throat

The Radical Right are attacking Mark Felt, a.k.a. Deep Throat, as a traitor, an opportunist, and a liar. Limbaugh's attack is representative, radical rightists around the dial and throughout the bsphere are denigrating Felt. Why would the radical Right feel a need to attack an old man who had done a great service for his country at great personal risk by stopping an Administration that was engaging in illegal acts? Well, that's somewhat of a rhetorical question, isn't it? With whistleblowers creeping out of the woodwork to drop the dime on the illegal and immoral shenanigans of the Bush Administration, it is simply self-preservation to try to demonize leakers and whistleblowers, regardless of their motives.

To the Rightists, the model American is one who marches in lockstep with his political leaders, regardless of where they are being led, and regardless of the objective truth of what they are told. The good American doesn't question, keeping his head down, and his mouth shut.

But mainstream Americans know that the greatest security America can have is an actively questioning citizenry that follows their conscience, not their political party's ideological pronouncements. We know that to question, even to violate procedure by revealing 'official' secrets, is an essential check on the abuse of power. The personal conscience and ethics of America's people is what keeps America safe, not blind loyalty to some electoral idol with feet of clay.

The dittoheads will no doubt attempt to lump Felt in with people have have leaked information or broken the law, not to safeguard the public interest or to stop officials from breaking the law and abusing the trust we give them, but simply for partisan advantage. They will compare Felt to someone like Brett Kavanaugh, a member of Starr's staff, now up for an Article III judgeship, who leaked what was essentially grand jury testimony in an effort to harm Clinton politically. An investigation was already under way! It isn't as if Starr had any motive to conceal facts about Clinton's Administration from the public, but there were limits on when information could be released, and so a leaker was needed. Kavanaugh was simply acting a political hit man for Starr, not as a whistleblower of the Administration's secrets.

Rush Limbaugh even characterizes the scandals floating around Abu Graib and Gitmo as similar kinds of 'leaking', and as nothing more than partisan attempts to 'get' Bush. It has come down to this: in the minds of the radical Righties, there is no longer any public interest or higher purpose to government. It is all a game of who 'gets' who. To the Righties whistleblowers, leakers, and confidential sources no longer serve a legitimate purpose of keeping the government accountable to the public by providing information those in power would rather we didn't have. They are all nothing but partisan hacks aiming at political advantage, personal aggrandizement, and the main chance. The main thing that disguishes one from another is whether they're on 'your' side.

Time to ask yourself, especially if you consider yourself conservative, "Do I agree?" Or do you believe that the individual citizen of conscience still has a role to play in keeping the government, and our leaders, in check and accountable?

posted by Michael Bryan @ 6/01/2005 11:13:00 PM