An Infected Organism

I fear it will take generations to undo the damage done to our government by the likes of Karl Rove (and his predecessor Lee Atwater), the Gingrich congress, and it successor, and of course BushCo, if it can be undone at all. The zero-sum, win at any cost, politics of cynicism, government of the people is bad but for the elite and military-industrial complex is good has been perfected and completely swallowed by our beltway elite. It has infected not just the beltway media establishment but reaches out into every state. It is starting to be unraveled through hearings involving the attorney general and the firing of the US attorneys but it appears that is just the tip of the iceberg. Look at this piece at Harper's by Scott Horton, one of the clear voices out on the intertubes about these dangerous times. Horton writes about the political prosecution of Democrats by Republicans in Mississippi. Only a coincidence? I think not; Republican teat-sucker Haley Barbour is involved.

The Diaz case reflects another astonishing example of highly partisan justice, timed, presented and calculated to boost the electoral prospects of Haley Barbour. Diaz was acquitted twice, but the major objective of the prosecution—the election of Haley Barbour—was achieved. Barbour become governor, ousting Musgrove. As November 2007 approaches, Mississippians find Barbour seeking a second term.

One of the striking aspects of the case is the extremely heavy hand of Noel Hillman, who personally monitored and managed the case. In the past the presence of Public Integrity was taken as a guarantor of “no politics,” but in this case in Mississippi, like the Siegelman case in Alabama, Hillman’s involvement amounted to “politics 24/7.”

But most clearly, the case was an example of discriminatory prosecution. An investigation occurred which was directed with laser-like precision against the major donors of the Democratic party. No comparable investigation occurred which examined Republican party funding and campaign operations. The message that the prosecutors–by which Hillman should be singled out–delivered is simple: those who fund Democrats will be targeted and fly-specked. But those who fund Republicans have nothing to worry about. So the prosecution served a double function. Democrats were discredited and humiliated, during an election cycle, for the benefit of their political opponents. But in addition to this, their campaign resources were dried up, so that the Republicans secured a further unfair advantage in future elections. These tactics are a pernicious corruption of the political process by politically appointed Justice Department officials posing as its guardians.

Nobody cares about the justice system until it needs to work for them. The criminals in the Bush administration had better hope they get a better shake than they have given Democrats.