I don’t know about you, but I’ve had it. The Justice Department has admitted that they are firing prosecutors for political reasons, and the White House was involved (see story). Five of the seven fired recently were working on cases of corruption. The Department had been lying to Americans saying the prosecutors were fired for poor performance. Now they have admitted it is because the prosecutors are not carrying out the political agenda of the White House.
This is an outrage. Rule of law is being flouted. The Justice Department itself is lying to the America people. One of the most important principles of American liberty is that we are a nation ruled by laws, not by the whims and discretionary decisions of men and women. American citizens are to be free because we are a nation of laws. These outrageous firings driven by a political agenda illustrate the level of authoritarianism this administration has stooped to. Anywhere else in the world, we would recognize this as cronyism.
Any thoughtful citizen—conservative, moderate, or progressive—can see the pattern by now. Only right-wing extremists who love Bush for his close relationship with God or because he is lining their pocket books, can look past the pattern. From allowing torture, creating an extra-constitutional judicial system, and creating new classes of people called “unlawful combatants”, to selective suspension of habeas corpus, conducting the public business is secret, and sheer corruption in government contracting, the pattern reveals an ongoing, unparalleled, unprecedented assault on American freedom. How long do we allow this to continue?
If we really care about liberty, freedom, and justice, we have to finally say, “Enough!”
Anthony Signorelli is the author of Call to Liberty: Bridging the Divide Between Liberals and Conservatives (www.calltoliberty.org)
