Hypocracy Democracy: mirror shortage grips America

Can we please have a few basic rules that everyone has to obey? If your guy is schmuck, then say so. That way, when you criticize the other side you won’t be a hypocrite. Can you Democrats and Republicans please get just a little bit of perspective?

Partisanship is fine on issues but not on basic ethics and law.

If Democrats and Republicans had followed that simple rule, Trump would not have been elected, Hillary would not have been nominated and Trump would not be a threat to our democracy now. I think most people have a sense of what issues are — tax policy, foreign policy, environmental regulations, social programs, infrastructure, social issues like abortion. Here are some examples of ethical and legal rules that should be beyond partisanship.

The powerful have to follow the law

When W. Bush and company snatched (kidnapping) people off the streets in Italy or sent people resident in America or Europe to Syria to be tortured, or agreed with memos allowing torture, they broke US and international law in terms of the international treaty against torture. If the US senate approves a treaty, its terms are then US law as well.

Likewise, if Obama authorizes a drone strike that intentionally kills a US citizen who has not been charged with a crime, without congressional approval, then it cannot be an act of war, or law enforcement. The only option left is some kind of murder or manslaughter.

Neither W nor O should be excused for breaking the law. The last two presidents were not held to account due to their partisan support and the cozy relationships of power between the parties, who are all serving the same elite. This partisan history makes it harder to hold Trump to account.

War powers: the president is not a king

Under the constitution, the congress has the power to declare war and the president is the commander in chief who would then lead the war effort. Every act of war, as was clear to Abraham Lincoln, needs congressional approval in some way and the president should never be able to engage the military ever without some kind of oversight and authorization of congress. In a full blown war, the congress would declare war or authorize the deployment of troops. Perhaps in a lesser situation, such as drone strike, a committee would be briefed on the general situation in, say, Somalia, then that same committee would be convened in some way, even if by telephone or something, to approve a strike before it happens. Afterwards, all information about the action would be passed to congress.

It would not have been hard for Obama to set up a mechanism like this. If he had, I doubt congress would have stood in his way in any case when he wanted to use the military. Abraham Lincoln, who was scrupulous about the constitution, would have done something to make sure he was acting within the law. Obama didn’t care enough to set up a system and now Trump can do whatever he wants, as Obama did.

Bush I sent troops to Saudi Arabia, then asked for an authorization of force, when 100,000 troops were already deployed. Illegal. Bush II violated international law in the invasion of Iraq but he at least had congressional authorization. Obama had no authorization for a similarly disastrous intervention in Libya.

Republican or Democrat, it doesn’t matter. Get authorization. As neither Bush nor Obama was forced to get congressional approval prior to engaging in acts of war, it’ll be hard to make Trump obey the constitution.

No conflicts of interest and self enrichment

It is outrageous that Trump is not putting his businesses in a blind trust, that foreign delegations are already staying at Trump hotels and directly benefitting him personally. The range of personal enrichment in this situation is tremendous and should not be tolerated.

While his wife was Secretary of State, Bill Clinton put money from foreign governments right in his pocket directly through speaking fees and indirectly through their foundation. Mainstream news sources have reported the Hillary received a million dollar gift from Qatar while secretary of state.

Both “sides” are wrong. This kind of corruption should lead to dismissal from office and jail time, regardless of which party is selling access to political power.

You see how simple it can be? War is serious and need discussion, no breaking the law, and no self dealing. And yet, you never see politicans and their partisan followers look in the mirror and call their own side out on these three simple basic rules.

Back in 1972, Republicans did not rally around Nixon. That’s the right way to go about it. Credibility requires ethics, laws and rules that apply to everyone.

Democrats and Republicans should stand together in insist that Trump get congressional approval for acts of war, not enrich himself through this office, and obey the laws of the nation as to murder and torture. Each party should make it clear that their own party has failed on all these fronts in the past and is now re-establishing principles that should never have atrophied as they have.

Both sides have a lot of rot, each side choses not to see its own decay.