Political Cortex: The Man Who Would Be King

The Man Who Would Be King

By Devilstower
12/17/2005 01:13:51 PM EST

If you missed the Bush radio address this morning, you missed a vapid defense of the Patriot Act, complete with the usual vague, detail-free justifications. But you know the really weird thing? Bush missed the address, too. Because instead of delivering the scheduled radio address, he made a TV appearance to deliver a much more pointed message.

Bush's points this morning:

Senators who block the Patriot Act are helping terrorists.
Yes, I did authorize spying on Americans without a warrant.
I'm going to do it again whenever I want.
Open democracy be damned.

While the official text was pro Patriot Act, the modified-to-fit-your-TV version turned into an attack on senators who had blocked the act from making it back to Bush's desk.

"The terrorist threat to our country will not expire in two weeks," Bush said. The Senate's failure to vote on the legislation is "irresponsible and it endangers the lives of our citizens," he said. "In the war on terror, we cannot afford to be without this law for a single moment."

Get that? Patriot Act goes off for one second, and we're all dead. But the Patriot Act was just the warm up. Bush, his attitude and speech very belligerent, moved on to the freshly revealed pattern of using the NSA to spy on Americans.

"The American people expect me to do everything in my power to protect them," Bush said today in his weekly radio address. "That is exactly what I will continue to do."

So Bush not only admits to spying on Americans, he also promises to keep doing so. And, using the standard Bush tactic of accusing other people when you're guilty, Bush went after the New York Times for revealing the story.

Bush said the spying program has been reviewed by the Justice Department and top leaders in Congress have been briefed about it repeatedly. Its existence was illegally and improperly revealed to the media, he said.
"Revealing classified information is illegal, alerts our enemies and endangers our country," Bush said.

Get that? Spying on Americans without a warrant: legal. Telling anyone about it: illegal.

As you might imagine, Bush's shadow boxing drew some return fire, including this from Russ Feingold.

"We have a president, not a king, and that's the way he's talking," Feingold said in an interview with CNN. "What he's doing, I believe, is illegal. And it's really quite a shocking moment in the history of our country."

You can watch Bush's open grab for kingship here.

Update [2005-12-17 14:1:17 by Devilstower]:
The L. A. Times now has a transcript of the actual diatribe. A sampler:

Yesterday the existence of this secret program was revealed in media reports, after being improperly provided to news organizations. As a result, our enemies have learned information they should not have, and the unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk. Revealing classified information is illegal, alerts our enemies, and endangers our country.

: bush, nsa, patriot act, radio address, Russ Feingold

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The Man Who Would Be King | 11 comments (11 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Sorry for the lack of transcript (5.00 / 3)

I listened to this little fit on CNN and could barely believe what I was hearing. Anyone who buys Bush's performance this morning has abandoned Democracy for an autocratic empire.

by Devilstower on 12/17/2005 01:18:26 PM EST

Sic Semper Tyrannis (5.00 / 2)

Think Progress has the full transcript here. TP always listens to his addresses, but seems to have missed that this morning's address was a live broadcast that was always televised.

by S M Dixon on 12/17/2005 02:06:44 PM EST

: Thanks for the link. n/t (none / 1)

Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle. FDR
by btyarbro on 12/17/2005 02:36:34 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Gov't has failed in homework, not the citizens (5.00 / 2)

From the 9/11 Commission's Report Card 12/5/05:

There are far too many C's, D's, and F's in the report card we will issue today. Many obvious steps that the American people assume have been completed, have not been. Our leadership is distracted. Some of these failures are shocking.

Congress now needs to be an effective check and balance on the Executive branch in carrying out the counterterrorism policies of the United States.

American citizens did not cause 9/11 and are not the problem now. How can spying and reducing our liberties be the solution? They are spying on peaceful Quakers instead of this:

The President should request the personnel and resources, and provide the domestic and international leadership, to secure all weapons grade nuclear material as soon as possible. There is simply no higher priority on the national security agenda.

All it takes to fly is to hurl yourself at the ground... and miss. (Douglas Adams)

by scoophound on 12/17/2005 02:08:21 PM EST

The title (none / 1)

of this pretty much sums it all up.

I like what Jack Cafferty had to say the other day (C&L had the video up yesterday). "Just do it" is the bush mantra. Regardless of US laws, the Constitution, International law, ethics and morals.

How many laws does one elitist have to break before the justice system will refuse his bribes to give him a pass?

This isn't some punk kid putting firecrackers in a frogs mouth, or getting a DUI, this is a grown up dry-drunk punk that should be in jail.

Guaranteed to be plastered all over the Internet
Drinking Liberally in New Milford

by Connecticut Man1 on 12/17/2005 01:25:00 PM EST

King George (none / 1)

Great essay. The only thing I might add would be, we the people did get rid of King George III, we should be able to get rid this equally despicable reincarnation.

Check out PROPAGANDA 101 at MindYoourNoodle.com

by The Propagandist on 12/17/2005 01:56:48 PM EST

I don't listen to these (none / 1)

because I depend on you to report on it!! :)

You, and Newshounds, who report on the Fox News "stories," provide a valuable service.

Thanks, DT.

(I don't think I would have believed it if I hadn't read this or the transcript.)

Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle. FDR

by btyarbro on 12/17/2005 02:35:49 PM EST

: It sounds like parody, doesn't it? (5.00 / 3)

If I hadn't heard it, I'd have thought this was a speech by The Onion.
by Devilstower on 12/17/2005 02:54:49 PM EST

[ Parent ]

yeah, the wingnuts are all up in arms (none / 0)

about the leak. But seriously, how the hell does this compromise National Security? I have a feel the al qaeda cells here already know that the government is monitoring them. This revelation doesn't jeopardize anything except Bush's approval numbers.

My blog is pretty.

by Georgia10 on 12/18/2005 03:27:22 PM EST

What secret was revealed? (none / 1)

The NAS always had the ability to monitor overseas calls. The only thing that's different is that Bush is going around the court.

How is revealing that the NAS is monitoring without a warrant revealing anything that hurts security?

by Devilstower on 12/18/2005 03:56:59 PM EST

[ Parent ]