The Election; Rumsfeld's Resignation; What It All Means

Wednesday, the Day After

On Wednesday afternoon, just a few hours after it was learned that the Republican’s would no longer control the House of Representatives, and just a few short hours before it was learned that they would also no longer control the Senate, a press conference was held. I’m speaking of the event in which Boosh announced the firing of Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense. Sure, they called it a resignation, but it was clearly a choice of either Rumsfeld resigning or being told that “you don’t work here anymore.” What was most revealing was also the least noticeable, unless you were looking for it that is. To me at least, some things became very clear while watching this short 2 minute production. What I have believed to be true and what I have spoken about various times over the life of the Real Deal have finally been confirmed, in my mind at least. Let’s start at the beginning.


The Election

The people have spoken. In overwhelming fashion, the American citizens rebuked the Boosh administration and everything they have stood for over the last 6 years. The people are sick of the war, sick of the economy, sick of the incompetence of the administration as a whole---think Katrina---sick of being lied to, sick of being taken for granted, sick of being walked on, sick of the sleaze and slime that runs under the cover of the party of “moral values,” sick of the disgusting campaign ads that were especially repulsive during this election cycle, sick of the arrogance of this administration, and most of all sick of George W. Boosh and his merry band of thugs. They said so through their votes, and handed the job of fixing the mess to the Democratic Party. At least they think they did, but we’ll get to that a little later.

I asked each of you to get out and vote, and to vote for every democrat on the ballot. I told you that it was the lesser of two evils, and believe me it was. I told you that it might buy us a little time, which hopefully it has. I was wrong about one thing; I did not believe the Democrats were capable of carrying the Senate. I did not anticipate the overwhelming rebuke of the Republican leadership, nor properly gauge the anger of the voting populace. I must admit, I have not given quite as much credit to the masses' ability to discern that they deserve, but must say that they have hidden those abilities well. Regardless, I applaud them for their efforts. If you were a part of the voting process, I applaud you as well. You did the right thing.

Now to the reality of what the vote accomplished. In the short term, short being over the next several months, it may help some of the least fortunate among us. You will probably see the minimum wage increased very quickly, a long overdue necessity. You may see real work begun on the health care crisis in this country, though to expect anything of real substance to be completed any time soon is a pipe dream. You may see some prescription drug price relief for seniors, though when that will actually occur is anybody’s guess. Finally, you will see an honest look at the war in Iraq, and the beginnings of how we are to deal with that quagmire over the long haul. Though the Democrats would love to take credit for whatever policy changes occur in the future, that would be dishonest. In fact, they will have very little to do with it other than talk, something else that we will get to in the next section.

In the longer term, you will see some investigations begin into various sordid evils that this administration have managed, but to expect anything of consequence to come of these investigations is probably dreaming a little too high. You will begin to see discussion about what to do about the energy crisis that we face, as well as discussion of the long ignored global warming crisis that we have been forced to ignore since Boosh came to power.

As for what you will not see, most of the list will initially disappoint you. But, as you will find out later, it probably shouldn’t. First and foremost, you will not see the impeachment of George W. Boosh, regardless of how much we all believe it is deserved. You will not see Dick Cheney hauled away in chains and dumped in Gitmo or some other hell hole, nor any other administration official treated accordingly for that matter. You probably will not see, at least any time soon, the restoration of our rights of Habeas Corpus, though it will be talked about. Nor will you see the end to the CIA torture program, though that could at least be placed in the toss-up category. Another toss up that might lean in our favor is an end to the "legal for now at least" government ability to monitor our phone calls at the whim of the CIA, FBI or Alberto Gonzales. There will at least be a fight about this one. But, within all of the things that you won’t or maybe won't see, there are at least a couple of very important positive developments. You will not see another Samuel Alito or Anton Scalia confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States, nor will you see any ultra conservative right wing lunatics appointed to any federal court. And, you will not see John Bolton speaking for us at the United Nations ever again.

The reason that you will not see many of the things that we desperately hope to see, that being these people "brought to justice" if I may borrow a Boosh favorite line, is that the Democrats are not intending to simply “rent” the majority for two years. They hope to stay around a while. And while we on the progressive left would like to take credit for the results of the election, and we deserve our share, it was really not us that got the power back for the Democrats. It was the angry conservatives who feel betrayed by this administration, as well as the independents who likewise feel betrayed by a group they supported for six years who deserve most of the credit. The recently elected Democrats know this, and will walk a fine line to keep these folks in the fold. Unlike us, these people do not want to see impeachments or revenge of any kind. They simply want to see some sanity restored to our government, and they are probably correct. All that being said; lets move on.

The Firing of Rumsfeld

For those of you who have been long time readers of the Real Deal, it is no secret to you that I have never thought that George W. Boosh or Dick Cheney or anyone else in this government is truly in charge of what is going on today. This was confirmed to me while watching the press conference announcing that Robert Gates would be taking over the duties of Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense. If you saw the news conference yourself, think about what I am about to say. If you didn’t, I would encourage you to watch it.

Two minutes (an approximation) can be a long time, and tell a very long story. That was the case on Wednesday. Boosh introduced Gates as the new Secretary, thanked Rumsfeld for his service mentioning that he would soon become the longest running Secretary of Defense in our countries’ history, and walked away from the microphone.

When Gates spoke, he said he would miss his job as President of Texas A&M University, thanked Boosh for the opportunity, and praised Rumsfeld for his service. He didn’t talk about what changes might be made, just simply walked away from the mic.

Rumsfeld butchered a quote from Winston Churchill, said that few understood the current war, said that history would remember Boosh and walked away.

Someone said thank you, and it was over. Seems pretty cut and dried doesn’t it? Trust me, it wasn’t. Here is my take on what really occurred.

First, I want to describe the body language of those in attendance. Boosh clearly did not want to do this, did not want to be there, and looked like a dog that had been chained to the back of a pickup truck and dragged for a few miles. Rumsfeld was clearly in shock, and was obviously pissed. While he mentioned that “history would remember Boosh,” he did not say whether or not that memory would be a fond one. Gates had a look on his face similar to a watchdog. He was there to assure that the other two did not stray from the short script, a limit that to date no one in history has been able to impose upon Rumsfeld. I had the feeling that if anything was mentioned beyond what was written on the pages they were reading from, and reading they were, we would have witnessed the first public execution in modern American History. Gates left no doubt who was running this show.

As you recall, just last week Boosh stated that Rumsfeld and Cheney would be around until his term was over. That was before the election. The day after the election, Rumsfeld is fired. Some might think that he changed his mind after the election results were known, but that doesn’t pass the smell test. At some point yesterday, Boosh told the press that this had been in the works for “some time” and that the change was going to be made regardless of the results of the election. He was only waiting to make the announcement until after he got the agreement of Gates to accept the job. Anyone who saw Boosh when he made the statement last week regarding Rumsfeld and Cheney saw the same smirking, arrogant, in your face cowboy that we have watched for years. There was no wavering or doubt about what he said, just as there has been no wavering or doubt that we would “stay the course in Iraq if only Laura and the dog support me.” Though he has since claimed that he was "ambooshed" (I love that word I just made up!) by a few members of the press, that is pure nonsense. What really changed? Boosh has been given his marching orders, pure and simple.

Robert Gates was a member of the group, along with James Baker, that will soon release the “recommendations” on what to do in Iraq. And you can bet, the recommendations will not be “stay the course” or whatever phrase this administration has chosen to replace the name of this failed policy with. Now he will be the Secretary of Defense, replacing the man who, as the world was told, “Will be here until my term expires.” Interesting.

Another interesting thing about all of this is that sometime before the announcement that Rummy was gone, it was leaked to the press that Cheney was very much against this move, and that the President had in no uncertain terms ignored his Vice President’s advice and disregarded his opinion. Why was it necessary to say this? Only one reason makes sense, which is to provide cover. If I had to guess, Cheney is soon to have a health problem and will be the next one to go. You know, the old ticker just isn’t acting quite right all of a sudden. Oh, he won’t be forced out, but he has been told to sit down and shut up for two years, or leave. His choice either way. Dick just doesn’t strike me as the type to do absolutely nothing for a couple of hundred grand a year for two years, especially at his age when he could command great sums telling off color jokes to rightwingnuts, so look for him to retire. He has also been given his marching orders. And, these orders do not come from George W. Boosh.

George W. Boosh has been spayed and Dick Cheney has been neutered. (Sorry Boosh, that’s just the way I see it) They have served their purposes, have unfortunately made a real mess of things, and are now being cast overboard like left over fish bait. The big boys have come to town, and they are now running the show, led by James Baker. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve been running the show to a great degree the whole time; it’s just that now they don’t feel the need to hide it so much any more. If someone like me can pick up on this stuff, believe me, they don’t really much care who knows what’s really happening.

Back To The Election

This leads me back to the election. My question is this. Did the PTB really want the Republicans to win this thing? These are far from stupid people, so it makes me really wonder when I look at two things in particular surrounding this election. (there are many others, but I will limit it to two or this could go on forever) It is clear that whoever is in power will be unable to fix this mess in one term.

The first being, why would Boosh not fire Rumsfeld, back in the spring or summer if this was indeed in the works for a long time, if they truly wanted to win? Had that occurred, it would have changed the face of Iraq and probably satisfied those pissed off conservatives and independents that we talked about earlier just enough to keep them from jumping ship and voting for the evil Democrats. Some of them might still have stayed home, but this election had a near record turnout for a mid-2nd term election. Without those votes, the Democrats don’t win. Period.

Secondly, I think that everyone knew that this would be a close election regardless of what happened leading up to it, likely decided by a few seats one way or the other. There was enough voter discontent over Iraq alone to keep the Democrats in the same ballpark anyway. So tell me, please, why did the Republicans have Katherine Harris, the Elvira of the 2000 debacle leading to the Boosh appointment, on the ticket? I could have beaten her, for crying out loud. She didn’t even have the support of the Republican Party, and Boosh wouldn’t let her on the stage with him during his final Florida campaign stop, the same location where the Republican governor elect stiffed him. Yet she is allowed to run for the US Senate, as a Republican candidate, in an election where every seat was considered vital? It defies all rational logic. Or does it?

It’s The Economy Stupid

What all of this shows, is that what we have been talking about for a year is true. Boosh is a puppet with his strings being pulled by others, all connected to his Daddy in one way or another, and our economy is toast. How much more evidence does anyone need?

Houses are being abandoned faster than I change socks, the rich are getting richer while the formerly middle class are being further decimated, jobs (good paying ones, anyway) are becoming more scarce, health care is becoming extinct, and we as a nation are in debt way beyond our eyeballs. We are at perpetual war to prop up our fiat dollars, we are almost out of oil and the party is just about over.
That is why, in the end, the election didn’t matter and the PTB didn’t care who won. They have theirs, are currently obtaining what little there is left to scavenge, and the rest of us are on our own. Look for more blatant actions in the near future as Boosh does exactly what he is told to do. He has no choice but to follow the line, if he wants to protect the remnants of the silver spoon that he was born with; the Boosh family fortune and legacy. And believe me, he does. He is at least smart enough to follow orders these orders, now that he has realized his little dog and pony show is over. There is no reason for impeachment, he is irrelevant. As are Cheney, Rice and the rest of this stinking administration. Stay? Go? It doesn’t matter, because the Real Players Have Arrived and they aren’t hiding their presence any more.

How do you know when the game is nearing an end? When the masks start to come off and those behind the curtain begin to expose their true identities.

Cyclone