July 2007

About three months ago Paul Krugman of the New York Times wrote an editorial that explained how solidly the Bush Justice Department has entrenched itself as a fully functioning branch of the Republican National Committee.

It seems that two college professors have researched the actions taken since 2001 by the 93 U S Attorneys working throughout the country for the Bush Administration and found that 298 Democratic Candidates had been investigated, prosecuted or otherwise harassed, while only 68 Republican candidates had received similar treatment.  This is a ratio of about 4 to 1, or about 80% of all candidates receiving the wrath of a U S attorney were Democrats.   Having been a candidate myself, I know deep in my heart that 80% of all the candidates breaking the law since George W. Bush took office weren’t Democrats.

If one accepts the common knowledge that the eight U S Attorneys fired by this administration recently were let go for not prosecuting Democrats enough or prosecuting Republicans too much, a very frightening question arises.  What were the other 85 doing, including the U S attorneys for the Eastern and Western Districts of Oklahoma, who got to keep their jobs?  Using the raw numbers, each U S attorney in America would have averaged prosecuting or investigating, conveniently at times near their elections, over three Democratic candidates and less than one Republican.

About a month ago, I read that an example of this seems to exist, even here in Our Precious Oklahoma, heaven forbid, over in the Eastern District where a large group of the locals seem to think that a Democrat was prosecuted severely  and a Republican ignored for doing just about the same thing..

Now I know that all good Republicans throughout America are prepared for 80% of all candidates prosecuted after 2009 to be Republican, when a fair and just President Dodd,  Biden, or  Richardson reciprocates, but I’m not sure I want to live in a United States like that..  Lady Justice should always be truly blindfolded.  Covering her chest is optional. 

Two questions:  John Wiley, what is becoming of the case described above which you reported on earlier?  And, will this situation sneak into the top ten or dirty dozen when listed among all the other shortcomings and misdeeds of this Bush administration?