Political quiz

[unixronin]

This quiz has just one question:

Q:  When does an Emeritus Professor of Jurisprudence, highly regarded Constitutional scholar, retired Marine Colonel with 24 years of service, decorated for heroism in Korea, become an enemy of the State?

A:  When, in the course of a lecture on Constitutional law, he criticizes the President for violating the Constitution.

Professor Murphy (or, alternately, Col. Murphy) had this to say:

"I confess to having been furious that any American citizen would be singled out for governmental harassment because he or she criticized any elected official, Democrat or Republican.  That harassment is, in and of itself, a flagrant violation not only of the First Amendment but also of our entire scheme of constitutional government.  This effort to punish a critic states my lecture's argument far more eloquently and forcefully than I ever could.  Further, that an administration headed by two men who had "had other priorities" than to risk their own lives when their turn to fight for their country came up, should brand as a threat to the United States a person who did not run away but stood up and fought for his country and was wounded in battle, goes beyond the outrageous.  Although less lethal, it is of the same evil ilk as punishing Ambassador Joseph Wilson for criticizing Bush's false claims by "outing" his wife, Valerie Plaime, thereby putting at risk her life as well as the lives of many people with whom she had had contact as an agent of the CIA. ..."

One of many relevant quotations follows:

The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants.  He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole.  Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is as exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right.  Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile.  To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.  Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else.  But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else.

And from whom does this quotation come?

None other than former President Theodore Roosevelt, he upon whose desk The Buck Stopped.

Comments

[radarrider.livejournal.com]

Indeed. The biggest problem I have with Professor Murphy's account is that he accepts the opinion of an American Airlines clerk as proof that he was put on the list in retaliation for his earlier speech. He also appears to assert that Bush and Cheney personally had this done when, regardless of motive, it was most likely done at a much lower level.

Regarding the Plame affair, no crime was committed in disclosing her identity. You will note that Scooter Libby was convicted of obstruction of justice. You will also note that Richard Armitage, who admitted revealing her identity to Robert Novak, has not been charged with any crime at all.

His post is full of unsubstantiated and emotionally-driven accusations and ad hominem attacks. He may have a valid complaint but, for someone billed as "the most distinguished scholar of public law in political science," he put on a decidedly poor show.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

The biggest problem I have with Professor Murphy's account is that he accepts the opinion of an American Airlines clerk as proof that he was put on the list in retaliation for his earlier speech.

One must point out that the government offers only limited means for confirming whether you are in fact on the list or not, won't tell you why if you are on it, and provides no real way to get off of it if you're on it in error. So if the best source of information he can find is an American Airlines clerk, well, he can take it, or he can ask the Magic Eight Ball, because the TSA's not going to tell him, the FBI's not going to tell him, Homeland Security isn't going to tell him, and the White House isn't going to tell him.

[radarrider.livejournal.com]

Although the clerk may be the best source that still doesn't mean it's a good source. I will agree that the situation that results in said clerk being said best source is not a good one and should be changed.