July 7, 2007

So I am sitting home watching the hearings on CSPAN. It is two years ago, almost to the day. I had no internet or even a computer that worked. So, it was my only entertainment at the time besides NYT crosswords I copied at the library and my books. Besides, the good guys had taken over Congress again, and I had been looking forward to some real ass kicking.

The 2006 elections were like Christmas to me as a child. I mean, there would be presents every day for the next year. So I would settle down to a good day of hearings.

Next up, Sara Taylor: Sara Marie Taylor (born September 15, 1974 in Dubuque, Iowa) was Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Political Affairs at the White House, making her one of George W. Bush's top political aides until her resignation in 2007. She reported directly to Karl Rove.

I remember watching Senator Leahy discussing things with Sara Taylor at one of those hearings. Sara said something and I stood up, losing the crossword, the book and my coffee from my lap, along with my composure. (Not that anyone was watching my composure anyway) Did I hear this right?

Sara Taylor had said that she had taken an oath to her President of the United States quite seriously.

Leahy: And then you said, I took an oath to the President, and I take that oath very seriously. Did you mean, perhaps, you took an oath to the Constitution?

Taylor: Uh, I, uh, yes, you're correct, I took an oath to the Constitution. Uh, but, what--

Leahy:  Did you take a second oath to the President?

Taylor: I did not. I--

Leahy:  So the answer was incorrect.

Taylor: The answer was incorrect. What I should have said is that, I took an oath, I took that oath seriously. And I believe that taking that oath means that I need to respect, and do respect, my service to the President.

Leahy:  No, the oath says that you take an oath to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States. That is your paramount duty. I know that the President refers to the government being his government -- it's not. It's the government of the people of America. Your oath is not to uphold the President, nor is mine to uphold the Senate. My oath, like your oath, is to uphold the Constitution.

And TPM was right there and you can see this idiot lose all face in her confrontation with Leahy right here. http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/003656.php

LOYALTY OATH. The reason these words ring so much for me, is that I recall when I first began hearing about them.  When George Bush first took office. If w or cheney were going to speak in front of some audience, you could not get into the auditorium unless you took a loyalty oath. You were screened so that 'they' had the opportunity to discover if you were the kind of person 'they' wanted to witness the grandeur of their presence.

Correct me if I'm wrong here, I had never heard of this in my life. But I digress...

Monica Goodling was a lot of fun to listen to during her cross examinations:

MS. GOODLING: I chose them because I had a faith system, and in some cases -- I went to American University for my first year of law school and then I transferred. And I enjoyed studying with people that shared the similar belief system that I did. It didn't mean that there wasn't a lot of diversity of discussion, because in some cases I actually found that the debate at Regent was much more vigorous than it was at American University my first year of law school. But I enjoyed being surrounded by people that had the same belief system.31

REP. COHEN: The mission of the law school you attended, Regent, is to bring bear -- "is to bring to bear upon legal education and the legal profession the will of Almighty God, our Creator." What is "the will of Almighty God, our Creator" on the legal profession?31

Earlier Ms. Goodling had been cross examined by Representative Jackson Lee:

I noticed that you were described as a loyal person or with extreme loyalty or deep loyalty to the president, President Bush. And certainly we welcome young people into this system of government, of public service, as you've indicated. But you might have been better served if you were loyal to the American people, and I give you counsel whether you're willing to accept it or not. You have been described by Bruce Fein, a former senior Justice official during the Reagan administration, both you and Mr. Goodling -- excuse me, you and Mr. Sampson, that you knew politics and not the law. And I think that's the challenge that we face here today.http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/24/us/24mfulltext.html p24

So we have loyalty oaths to God, to our religion and to our president. After those oaths are taken, well we are on our way.

Jason Linkins at Huffpo caught this gem from rover:

Via Think Progress:

ROVE: This White House has carried prepackaged, organized, controlled, scripted events to a new height, and they're getting away with things that in any previous White House, the media would have eviscerated the press secretary and the White House for it.

Rover is referring to the town meeting Our President just attended regarding health care. Rover. The king of loyalty oaths. Nobody and I mean nobody, had carried a more prepackaged, organized, controlled and scripted event than w. and it was all set up by rover.

Linkins just picks a few examples of prepackaging in w's administration:

- In April 2005, Bush's security detail threw three people out of an event in Colorado, citing a bumper sticker on their car that read "No More Blood For Oil." White House spokesman Trent Duffy said that if there's any evidence people might "disrupt the president," they "have the right to exclude those people from those events.

- In early 2005, North Dakota residents were refused entry to a Bush event after their names appeared on a "blacklist" of people banned from the event.

- In March 2005, people seeking tickets to a Social Security event were quizzed about their support of Bush and his Social Security plan ahead of time.

Boston.Com reported on Aug 9, 2004 that -- A Republican National Committee practice of having people sign a form endorsing President Bush or pledging to vote for him in November before being issued tickets for RNC-sponsored rallies is raising concern among voters.

When Vice President Dick Cheney spoke July 31 to a crowd of 2,000 in Rio Rancho, a city of 45,000 near Albuquerque, several people who showed up at the event complained about being asked to sign endorsement forms in order to receive a ticket to hear Cheney.

''Whose vice president is he?" said 72-year-old retiree John Wade of Albuquerque, who was asked to sign the form when he picked up his tickets. ''I just wanted to hear what my vice president had to say, and they make me sign a loyalty oath."

''They want to make sure people can hear the president and vice president's vision for the next four years," he said. ''There are thousands of volunteers who sacrifice and work hard on the campaign and who deserve to see and hear their president without being disrupted and disrespected."

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/08/09/bush_backers_only_policy_riles_voters_at_rnc_rallies/

Dana Milbank  at WashPo (2004-8/1) added this gem:

The Albuquerque Journal reported on Friday that people seeking tickets to the Cheney event who could not be identified as GOP partisans -- contributors or volunteers -- were told they could not receive tickets unless they signed an endorsement form saying "I, (full name) . . . do herby (sic) endorse George W. Bush for reelection of the United States." The form warns that signers "are consenting to use and release of your name by Bush-Cheney as an endorser of President Bush."

The paper quoted a Republican official saying a "Democrat operative group" was trying to infiltrate the limited-seating event -- although the party apparently turned away uncommitted voters who simply wanted to hear Cheney speak. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31019-2004Jul31.html 

Extenz at Dayly Kos showed us how much w respected our men and women in uniform, citing this loyalty form you had to fill out in order to have Thanksgiving Dinner with w in 2004:

What did you think about President Bush's Thanksgiving visit to Iraq?

I was there when President Bush came to the [Baghdad] airport. The day before, you had to fill out a questionnaire and answer questions, that would determine whether they would allow you in the room with the President.

What was on the questionnaire?

"Do you support the president?"

Really!

Yes.

Members of the military were asked whether they support the president politically?

Yes. And if the answer was not a gung-ho, A-1, 100 percent yes, then you were not allowed into the cafeteria. You were not allowed to eat the Thanksgiving meal that day. You had an MRE. . http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/9/15/145147/184

Friday, Oct. 29, 2004, at 1:44 AM ET Slate--Chris Suellentrop gave us even a better example of oaths:

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla.--"I want you to stand, raise your right hands," and recite "the Bush Pledge," said Florida state Sen. Ken Pruitt. The assembled mass of about 2,000 in this Treasure Coast town about an hour north of West Palm Beach dutifully rose, arms aloft, and repeated after Pruitt: "I care about freedom and liberty. I care about my family. I care about my country. Because I care, I promise to work hard to re-elect, re-elect George W. Bush as president of the United States."

I know the Bush-Cheney campaign occasionally requires the people who attend its events to sign loyalty oaths, but this was the first time I have ever seen an audience actually stand and utter one. Maybe they've replaced the written oath with a verbal one.  http://www.slate.com/id/2108852 (Oh and a certain Mark Foley figures in this article back in 04 and it is hilarious)

If you wanted a job in the DOJ or any other Federal agency, you had to take a number of oaths. You had to be for w, for repubs, against abortion, for guns, for biblical literalists.....

At least we do not have to pledge allegiance to our elected officials anymore before we can attend their functions.