Conservatism and the Bush bunch.Bob Ban', a former Republican congressman from Georgia who served as one of the House impeachment impeachment, formal accusation issued by a legislature against a public official charged with crime or other serious misconduct. In a looser sense the term is sometimes applied also to the trial by the legislature that may follow. managers during Bill Clinton's impeachment trial in the Senate, has become an outspoken critic of the Bush administration's "Homeland Security Noun 1. Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Department of Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States " agenda. He has been particularly vehement in condemning the administration's use of warrantless wiretaps, a policy he describes as an assault on the rights protected by the Fourth Amendment. At the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC CPAC Conservative Political Action Conference CPAC Civilian Personnel Advisory Center CPAC Cable Public Affairs Channel (Canadian TV station) CPAC Center for Process Analytical Chemistry CPAC Conservative Political Action Committee ) in Washington, Barr--once a darling of the Beltway "right"--was treated as an apostate and heretic. Barr was on hand to debate former Bush administration legal adviser Viet Dinh, who helped compose the so-called Patriot Act Patriot Act: see USA PATRIOT Act. . "Do we truly remain a society that believes that ... every president must abide by the law of this country?" asked Barr during his opening statement. "I, as a conservative, say yes. I hope you as conservatives say yes." This exhortation, reports the Washington Post, was greeted by "deathly death·ly adj. 1. Of, resembling, or characteristic of death: a deathly silence. 2. Causing death; fatal. adv. 1. In the manner of death. 2. " silence by the audience, which was much more receptive to Dinh's effort to "carve out a Bush exception to their ideological principle of limited government." "The conservative movement has a healthy skepticism of governmental power, but at times, unfortunately, that healthy skepticism needs to yield," pontificated Dinh. While Barr insisted that the central issue in the debate was "whether or not we will remain a nation subject to and governed by the rule of law or the whim whim n. 1. A sudden or capricious idea; a fancy. 2. Arbitrary thought or impulse: governed by whim. 3. A vertical horse-powered drum used as a hoist in a mine. of men," Dinh insisted that true conservatives are willing and eager to trust Bush: "None of us can make a conclusive assessment as to the wisdom of that [wiretapping A form of eavesdropping involving physical connection to the communications channels to breach the confidentiality of communications. For example, many poorly-secured buildings have unprotected telephone wiring closets where intruders may connect unauthorized wires to listen in on phone ] program and its legality, without knowing the full operational details. I do trust the president when he asserts that he has reviewed it carefully and therefore is convinced that there is full legal authority." Dinh, like other supposed Bush-era conservatives, inverts Jefferson's familiar warning that "in questions of power ... let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief A specific injury or damage caused by another person's action or inaction. In Civil Law, a person who suffered physical injury due to the Negligence of another person could allege mischief in a lawsuit in tort. by the chains of the Constitution." Dinh obviously views Bush as so trustworthy that, unlike other men, he does not need any constitutional restraints. On the other hand, Barr holds to the pre-Bush era conservative view. "Whether it's a sitting president when I was an impeachment manager, or a Republican president who has taken liberties with adherence to the law, to me the standard is the same," Barr told the Post. |
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