Today’s NYTimes has an OpEd that almost made me laugh out loud. Seth Lipsky, late of the right wing but beautiful to look at (those graphics, those fonts, how I miss them!) New York Sun, offers Barack Obama some of the lamest, most boneheaded advice I have heard in a while.
Lipsky thinks that Obama should get out there and DEFEND the Marc Rich pardon on the merits. No, really, I’m not pulling your leg.
And he makes dire sounding predictions that Obama will lose his only "unfettered" presidential power if he does not become Marc Rich’s champion. Ah, Mr. President-Elect? Please, please, I really want you to succeed. I really want change in America. Please do not squander any part of your honeymoon period defending something you have no responsibility for. This was Clinton’s mistake and the Big Dawg has shown that he can take care of himself.
Lipsky admits that he considers Rich and Rich’s partner and co-felon Pincus to be friends and offers as a justification for the pardons the fact that Israeli officials backed it. Since when do leaders of foreign countries get to decide matters of US criminal justice? That has always seemed such a crazy excuse to me.
Then he goes into some convoluted analysis of why the felonies ought not to be felonies and should only cost Rich and Pincus some fines. Tell that to Leona Helmsley, she did her time and paid her debt to society. Skips right over the part where they were violating the economic santions imposed by the US on Iran. Is it only me who thinks you cannot defend an American citizen betraying their own country to illegally trade with country that had (then) recently held other American citizens hostage?
Well maybe not only to me, Lipsky admits:
Those of us who argued this point were often mocked.
[emphasis mine]
Not WERE Sherlock, ARE. Are mocked.
At the time Rich and Pincus were trading with Iran, it was a terrorist nation that was being sanctioned by the US because it had invaded the sovereign territory of our embassy and held our citizens hostage. Money, cash, lucre, personal gain were more important to these two than the safety of their fellow Americans or the intergrity of our economic sanctions program. I don’t give a shit that they took a tiny fraction of their ill gotten gains and used it to do some charity work in Israel to get a couple of well placed phone calls made from Tel Aviv to DC. It was wrong when the first President Bush used pardons to shield the miscreants involved in Iran Contra, it was wrong when Bill Clinton used pardons to shield two men who had undermined US foreign/security policy.
It’s not OK if you’re a Republican and it’s not OK if you’re a Democrat either.
Related posts:
Spotlight
Support this site!
Subscribe to the newsletter
Advertise on Firedoglake
Send
us your tips
Make us your homepage
About Firedoglake
Advanced search
Don’t mock the wingnut afflicted.
You know, on those days when I am really missing TRex–I have a compulsion to mock.
However, this mocking was ENTIRELY DESERVED.
Maybe he should talk to Martha Stewart. She did her time, too, and for a lot less than Helmsley or the guys he wants pardoned.
You ever get the feeling that our whole ruling class is on drugs?
Once Bush pardons Scooter Libby and George Ryan, they can join Marc Rich in one big family reconcilliation. Something tells me the an Attorney General Holder will seek to accomodate reconcilliation with all current and former Justice Department employees. No need to serve Rove, Miers, and Bolton with that expired subpoena. One big happy family.
Lipsky clearly has issues understanding things like basic journalism:
Uhhhmmm, doesn’t it kind of interfere with a story if the journalist becomes “friends” with the source?
The only thing stupider is admitting it after the fact.
lhp, the title made my day. Thanks for spreading the word!
that’s the thing Kirk, if the nomination were not in trouble, why woulf Marc Rich be pushing his buddy to put an OpEd in the SUNDAY NYTimes?
Sunday is the big leagues.Why did the Times run it on Sunday? Could it be, dare I hope, is SOMEBODY paying attention to us?
When they start talking in the Times about Chiquita is when I’ll start to get excited.
Jim,
I’m still jonesing for the rest of the Chiquita details
There’s got to be a disgruntled somebody out there.
You are my sunshine,
my only sunshine;
you make me happy when Marc’s are gray
Nothing like a bit of sunshine…
From the op-ed:
Uh, no.
That power to pardon will belong to Mr. Obama, regardless of whether he continues to back Mr. Holder or not. That power to pardon will be absolute, whether he continues to back Mr. Holder or not. The only limit on that power to pardon, apart from cases of impeachment, is political: is a president who exercises the pardon power willing to take the heat for his or her decisions?
And whether or not Obama continues to back Mr. Holder, that limit will continue to be present — and whether or not Mr. Holder becomes the Attorney General will not change that one whit.
I’m beginning to think this clown is trying to bait Mr Obama into defending Clinton, giving the Clintonistas on both sides more fodder to rant on. The reichwingers have no issues which have proven other than disasters so it’s just a constant parade of character attacks.
teddy’s upstairs with left-handed marriage in peril
If Holder doesn’t pass, and Napolitano isn’t available (she’ll already be at DHS), you need to find a replacement. Deval Patrick and Artur Davis are the other names I recall being mentioned.
Whatever happened to noblesse oblige?
Has it been replaced by “Go for the Gusto!” and “The Devil take the hindmost”?
Maybe we need a revival of the phrase “robber baron.”
Bob in HI
LHP,
Maybe somebody is worried that somebody elses are paying attention to us.
Bob in HI
I’ve been trying to figure out why Obama chose Holder but I can’t get it to working for me. Why Holder with his baggage and not someone like Bruce Fein?
For many years I was dedicated to finding the roots to a sibling’s schizophrenia. I figured some of it out, but lots remain in only her world.
Yes, it’s a lot like your statement, Hugh.
oh yeah .. well just try saying “robber-barron-baby-bumpers” three times real fast eh ??
so there … yeah .. :)
IOKIYAJ??
Two items on pardons:
1) Remember, many believe George the First pardoned the Iran/Contra crew to shield his illegal actions.
2) DC hypocrisy: nary a word for eight years on Halliburtons dealings with Iran during Darths’ reign.