Wag the Starr
by Zack Nguyen
March 10, 1998
If egomania could actually be measured quantitatively, then I am sure the Clinton White House would set some sort of record. Their arrogance borders on the uncontrollable, and their firm belief that they are above the law intrudes upon the liberty that some Americans -- until recently, most Americans -- hold dear.
Sidney Blumenthal was a "journalist" who was so blatantly
partisan in his previous "job" with the Washington Post that the
joke among the liberal press corps was that Blumenthal had to collect lots
of back pay when he joined the White House's political operation. Blumenthal
has reacted to his subpoena by Kenneth Starr as only a patrician member
of the ruling class of Washington, D.C. can react -- with outraged excuses,
wild screams of "abuse," and dark warnings of Kenneth Starr's
intrusion on "first amendment rights."How nice of everyone in the Clinton White House to remember the first amendment when it suits them. Apparently the White House's use of 900 FBI files on Republicans is not a violation of anyone's first amendment rights -- it was just a bureaucratic snafu. Besides, Blumenthal is not a journalist any longer, but a paid spinster for Hillary Clinton, and it is looking very much like the White House has a complex attack operation in place with the use of private detectives to boot. The White House, of course, denied that it used private detectives to look into anything, but this denial was made somewhat less credible when the private detectives hired by Clinton's lawyers stepped forward themselves and admitted that they did indeed exist.
Clinton is apparently "uncontrollably" angry over Kenneth Starr's pursuit of him. I'm sure we feel very sorry for our President -- after all, Starr has allowed Webb Hubbell to get away almost scot-free after violating his immunity agreement. Starr said nothing when the White House paid off Hubbell with lucrative "consulting" fees from corporations. He completely ignored the myriad of inconsistencies and outright lies associated with the death of Vincent Foster. He refused to adequately investigate the 900 FBI files that appeared in the White House (though his crack investigative team did interview Hillary Clinton for a total of NINE minutes!). He refused to adequately explore why Rose Law Firm billing records appeared two years after they were subpoenaed in the White House residence, covered with Hillary Clinton's fingerprints. And finally, he asked Newsweek magazine to sit on the Monica Lewinsky story before it finally leaked to Matt Drudge.
Why, the President is right! If Starr actually did anything he might be on to something! How does Clinton dare complain about Starr's investigation, especially when you take a look at all Starr has labored to avoid? It seems that even the smallest questioning of Clinton's tactics and business dealings raises the ire of his administration. I suppose Clinton is beyond reproach, or more likely, his political agenda is far too precious to be sacrificed over little things like breaking the law.
Interestingly, Starr has recently turned former Arkansas governor Jim Guy Tucker with an immunity for prosecution deal. We will see if this goes anywhere or just winds up in an increasingly well-fed black hole as has nearly everything else Starr investigates.
And yet the Clinton machine continues to attack him. The media, which seems to be little more than the official reporting arm of the Washington establishment, is a more than willing accomplice. "Oh, Starr is such a totalitarian!" they cry. "He is out of control! How dare he bring Monica Lewinsky's mother in to testify? Can't they see how it hurts her?"
Does no one remember the Iran-Contra scandal where Oliver North's wife and pastor were called in to testify? Where was the outcry? Where was the outrage? This is a disgusting, inexcusable double standard. But then we can expect little else from the lap dog media.
It is also said that Hillary Clinton grows livid over media coverage of White House scandals -- so livid that she demanded an official White House critique of Susan Schmidt, the Washington Post reporter on Whitewater.
Again, the arrogance is remarkable. Hillary Clinton is prepared to crush any and all dissent, despite the Post's lack of interest in doing any responsible reporting on this matter or to truly embark upon a thorough investigation of what lies in Bill Clinton's Arkansas. The Clintons should feel fortunate they are still in office and not in prison. Yet they become incensed when anyone dares to insinuate that something might be wrong here.
This is an arrogance bordering on paranoia. The Clintons seem to believe that they are so important and perfect and their ideas are so vital, that anyone who questions them is false, lying, outrageous, part of a conspiracy, likely to bomb federal buildings, and deserves to be removed from American political discourse, never to be heard from again. The Clintons truly believe that they are different, and because of their wonderful, correct political agenda no one should dare question any of their actions.
In that case they live in the right city. The media is mostly an extension of the White House Press Secretary's office. The Republicans are running scared, and have been since the government shut-down of 1995-96. They will pander to votes however they can, even though the very idea of democracy is being relegated to the history books in the process.
I am very much afraid that there is no such thing as party, ideology, or even concern about the future of America within our political system.
There is only one party. And its only ideological requirement is a complete lack of caring or concern about anything other than one's own immediate political future. This is the most popular political party in America, and it is the only one that really matters.
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Zack Nguyen of The Coffee Shop Times.