A Conversation with My Mom

When I was thinking of starting this blog I sat down and had a conversation with my mother and father. I explained the concept, the frog, the whole thing. They didn’t know a thing about blogging, but they knew I could write and they were supportive. The one thing my mother wanted to know was whether I was going to embarrass them by writing crazy stuff. I looked at her and said, “Well, I’m going to call the members of this administration and Congress criminals each and every day because that is what they are.” Now, my mother is a Democrat and has never trusted the Bush Family. But this was a little much for her to hear. A look of terror overtook her face. I smiled at her knowingly and said, “Don’t worry, you’ll see. They are.”

It’s now a little over a year later. I just got off the phone with her. I made her a little list. The President’s deputy chief of staff is about to be indicted, the Vice-President’s chief of staff is indicted, the number one and three people at the CIA have resigned over corruption, the majority leader of the House is indicted, Randy ‘Duke’ Cunningham in indicted (and 12 other congresspeople are rumored to be at risk in that investigation), Bob Ney is likely to be indicted, the national security advisor is at risk of indictment, rumors are swirling about Richard Armitage getting indicted (I don’t believe these), numerous congressional staffers have been indicted, the Pentagon’s procurement officer has been indicted, the number one Republican lobbyist has been indicted. And we have finally discovered that it was Dick Cheney himself that instigated the whole Plame Affair. This isn’t even an exhaustive list. And if the Justice Department were not in the hands of Alberto Gonzales and the GOP Congress conducted even a modicum of oversight, the list would quadruple.

My mother’s look of terror is not reserved for me anymore. She long ago realized I was right. Our government is being run by crooks. Incompetent, theiving, whoring crooks. And that is more terrifying than anything I might write on this blog.

Author: BooMan

Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.