Author: idredit

This is a short diary with some jaw dropper item via Huffpo citing the conservative Insight magazine. The article, at Insight online, is behind subscription wall here “Cheney seen retiring after midterm elections.”

Servers overload maybe encountered.

Opening graph at Insight

Vice President Dick Cheney is expected to retire within a year. Senior GOP sources envision the retirement of Mr. Cheney in 2007, months after the congressional elections. The sources said Mr. Cheney would be persuaded to step down as he becomes an increasing political liability to President Bush. The sources reported a growing rift between the president and vice president as well as their staffs.

This has huge implications. Changes the landscape.

 
Further accessed excerpts from full article here

[..]They cited Mr. Cheney’s failure to immediately tell the president of the accidental shooting of the vice president’s hunting colleague earlier this month. The White House didn’t learn of the incident until 18 hours later.

Mr. Cheney’s next crisis could take place by the end of the year, the sources said. They said the White House was expecting Mr. Cheney to defend himself against charges from his former chief of staff, Lewis Libby, that the vice president ordered him to relay classified information. Such a charge could lead to a congressional investigation and even impeachment proceedings.

“Nothing will happen until after the congressional elections,” a GOP source said. “After that, there will be significant changes in the administration and Cheney will probably be part of that.”

Already, senators expect Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald to investigate whether Mr. Cheney authorized Mr. Libby to divulge classified material. Mr. Libby has told a grand jury that unnamed “superiors” directed him to relay the content of a National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq in July 2003.

[..]

Mr. Bush, the sources said, has rejected the advice from circles close to his father, the former president, to dismiss Mr. Cheney. They say Mr. Bush has long regarded Mr. Cheney as the experienced hand in national security, as well as being trusted by the conservative wing of the Republican Party.

Aside the strategy going forward, for candidates in 2006 and 2008, one can conclude this is more than a trial balloon.

The ‘Cheney Coup’ has enormous consequences long term and must be righted. A new Veep will cleanse and right the system. Vice Cheney has usurped the presidency, violated the Constitution and International Treaties.

The question arises, how good is the source – Insight Magazine? Rawstory has a headliner, and dubs the source dubious but notes that they do, occasionally, nail breaking scoops.

Perhaps this is a psy-ops or maybe it’s intended to push Cheney out the door. Rove is that you?

Clearly the senior GOPers are worried with elections only 8 months away. AP reporting today that the GOP governors are concerned about the stumbles, not liking the grassrooots feedback.

Over the past week there have been several critical articles from the conservative camp. William F. Buckley’s scathing piece ‘It Didn’t Work’. This can’t be helpful. Paul Pillar’s piece in Foreign Affairs on Cheney’s pressuring to fix the intelligence for the Iraq war.

A new CBS poll shows Bush has taken a dive, down 34% approval – soon after straight shooting Dick’s quail accident followed by the DPW ports deal. Cheney’s approval is at 18%. And then it’s the secrecy. The Iraq war, orchestrated by Cheney, is meeting with buyer’s remorse here and over there.

The sharks are smelling blood in the water. Most damaging to the base are the last two events. Dick’s facts on the shooting accident did not sell well among hunters. Heard on far right talk radio is that Cheney is followed by an ambulance when he travels, even on hunting trips.

Then there’s UAE DPW deal. We’re told not to worry, nothing will change since the Coast Guard is responsible for port security. Now it’s revealed the Coast Guard made known their concerns.

This one issue – the UAE deal – has knocked away the BushCo tripod strategy: Fear. National Security. GOP’s guard your safety.

And having demonized all Arabs as terrorists, it becomes difficult to reverse oneself. Have no doubt, Bush ‘will stay the course’, as the deal slips through. But Chickens have come home to roost.

Cheney needs to go. The Why is laid out by one of our own. Take the site pass and go read Sidney Blumenthal’s “Cheney’s Coup”

 

For Sunday reading, as we catch up on some selected under-reported news of import and a bit of trivia.

As Iraq battles to avert civil war, Pentagon fears such an outcome (civil war) ‘may be that we help rise up another Saddam’.

Excerpt from ‘Pentagon Fears over new Saddam’

Influential figures close to the US administration have long been emphasising the dire consequences should sectarian divisions escalate into all-out conflict. Andrew Krepinevich, a Pentagon adviser who heads the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a military think tank, warns that if civil war breaks out “the outcome may be that we help the rise of another Saddam Hussein who is ruthless enough to deal with the problem”.

(Emphasis mine)

Well fellow boomantribs, so much for regime change. Ya think?

Imagine such words from a Pentagon adviser. What are Shias, Sunnis and Kurds to think?
Am I misreading here that at the end of the day, we found that Saddam was useful, that he kept balance and stability in the region? We were warned.
But looks like, having invaded Iraq – expending innocent lives and treasure, we need to find a replacement? Well, tell that to all those who have sacrificed here and there.  
Mr. Krepinevich, no need to look. Better the devil you know and have in custody.

And, In Banner Headlines

Iran and Russia in deal to enrich uranium… developing

Switzerland confirms first case of bird flu… developing.

The Royal Ravens at the Tower of London are moved indoors because, as tales of old have it, should they succumb, so falls the Monarchy and the tower.

Katherine Harris caught up in Wade-MZM $32,000 illegal campaign finance funding. Thinkprogress finds “Harris knew exactly what Wade expected in return for the cash and did what she could to get for him.” and labels her as “Playing dumb.” Kathy hasn’t changed, has she? Likes to please … erm, before the censor finds me, enough said.

AP reports Ricky Santorum’s charity gets bad ratings from (BBB) – Better Business Bureau. 60% goes to overhead. Why is there a boom on Capitol Hill in lawmakers setting up private charities?

AP has it; Bolton finds too much “bad management”, weighed down by ‘Sex and Corruption’ at U.N.

Or is it Sex and Corruption weighed down by bad management? Oh my, what will the busy Moustache do? Demolish a few more floors? Naughty?  Yes.

 

Hamas states conditions for Israel recognition. In an extensive interview with Wapo, Hamas’ PM-elect, Ismail Haniyeh explains

“We do not wish to throw them into the sea”

Excerpt from ‘We do not wish to throw them into the sea’

{Q}Palestinian President Abu Mazen and the international community have put forward conditions for dealing with Hamas: 1) recognize Israel; 2) recognize existing agreements with Israel made by the Palestinian Liberation Organization; 3) renounce violence. Will you agree to these conditions?

We are surprised that such conditions are imposed on us. Why don’t they direct such conditions and questions to Israel? Has Israel respected agreements? Israel has bypassed practically all agreements. We say: Let Israel recognize the legitimate rights of the Palestinians first and then we will have a position regarding this. Which Israel should we recognize? The Israel of 1917; the Israel of 1936; the Israel of 1948; the Israel of 1956; or the Israel of 1967? Which borders and which Israel? Israel has to recognize first the Palestinian state and its borders and then we will know what we are talking about.

[..]We do not have any feelings of animosity toward Jews. We do not wish to throw them into the sea. All we seek is to be given our land back, not to harm anybody.

Do you recognize Israel’s right to exist?

The answer is to let Israel say it will recognize a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, release the prisoners and recognize the rights of the refugees to return to Israel. Hamas will have a position if this occurs.

A high recommend. Read the full article.

The London Sunday Times reporter writes on his review of an interview he had with Osama Bin Laden at Tora Bora. He sets out the relationships and long term strategy in “Total War: Inside the new Al-Qaeda”

Excerpt from ‘Total War: Inside the new Al-Qaeda’

[..]

He told me about past Al-Qaeda attacks on the Americans — including the 1993 ambush on American troops in Mogadishu, which he said had been wrongly blamed on the Somali warlord Mohamed Farah Aidid.

More attacks were in the planning stages, he said, and he emphasised that these “operations” took a long time to prepare. He hinted at a strike at the Americans on their home territory, but I confess I did not register the enormity of what he implied when he came out with an unforgettable statement: “We hope to reach ignition point in the not-too-distant future.”

Bin Laden also explained his long-term anti-American strategy. He told me he knew he would never be able to defeat America on its own soil using conventional weapons. He had another plan, one that would take years to reach fruition.

“We want to bring the Americans to fight us on Muslim land,” he said as we walked through the woods in the high mountains at Tora Bora. “If we can fight them on our own territory we will beat them, because the battle will be on our terms in a land they neither know nor understand.”

We are witnessing part of that plan now, in the battlefields of Iraq, which has become a breeding ground for the most ruthless and militant Al-Qaeda fighters we have seen. In the process we are discovering the new face of Al-Qaeda, as a movement involved in bloody sectarian strife against fellow Muslims.

[..]Abu Qatada told me that the September 11 attacks were also opposed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who in 2001 was still a relatively obscure Jordanian associate of Al-Qaeda. Zarqawi was soon to shoot into the limelight as the central figure in this story. For, two years on, the arrival of 150,000 US troops in Iraq in March 2003 created exactly the turning point in Al-Qaeda’s history that Bin Laden had dreamt of.

Iraq is in many ways a better base for Al-Qaeda than Afghanistan. It provides an Arabic-speaking environment and culture. Geographically it is the heart of the region. In Islamic terms it is as important as Saudi Arabia and Palestine.

[..]

Heavy stuff here. A high recommend read

It’s your choice, curl up and comment.

I’m new around here, liking it, but I’m not sure what diary format is disallowed.

Truth be told, I’m of the view that a lot of important events slipped by in this week’s Cheney frenzy. So the victim has apologized, AP reports discrepancies abound and ‘Quailgate’ moves to ebay here.

So, What went Missing?

more below
During our focus on Cheney’s quailing accident, he was very busy and not really out of sight. On Monday and Tuesday, Cheney was focused on shutting down the congressional call for a NSA warrantless spying probe. Now, you can tell we’ve taken our eyes off the ball when George  F. Will writes in his Wapo Op-Ed (via truthout.org) this

” No Checks, Many Imbalances”  

[..]

The administration’s argument about the legality of the NSA program also has been discordant with its argument about the urgency of extending the USA Patriot Act. Many provisions of that act are superfluous if a president’s wartime powers are as far-reaching as today’s president says they are.

[..]

 Besides, terrorism is not the only new danger of this era. Another is the administration’s argument that because the president is commander in chief, he is the “sole organ for the nation in foreign affairs.”

That non sequitur is refuted by the Constitution’s plain language, which empowers Congress to ratify treaties, declare war, fund and regulate military forces, and make laws “necessary and proper” for the execution of all presidential powers . Those powers do not include deciding that a law – FISA, for example – is somehow exempted from the presidential duty to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” emphasis mine

Rest of Op-Ed here

Our Senators caved. I say Cheney bagged more than a few quails this week.

To exclude BushCheney’s NSA wiretapping program from FISA, and the urgency for a probe,  here’s Ohio Senator DeWine: “We Don’t Want To Have Any kind of Debate About Whether Its Constitutional”  

link via Thinkprogress

I place no hope that Chairman Specter will walk his talk.
When a senator can state publicly that there’s no need for a debate on the constitutionality of what a president does, you know we’ve lost our republic. Thanks Senator DeWine for making the coronation official. But where’s the outrage?

So what else did we miss? Ah… In the NJ Supreme Court.

“Gay marriage debate centers on history vs. change”

here is some of the interesting banter

[..]

“Opponents say same-sex marriage is – among other things – a historical contradiction. Marriage, they say, has always been between a man and a woman and the laws are written to reflect that.

That argument echoes reasoning that has been proffered time and again to defend such outmoded laws as those that defined wives as the property of their husbands, or that prohibited divorce, or even prevented epileptics and other disabled people from marrying.”

[..]

“I think people who talk about history as a reason to deny gay marriage just don’t really know what the history is,” said Jon Davidson, legal director for Lambda Legal Defense Fund, the advocacy group that represents the gay couples seeking marriage licenses in New Jersey.

“But Katherine Spaht, a law professor at Louisiana State University and an expert on family law, said permitting gay marriage would constitute a change more profound than any other in history.”

Chief Justice Deborah Poritz bluntly challenged the argument.

“It’s a historical fact that marriage has been between a man and a woman, but it’s also a historical fact that women were property and that women couldn’t accuse their husbands of rape,” Poritz said. “Why should we just defer to the historical basis?”

The rest is  here

Do you know we’ve become an Indian giver?

Hamas assumes power today. It’s claimed Hamas is an organization that was created, encouraged by U.S and Israel to counter the late Arafat’s PLO-Fatah. Fatah was once designated a terrorist group. We quickly forget.

Hamas heard Bush’s call to participate in his ‘democracy is on the march’ song . They did and, having won fair and clean a majority of the seats, are now disavowed.

But so much for democracy on the march. We’re asking for our money back. The shame of it.

Will we take back the democracy as well? Wouldn’t be our first try. And, with policy like this … we just might.

‘U.S. asks Palestinian Authority to return $50 million in aid as part of its review of policy following Hamas’ rise to power.’  

See “Rice warns Iran, Mideast states not to finance Hamas-led PA” here.

NEWSFLASH to Condi. Hypocrisy carried a mile too far.
Imo, you’re 3 months too late, and like Cheney’s misfire, you’ve shot off your foot.

Jordan’s King Abdullah, Israel’s ally, has okayed Hamas’ politburo move from Damascus to Amman. This is considered a big setback for interim PM Olmert as he continues to dodge this hot potato–the Hamas-ruled Palestinian government. Just like with the PLO, sooner than later, talks between Israel and Hamas will begin.

Looks like Hamas invites are breaking out all over?
Russia has invited Hamas to Moscow.

Condi, do you think the Mid-East states and the rest of the world will abide your finger wagging and collective punishment arising for something you advocated?

Pick a topic. Let’s discuss.

I’ve been debating  on whether or not we are in a crisis over Iran’s nuclear program. This weekend a number of articles, in the UK, US and Asia, confirmed my fears. Iran presents a true crisis of larger import than the Cuban Missile crisis. We’re beyond that hour.

Last night, I had a ‘what if opposite’ moment, more on that below. My ‘what If’ and today’s piece by Professor Juan Cole gave me chills and the confirmation that we’re facing the unthinkable.

So let’s begin with Professor Cole. His piece puts the Plame leak – the real intent – into perspective. I beg the professor’s leave, my quoting his piece at length. More below

Professor Cole
  “Plame Wilson Had worked on Iran Ant-Proliferation” (02/14/2006)

[..]

Plame Wilson was outed to the US press by Vice President Richard Bruce Cheney, his staffer Irving Lewis Libby, and George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove.

There has for some time been speculation among bloggers that Cheney et al. wanted to shoot down 🙂 Plame Wilson for reasons other than that she is the wife of Ambassador Joseph Wilson IV, who blew the whistle on intelligence failures concerning alleged Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
If she was working specifically on Iran, this theory becomes more plausible. We know that Cheney, the Neocons and other factions in the Bush administration desperately wanted to get up a war against Iran so as to overthrow its government.

If the CIA was successful in a measurable way in preventing proliferation to Iran of technology required for making a nuclear weapon, and could certify as much to Congress, that very success would make it harder to justify a war on Iran.

We know that someone among the Neoconservatives also let Ahmad Chalabi know that the US had broken Iranian codes and could read that country’s secret diplomatic correspondence.

[..]

Prof. Cole speculates

So between disrupting the work of Plame Wilson’s unit at the CIA and letting the Iranians know about the broken codes, the pro-war party managed to make Iran’s actual progress on nuclear research opaque to the US government.  It was necessary that it be opaque if there was to be a war. Iran is actually a decade or two away from having a bomb even if everything went well.  But US intelligence agencies must be less confident they know what is going on in Iran now than before the Neocons destroyed so much of the effort against Iranian proliferation. It was the US withdrawal of inspectors from Iran in 1998 that created the uncertainties that allowed Bush to invade Iraq. For warmongers, good intelligence on the enemy’s capabilities is undesirable if that intelligence would get in the way of launching a war.

 If the speculation were true, the scale of treason emanating from Rove and Cheney and his staff is scarcely imaginable. emphasis mine

Link to full article here

On the road to war with Iran there are experts cautioning. They, like those who cautioned us on Iraq, are voices in the wilderness. One such voice is John Pilger who writes

[L]ike the invasion of Iraq, an attack on Iran has a secret agenda that has nothing to do with the Tehran regime’s imaginary weapons of mass destruction.

[..]Iran offers no “nuclear threat.” There is not the slightest evidence that it has the centrifuges necessary to enrich uranium to weapons-grade material.

[..]

Those who flout the rules of the NPT are America’s and Britain’s anointed friends. Both India and Pakistan have developed their nuclear weapons secretly and in defiance of the treaty. The Pakistani military dictatorship has openly exported its nuclear technology. In Iran’s case, the excuse that the Bush regime has seized upon is the suspension of purely voluntary “confidence-building” measures that Iran agreed with Britain, France and Germany in order to placate the US and show that it was “above suspicion.” Seals were placed on nuclear equipment following a concession given, some say foolishly, by Iranian negotiators and which had nothing to do with Iran’s obligations under the NPT.
Iran has since claimed back its “inalienable right” under the terms of the NPT to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.
Recently, one of Israel’s leading military historians, Martin van Creveld, wrote: “Obviously, we don’t want Iran to have nuclear weapons and I don’t know if they’re developing them, but if they’re not developing them, they’re crazy.”

Pilger states that Blair knows ‘the real reasons for an attack and the part Britain is likely to play.’emphasis mine

Next month, Iran is scheduled to shift its petrodollars into a euro-based bourse. The effect on the value of the dollar will be significant, if not, in the long term, disastrous. At present the dollar is, on paper, a worthless currency bearing the burden of a national debt exceeding $8trn and a trade deficit of more than $600bn. The cost of the Iraq adventure alone, according to the Nobel Prizewinning economist Joseph Stiglitz, could be $2trn. America’s military empire, with its wars and 700-plus bases and limitless intrigues, is funded by creditors in Asia, principally China.

That oil is traded in dollars is critical in maintaining the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. What the Bush regime fears is not Iran’s nuclear ambitions but the effect of the world’s fourth-biggest oil producer and trader breaking the dollar monopoly. Will the world’s central banks then begin to shift their reserve holdings and, in effect, dump the dollar? Saddam Hussein was threatening to do the same when he was attacked.

Link to full article: “Iran: The next War” here

A conflict that could last for generations? That’s the assessment of the Oxford Group, a British Think Tank whose predictions on Iraq were dead on.

 

The Oxford Group report, “Iran:Consequences of a War” ‘coincides with reports that strategists at the Pentagon are drawing up plans for “a last resort” strike if diplomacy fails. Plans for an assault have taken on “greater urgency” in recent months,’ The Sunday Telegraph said.

[..]

[T]he attack would result in “a protracted military confrontation” involving Israel, Lebanon and some Gulf states.

[..]The report concludes: “A military response to the current crisis is a particularly dangerous option and should not be considered further. Alternative approaches must be sought, however difficult these may be.”

Link to full article, “10,000 would die in A-plant attack on Iran” here

Here’s my ‘What If’:

We were sold the Iraq war lies, lies..”Saddam had to be disarmed his weapons of mass destruction..but no decision has been made.”

We were, like they say, true believers. No WMDs were found.

Now we’re being told Iran cannot be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. National pride will not deter Iran from being pressured – the lessons of North Korea.

What IF we go on a bombing campaign “to pre-empt”, there’s that word again, acquisition only to be on the receiving end; – after the first sortie, Iran’s  nuclear retaliation?

Experts say they can’t be sure.

Iran has been working at this for 15 years. They had access to Dr Khan’s nuclear technology. Didn’t they? It is known Khan shopped the nuclear technology. Iran has disclosed that much. And, it is established some of the Iran’s equipment was purchased from Pakistan. And we have not been allowed to question Dr. Khan-no pressure on our new ally, Pakistan.

In 1981, Iranians saw the destruction of Iraq’s nuclear reactor by Israel and they noted Israel’s arsenal of nukes.
Like Martin Van Creveld wrote, Iran would’ve been crazy not to have developed nukes.  I opine, just maybe they bought a stack of nuclear weapons – openly available after the fall of the USSR.

For the sake of oil and to save the dollar for ourselves are we willing to begin a resource based nuclear war with China, Russia and 1.5 billion muslims worldwide?  Do they not all hold a stake in this? Do we?

  I’m no expert but it does appear Iran will have its nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. Keeping up with the jones and its neighbors-Pakistan, India and Israel.

Just wonderin’ Should we risk the world?

This is a BREAKING EXCLUSIVE at Thinkprogress.

Well, they tried to disappear the photos but exclusive emails obtained by Thinkprogress describe the Abramoff-Bush relationship. As reported at Thinkprogress, the emails written by Abramoff describe the extent of it, more than was previously reported. “The emails by Abramoff were addressed to Kim Eisler, national editor of Washingtonian magazine.” – one and the same mag that reported on the existence of those missing, cached photographs. The tell-all will be reported in more detail and we’re asked by Thinkprogress to check back for more.

We recall the denials, as recently as January 26 Bush said

“You know, frankly, don’t even remember having my picture taken with the guy. I don’t know him”

“But according to Eisler, Abramoff told him that the two have met almost a dozen times, shared jokes, and spoke about details of Abramoff’s family:

HE HAS ONE OF THE BEST MEMORIES OF ANY POLITICIAN I HAVE EVER MET. IT WAS ONE IF [sic] HIS TRADEMARKS, THOUGH OF COURSE HE CAN’T RECALL THAT HE HAS A GREAT MEMORY! THE GUY SAW ME IN ALMOST A DOZEN SETTINGS, AND JOKED WITH ME ABOUT A BUNCH OF THINGS, INCLUDING DETAILS OF MY KIDS. PERHAPS HE HAS FORGOTTEN EVERYTHING. WHO KNOWS.”

see the rest of it here

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/02/08/exclusive-abramoff-emails

It is said a picture is worth a 1000 words. Turn that on it’s head. These emails are worth 1000 pics and can they (the pics) be far behind?

My grandmother had a word for guys like Bush.

Well, he lied us into a war didn’t he?  Not surprised are you? Didn’t think so.
 

(via truthout)

The Abramoff scandal widens. Can’t say we’re surprised that the rampant corruption and cronyism includes every nook and crevice of governance.

Democratic leaders, in a letter to Speaker Hastert, demanded a congressional investigation into the role played by the Alexander Strategy Group, the lobbying firm linked to Tom Delay and Jack Abramoff. It is alleged the legislative process and passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug Act was corrupted.

Shocked are you?  I didn’t think so.

link to full text of letter from Democratic Leaders Pelosi, Hoyer and Waxman below. Here’s the opening money quote summary:

Dear Mr. Speaker:

    We are writing to ask you to open an investigation into the role that the Alexander Strategy Group, a lobbying firm closely linked to Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff, played in crafting the Medicare Prescription Drug Act of 2003 and the budget reconciliation bill currently pending before Congress.

    The Medicare Prescription Drug Act, which has caused so much confusion and havoc since January 1, was a product of a corrupt legislative process. When the bill passed, we knew that Democratic members had been denied opportunities to offer amendments and that the vote had been held open for hours in the dead of night to twist arms. Afterwards, we learned that crucial cost estimates were illegally withheld from Democratic members; that the key Administration official responsible for writing the bill was simultaneously negotiating a high-paying job representing drug and insurance companies; and that the Republican chairman responsible for steering the legislation through Congress subsequently accepted a lucrative job in the pharmaceutical industry. We further learned about a Republican member who had alleged that a bribe had been offered him on the House floor.

[snip]

 We also urge you to extend this investigation to examine the role of the Alexander Strategy Group in the pharmaceutical provisions of the pending budget reconciliation legislation and to delay the final vote on the reconciliation bill until this investigation is complete.

[snip]

(emphasis mine)

Only this am, on Vermont Public Radio, is a report that the Medicare D fiasco is costing this small state $200,000 per day and it will take several weeks to fix the chaos in Washington DC. One example given was a 70 yr-old lady who showed up for her prescription only to be told Medicare D has her as being dead. Her response “if I don’t have my medicine, I’ll soon be”.

We’ve all read the horrors our seniors are facing. But this administration and their co-partners have only one solution to governance: Privatize it! and ensure the profits are sent to our designated charities.

link to full letter on the facts

 http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012506Q.shtml

Now speaking of cronyism – who do you suppose is in charge? Mark McCellan. Yea that’s the brother of Scottie, White House Press. Mark recently reversed himself when he said the federal gov would not reimburse the daily costs incurred by the states stepping in to keep their citizen’s Rx ongoing.

I’m disappointed in our Democratic leadership. They don’t seem to recognize when to holler and scream. “Stop the Crooks before they steal the barn and the cows.”