Who Will Fire the Watchers?
June 29th, 2009Second-century Roman poet Juvenal once asked the famous question, “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” That is, Who will watch the watchers? But today a far more important question is, Who will fire them?
The answer seems to be the Obama administration, who recently terminated an inspector general without any real cause. This is a good thing. For President Obama is so great and powerful that he alone should be watching all of us.
Recently, Gerald Walpin — Inspector General of the Corporation for National and Community Service — was dismissed by the President and given only one hour to clean out his office.
His offense? The President had lost confidence in him. And well he should have — for Mr. Walpin had the audacity to investigate Democratic Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who is both a supporter and friend of the President. What’s more, Mayor Johnson is a former basketball star, loved by fans across the country — and that alone should’ve kept him free from scrutiny.
Who cares that KJ (as Mr. Johnson was adoringly known in his playing days) stole taxpayer money and forced AmeriCorp volunteers to perform political and personal duties for his own benefit. Mr. Walpin should’ve just kept his mouth shut and started investigating Republicans. Doesn’t he know who his boss is?
He certainly does now.
This situation, though, begs the question of whether we even need independent inspector generals. President Obama, unlike Bush, has our best interests in mind. We can all therefore close our collective eyes and trust him to do what’s right. Instead of independent inspectors, we should just have the inspectors report directly to the President. Taken from the ranks of ACORN — whom Obama once promised a significant role in his administration — their role would be to make certain that Obama’s will was being done and to ferret out all those who get in the way.
And why just stop with inspectors? Why not remove all the so-called “checks and balances” that hinder President Obama from leading the nation toward progress?
First, we can get the President’s lackeys in Congress to impeach all the conservative Supreme Court justices. Obama can use the same excuse he used with Walpin. We can even leak the same rumors reported about the former Inspector General — that they are “confused and disoriented.” Come to think of it — why not impeach all the justices? After all, Obama is so righteous that he can judge everything for us.
And second, Obama can “temporarily” revoke habeas corpus, which is on pretty thin ice anyway, and quietly terminate the entire Congress. In the dead of night.
Then, we’ll get the change we so desired. Boy, will we.
If only Juvenal were alive to witness it.
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© Copyright 2009 by Colin Cohen. All Rights Reserved.
