A belated welcome to everybody who’s drifted over here from Hit and Run. Avoid the Thank You For Smoking review.
Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to read Glenn Greenwald’s new book, How Would a Patriot Act? It’s a small book (128 pages), but I think a terrifically important one. I should mention at the start that none of the content will be especially new to anybody who’s been anywhere in the liberal blogosphere since December – and I do mean the proper blogosphere, not this wretched little outpost.
The book recounts the history of President Bush’s ongoing efforts to set his office above the rule of law, particularly his conduct in the NSA wiretapping controversy. If it served no other purpose, the book would be invaluable for providing a concise reference for the specific acts Bush and company have committed and the unconstitutional theories that have been advanced to justify their behavior.
This is not Greenwald’s primary goal, however, and the meat of the book is reflected in its title: he aims to retake the word “patriot” from its current debased meaning of “someone who supports Bush in all ways at all times” by demonstrating the many, many ways in which Bush’s actions run entirely contrary to the founding documents of the United States. He does this by citing theories and opinions written by Madison, Jefferson, Adams et al, and by constantly calling upon not only prominent liberals but also prominent conservative scholars who believe that Bush’s lawbreaking is un-American in addition to illegal.
Greenwald claims to have been apolitical until the years after 9/11, and this book reflects it: it’s the viewpoint of a man who was rudely awakened from a somewhat utopic dream by the realities of an unusually corrupt White House. For those who have been closely following the lawbreaking of the Bush administration for the last five years, much of this seems redundant or obvious, and speaking as one whose reaction to every successive scandal has been, “well, of course they’re going to do that,” I couldn’t quite get behind Greenwald’s sense of indignation at what’s been done to his country – I got that out of my system two or three years ago. But this remains a highly useful book, and perhaps even an important one. If it’s not a great springboard for grassroots action, it’s certainly a perfect conversation starter. Strongly recommended.