Political Irony

On the road to ruin the US is traveling, one of the more significant milestones has to be the legal decision that corporations have the same legal protections as real people. As Cecil Adams points out, the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment has been used more often to protect corporations than the former slaves for whom it was originally written. Corporations have even claimed that they have the free-speech right to lie in their advertising.

Corporations may have been given all the rights of real people, but they conveniently don’t have many of the limitations and restrictions. After all, you can’t really throw a corporation in jail.

Which is too bad, particularly in the case of mercenary organization Blackwater. Blackwater has a bloody history, with employees on trial on manslaughter and gun charges. But when they lost their major contract protecting US diplomats in Iraq, how did they respond?  By rebranding themselves. Last month, the company changed their name to Xe (which, as Blue Girl points out, is pronounced “Zee” — as in Nazi). Yesterday, the founder announced he was stepping down (although of course he did appoint the new president and new CEO).

What I find really sad about this is that even if Blackwater were unable to rebrand themselves, all the founder would really have to do is pull out all his money and let the corporation fail. Then he could start a new corporation, with another new name and no bad reputation to live with. After all, corporations can not only change their name, they can change their entire appearance, including their fingerprints.

At the CPAC conference, Rush repeats that he really does want Obama to fail. Conservatives cheer.

Or as Paul Reiser put it:

How come way back when, when the Dixie Chicks casually commented that, on the night our former president declared an unprovoked war, that they felt, at that moment “ashamed to be from Texas,” they were declared heretic, traitors, their records were burned, and they were practically tarred and feathered right off the airwaves. Yet when Rush Limbaugh says he “hopes Obama fails,” he is considered by millions the quintessential patriot?

Even Conservative Republican Governor Mark Sanford said that anyone who wants Obama to fail is an idiot. And Republican Whip Eric Cantor said “I don’t think anyone wants anything to fail right now.”

UPDATE: Here’s an interesting theory that the Democrats are setting a trap for the GOP, using Rush Limbaugh of all people. Could it really be true? And now Michael Steele (the new RNC Chair) says “Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. His whole thing is entertainment. Yes, it’s ugly. Yes, it’s incendiary.” How long will it take the Republican base to turn on him?

UPDATE 2: Yup, today Limbaugh fired back at Steele, saying that Steele was being used by the “liberal media” and:

Why do you claim to lead the Republican Party when you seem obsessed with seeing to it President Obama succeeds? I frankly am stunned that the chairman of the Republican National Committee endorses such an agenda. I have to conclude that he does because he attacks me for wanting it to fail.

Of course, Steele immediately apologized to Limbaugh, saying of his earlier quote about Limbaugh “There was no attempt on my part to diminish his voice or his leadership.”

When the head of the RNC kowtows to Rush’s “leadership”, isn’t that a pretty clear indication of Limbaugh’s dominion over the Republican party?