Yesterday, during Senate debate on Lilly Ledbetter, Senator Whitehouse got up and said the following:
As the President looks forward and charts a new course, must someone not also look back to take an accounting of where we are, what was done, and what must now be repaired? Our new President has said, ``America needs to look forward.'' I agree. Our new Attorney General-designate has said: We should not criminalize policy differences. I agree, and I hope we can all agree that summoning young sacrificial lambs to prosecute, as we did after Abu Ghraib, would be reprehensible.
But consider the pervasive, deliberate, and systematic damage the Bush administration did to America, to her finest traditions and institutions, to her reputation, and integrity. I evaluate that damage in history's light. Although I am no historian, here is what I believe: The story of humankind on this Earth has been a long and halting march from the darkness of barbarism and the principle that to the victor go the spoils, to the light of organized civilization and freedom.
Matt Stoller: What do we do about the, I ugh, as someone who has seen a rogue administration that has engaged in multiples acts that are beyond the bounds of American legitimacy in the political system and the international system, this country's done some very bad things over the last seven years, what do we do after the Bush administration is out of office to root out the networks of people who have engaged in these kinds of behaviors?
Wes Clark: Hold them accountable. We've got to hold them accountable under law and do the investigations and have the heart and fortitude to stay with the investigations against the partisan cry of the right-wingers who say 'oh it's over now let's move on and let's look to the future'. No, it's not over, because the people who did it are still there.
Matt Stoller: So you think Senator Clinton as President will do those investigations?
Wes Clark: Yes.
Matt Stoller: And you think Congress should continue those investigations once Bush is out of office?
Wes Clark: Absolutely.
Matt Stoller: And we have very serious fiscal problems, we're printing huge amounts of money, and I don't think the media is dealing seriously with the problem and the public isn't necessarily engaged on the issue. In 2004 you talked about reducing the military budget, and you said you know where the money is, where the weapons systems are. Do you still believe we need to reduce the amount of money that is spent?
Wes Clark: I think we're going to have to look very carefully at our military programs. We've got about $100B shortfall in the ground forces budget over the next five years, we've got to make up that shortfall, we've got to look at other programs to make sure we have well-balanced programs necessary to provide deterrence and maintain America's traditional areas of superiority in unintelligible, space and air.
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