OUTING DEEP THROAT

OUTING DEEP THROAT

By Peter Fredson

The hissing and rattling of Watergate media serpents became a frightening cacophony ever since Mark Felt outed himself as the famous Deep Throat. Practically all of the Republicans commenting on the Deep Throat disclosure felt that the man was a traitor, poisonous, vile, and to be shoved under a pile of manure. They are all extremely vocal and aggressive in denouncing Mark Felt. They have little hesitation in calling him a traitor or in ignoring, down-playing, or in excusing whatever Nixon did. Like at Abu Ghraib, foul play by Nixon was just a prank.

Many were still highly indignant that Richard Nixon was forced to resign. They mentioned his loyalty to them and asserted their loyalty to him. I got the impression that if any of them had known all the details of Nixon’s crimes they would have kept it secret, and perhaps nudged each other as co-conspirators do. Some thought that money-laundering and enemies’ lists were simply practical politics. Lying under oath, for them, was simply a good way to avoid responsibility for anything, as long as some SOB didn’t come along to show evidence of a felony. Getting caught really aroused their ire.

Some reluctantly admitted that Nixon had committed mistakes, but hesitated to call them crimes. They all agreed that Nixon was a fine fellow, a strong leader, and the proper person to keep critical Democrats at bay. They still mourn his demise.

The words “Media Whore” were applicable then, but only became popular with the Bush administration. Perhaps a new Deep Throat is needed for the outrages and excesses of the imperial Bush game plan. We need some one to find the notes of meetings of the energy lobbyists with the Vice President. We need someone to find the notes of meetings of Bush with the neoconservative and Christian dominionist’s lobbys.

This Deep Throat affair and later commentary illustrates the great cultural-political divide in the U.S. today. Half the country wants a strong leader, not really a dictator but close. Someone to show strength, to pound people into submission, to “unite” the country by bullying, threats, arrests without warrant, and extra-legal powers. The other half wants three separate but equal governing bodies, not a Republican Congress, a Republican Judiciary, and a Republican Executive. Like Nixon, Bush is showing imperial arrogance and a “go to hell” strategy which is wearing thin on many people.

But Bush took a lesson from Nixon...not in honesty or humility, but in refusing any tapes to be made or notes to be kept. Can a Deep Throat exist today in the same kind of corrupt system but even more secretive one that Nixon left?

What did he know and when did he know it? His media whores don’t care, don’t want to know, or won’t say. The Wall of Secrecy seems much stronger than the Wall of Separation of Church and State.