The Ever Helpful Hatch

The American Fascist from Utah

Full disclosure: I've hated Sen. Orrin Hatch for decades, long before I had ever heard of George W. Bush. I first heard of the lizardlike Republican from Utah when watching the Iran/Contra hearings. Even then he had his techniques for obfuscation down pat. When Ollie North, John Poindexter, Robert Mcfarlane, Michael Ledeen or any of the other traitors were on the stand, he would throw marshmallows at them, praise them for their service to the country and try to make them look like patriots. "Tell me, Colonel North, how your noble and heroic efforts to supply the Contra freedom fighters with bullets, boots and beans helped their country while serving vital American interests at home," that kind of thing.

If you're not familiar with the details of the Iran/Contra affair, or even if you are, click on some of the links above. It's scary to think that Ollie North has a cushy job with FOX "news" as a commentator, despite multiple convictions. Or that John Poindexter "served a brief stint as the Director of the DARPA Information Awareness Office for the administration of George W. Bush" in spite of his multiple convictions stemming from the Iran/Contra affair. In private life Poindexter helped develop the technology used by the NSA to massively violate Americans' fourth amendment rights of privacy.

Check out Michael Ledeen and his self-avowed love of fascism. He's now "a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a contributing editor to National Review." Spewing neocon/fascist propaganda into the American consciousness. While we're on the subject, it might be of interest to look up Dick Cheney's connection to Iran/Contra too. Verrrry interesting.

The American fascist would prefer not to use violence. His method is to poison the channels of public information. With a fascist the problem is never how best to present the truth to the public but how best to use the news to deceive the public into giving the fascist and his group more money or more power." -- Henry A. Wallace, Vice President to FDR, 1944
The Danger of American Fascism

These are the type of people Orrin Hatch conspires with. Traitors, criminals, avowed fascists. Most of whom, by the way, never paid fully for their crimes because they were pardoned by George H. W. Bush.

Now watch Hatch in action yesterday 'questioning' (questionably) Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Video courtesy of TPM Muckraker, who along with FireDogLake's liveblogging has providing the best overall coverage of the hearings.

Hatch on Comey

You should now make note of another obfuscatory technique that Hatch uses here, which he also used to great advantage in the Iran/Contra hearings. Not only does he 'set up' the witness to disgorge his well-rehearsed talking points in the best possible light, Hatch also (and this is vitally important) testifies himself. The key to the success of this technique is that Hatch is not under oath. Quite an advantage, wouldn't you say?

Watching this exchange, it is hard not to believe that Hatch and Gonzales rehearsed this beforehand. Hatch's first objective is to bring up exactly the points that Gonzo relies on during the entirety of his testimony, trying to defuse the explosive story of Gonzo's visit to Ashcroft's ICU unit when he was WhiteHouse counsel. And most telling, Hatch elaborates on Gonzales' contrived excuse that this visit's origin was not in the White House, but in Congress ('the gang of eight'.)

Hatch (testifying, but not under oath): "That was the gang of eight you're saying.. ..The two leaders of the intelligence committee in the House, the two leaders in the Senate? Democrats and Republicans?"

Gonzales: "Democrats and Republicans."

As Henry Wallace said in 1944, "His method is to poison the channels of public information." And why was it so important that it be Hatch, and not Gonzales to introduce this gang of eight tidbit into the story? Because three of the eight have already come out saying that it's a lie.

-Read more on this story at Ice Station Tango. (with Keith Olbermann video)

TAGS: Judiciary Committee Hearings, Alberto Gonzales
Treason, Orrin Hatch, Traitor