Father of ABC Politics Chief Halperin: Bush 'Far Greater Threat' Than Nixon

Los Angeles Times/NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

by Mark Finkelstein

July 16, 2006 - 16:03

Morton Halperin was once a name in the news. In 1969, then-National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger named Halperin to the NSA. But soon thereafter Kissinger suspected it was the dovish Halperin who leaked to the NY Times the fact that the US was secretly bombing Cambodia. The FBI began tapping his phone, and Halperin was soon gone from NSA. Perhaps Halperin's biggest claim to fame is the fact that Pres. Nixon put him on his 'Enemies List.' A red badge of courage, no pun intended, off which a person can no doubt eat for a lifetime in liberal circles.

Halperin remains active politically, serving as a senior fellow at the 'Center for American Progress.' As detailed by the invaluable Discoverthenetworks, CAP is a George Soros-funded organization founded on the risible principle that American colleges and universities are dominated by . . . conservatives, and that it is "time for progressive students to start winning the battle of ideas."

In an op-ed column in today's LA Times entiled Bush: Worse Than Nixon, Halperin claims to find disturbing similarities between the Nixon and Bush administrations. He writes:

"It's hard not to notice the clear similarities between then and now. Both the Nixon and Bush presidencies rely heavily on the use of national security as a pretext for the usurpation of unprecedented executive power. Now, just as in Nixon's day, a president mired in an increasingly unpopular war is taking extreme steps, including warrantless surveillance, that many people believe threaten American civil liberties and violate the Constitution. Both administrations shroud their actions in secrecy and attack the media for publishing what they learn about those activities."

But bad as was the Nixon administration in Halperin's eyes, he concludes the Bush administration . . . is even worse.

"Though Nixon's specific actions might have been more obviously illegal and more "corrupt" (in the sense that they were designed to advance his own career over his rivals), President Bush's claim of nearly limitless power — including the ability to engage in a range of activities that pose a fundamental threat to the constitutional order and to our civil liberties — overshadows all comparisons."

His over-heated conclusion? That Pres. Bush poses "a challenge to our constitutional order and civil liberties that, in the end, constitutes a far greater threat than the lawlessness of Richard Nixon."

In any case, Halperin is perhaps better-known today as father of Mark Halperin, Director of the Political Unit of ABC News. As detailed by Wikipedia here:

"In October of 2004, in the midst of the presidential election, Halperin sent a memo to ABC News staff, directing them not to "reflexively and artificially hold both sides 'equally' accountable." This was interpreted by many as an instruction to favor Kerry in ABC News coverage. He justified this stance by claiming that both Kerry and Bush used 'distortion' in their campaign, but that Kerry's distortion was not 'central to his efforts to win.'"

Seems that the apple hasn't fallen fall from the tree.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

LA Times/NewsBusters enemies-list ping to Today show list.

[RacerX1128]

Main Scream Media continues to fire its missiles at Bush.

[GLH3IL]

Yup...those woefully inaccurate Scud type missles that make a whole lot of noise but rarely do all that much harm. Occasionally they fire one of those Forged Typo Ding Dong 2 types that only stay in the air for 35 seconds before that flp back to eath in disgrace..Dan Blather knows about those.

[Txsleuth]

MARK Halperin, he of the infamous e-mail to ABC News employees on the night of one of the Kerry/Bush debates...

was a guest on Hugh Hewitt the other night...I didn't hear the interview...because I missed it...I just heard Hugh thanking Halperin..and talking about Halperin's NEW BOOK>...blech

[GLH3IL]

I tell ya....never try to type anything with a 6 month old baby on your lap...

[HarleyLady27]

OHHHH BUNK.....thats what I think of this article....

Makes good fish wrap tho.....

[Hartmann]

He must have been synchronizing with the NY Times. In today's NY Times editorial, it talks about "The Real Agenda: Much of the Bush administration's response to the attacks of Sept. 11 had far less to do with fighting Osama bin Laden than with expanding presidential power."
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/index.html

They're coming to take me away ha ha.
They're coming to take me away ho ho.
Hee hee ha ha.
They're coming to take me away
To the funny farm
Where life is beautiful all the time.
I'll be happy to see those nice young men
In their clean white suits.
And they're coming to take me away ha ha.

[Paperdoll]

What has happened to our Constitution?

To learn about the oligarchy behind our gubmint since Woodrow Wilson, read "The Planned Destruction of America," by Dr. James W. Wardner, self published. The last printing was in 1996. I tried the telephone number, which has been given to someone else. I don't know what has happened to Dr. Wardner, but I do know there are alot of people who don't want anyone to read this book. Just keep your eye peeled for it in second hand bookstores.

By the way, Patrick Henry said it best when he said, "Give me liberty or give me death."

[bray]

The Dinosaur Roars as his head slips beneath the surface of the Tarpit...

The difference is that the Stone-age press no longer has their Monopoly like they did with Nixon.

Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighters
Shalom Israel

[Brad from Tennessee]

Morton Halperin works for George Soros (Karl Marx with dollars)and his Open Society organization. He is likely loonier than this article reveals.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

I did mention Halperin's Soros connection in the article. Please see the second para:

"Halperin remains active politically, serving as a senior fellow at the 'Center for American Progress.' As detailed by the invaluable Discoverthenetworks, CAP is a George Soros-funded organization founded on the risible principle that American colleges and universities are dominated by . . . conservatives, and that it is 'time for progressive students to start winning the battle of ideas.'"

[rennatdm]

Nixon got us into Vietnam and Bush was behind 9-11. Its true cause I seen it on the D.U..

[Richard Axtell]

The old Left does not die quietly, but it does do its best to reinfect a new generation. Fortunately for the country, in the battle of ideas, these people are armed with only their own poison-gas-rhetoric, and come unarmed with any facts or grasp of reality. Halprin fails as always to make any kind of real points, because he believes his own overheated and fallacious rhetoric and assumes we agree with him. Totally off base, and obsolete.

[WarEagle]

"The Real Agenda: Much of the Bush administration's response to the attacks of Sept. 11 had far less to do with fighting Osama bin Laden than with expanding presidential power."

EEEEEvil Karl Rove, at it again.

Four airplanes were not hijacked by 19 Islamocrazies on 9/11, 3000+ Americans minding their own business were not killed, Bin Laden didn't take credit for it.

All was a figment of the fevered brain of Karl Rove, hell-bent on turning the US into a Presidential dictatorship.

Morton Halperin must have stopped taking his Zoloft at least a week ago.

[Brad from Tennessee]

". . . American colleges and universities are dominated by . . . conservatives, and that it is 'time for progressive students to start winning the battle of ideas.'"

I grew up in a very conservative town in Central Florida. Even in junior high in the early 1960's, except for the coaches, all of my teachers were liberals. I had to bite my tongue in college. If the American education establishment moved any farther to left they would fall off the earth.

[ZULU]

A lying suicidal lunatic.

[Brilliant]

It just demonstrates what we already knew: The media hates Bush with an unparalleled passion, so much so that they are willing to destroy the whole nation just to make him look bad.

[seasoned traditionalist]

has-been

One entry found for has-been.

Main Entry: has-been
Pronunciation: 'haz-"bin, -"ben, chiefly British -"bEn

halperin - morton

[governsleastgovernsbest]

LOL - nice work!