The Pontius Pilates of Government

purchased at politicalcartoons.com

The Pontius Pilates of Government
By Joseph E Rathjen
May 17th,2013
Published by: Lifetimeprint.com

When Roman Prefect, Pontius Pilate washed his hands in the court of the Praetorium at the trial of Jesus Christ, he said, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person; see ye to it.”

Does this sound familiar?

If we look back through history, and as far back as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, we will find that government leaders have long ago been “recusing” themselves of personal responsibility for the questionable, scandalous and sometimes criminal acts they instigate and oversee.

This week in Washington, D.C., there were multiple forms of Pontius Pilates roaming the halls of absolution or, should I say, self-absolution. What’s more, you can bet in the coming days and weeks to come, the Pontius Pilate fan club will continue to grow without prejudice.

It simply boggles the mind how a bureaucratic head in Washington, D.C., can even consider making the excuse that a scandal of monumental proportions was devised and carried out by two “rogue” employees. Was he really asking us to believe that just two IRS employees – acting in complete isolation – masterminded and executed an investigation of enormous magnitude that no one else in Washington, D.C., or even inside The White House, knew about?

Poppycock: that story is about as truthful as the fable concocted by Parson Mason Locke Weems, who claimed that George Washington had cut down his father’s cherry tree, and later confessed to it (which was long ago proven to be false). However, it is ironic that Weems’story served as an illustration of one politician’s honesty and moral stature for so long, even finding itself written into the history books and consistently taught to school children.

Take also the case of the Justice Department’s seizure of phone records of Associated Press Journalists. The head of that agency, Eric Holder, threw his arms up at a congressional hearing and categorically denied that he had any previous knowledge of what had been taking place and was not in any way associated with the events that had unfolded. His denial and the expert manner in which he disassociated himself from the case came from the very top of the Pontius Pilate playbook.

Pontius Pilate himself would have been proud of Eric Holder, so much so, in fact, that he would probably have put him in charge of the Praetorian Guard.

However, this raises a question: Should government officials and those who head top government agencies be allowed to simply walk away after issuing half-concocted denials that absolve themselves of any wrongdoing or incompetence? Where is the accountability? Obviously, for them – there is none.

The official who was in charge of the IRS at the time these questionable tactics were being used is now in charge of enforcing ObamaCare. Eric Holder will most likely remain in his post as Attorney General, things will quiet down and life will go on –until the next scandal hits town.

“Copyright 2013 – Joseph Rathjen – All Rights Reserved”