President Bush Should Pardon the Wal-Mart Shoppers

Police in Valley Stream, New York, are reviewing videotapes to attempt to identify exuberant Black Friday shoppers who trampled to death a Wal-Mart worker who made the tragic mistake of getting between them and some very remarkable bargains. Prosecutors may even try to score cheap political points by filing criminal charges against some of these bargain hunters, who have been called “savages” and “animals” by demagogues in the liberal media. Of course, my heart goes out to the family of this man who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but while it is unfortunate that someone got hurt, capitalism is not a dinner party. There will always be some collateral damage in a free market. Socialists who hate capitalism are now trying to scapegoat these patriotic Americans who celebrated an American tradition by rising before dawn on the day after Thanksgiving to express their love of this country by partaking of the bounties of the free enterprise system. How can those of us who were not there judge people on the front lines of the Christmas shopping rush? Can we honestly say that we would not have rushed past or over this unfortunate man on the way to grabbing the last plasma TV or Wii to bring some Christmas joy to our children? After 9/11 President Bush said that the best way to defeat the terrorists was to “go shopping.” Should we now condemn those who took him at his word? If he meant what he said, then before he leaves office President Bush should issue a blanket pardon to these high-spirited consumers to head off this assault not only on Americans who were just trying to make Christmas a little better for their families in these trying economic times but on the capitalist system itself.

Wal-Mart shoppers who got a little carried away are not the only warriors against terrorism in danger of being hounded by prosecutors once Barack Obama assumes office. If President Bush does not act now, a number of patriotic Americans could have their lives ruined by a vengeful Obama Justice Department. In a column in The Weekly Standard (which was apparently too good to waste on The New York Times) William Kristol writes, “Bush should consider pardoning – and should at least be vociferously praising – everyone who served in good faith in the war on terror, but whose deeds may now be susceptible to demagogic or politically inspired prosecution by some seeking to score political points.” It would indeed be tragic if Bush Administration officials who just followed orders after being assured that their harsh interrogation methods and invasions of privacy did not technically violate the Geneva Conventions or the U.S. Constitution should now be subjected to politically motivated witch hunts. “The CIA agents who waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and the NSA officials who listened in on phone calls from Pakistan, should not have to worry about legal bills or public defamation,” says Kristol. The public defamation of the Wal-Mart shoppers is just a taste of what could be in store for members of the Bush Administration who were just trying to protect this country.

So far President Bush has used his pardoning powers sparingly, granting pardons to a number of Texans caught up in the anti-capitalist savings & loan prosecutions of the 1980s and those targeted by environmentalist extremists who care more about a few bald eagles than hard-working families. Unfortunately, President Bush was not able to protect these Americans from high legal bills and ruined reputations, but by acting now he can prevent future injustices against members of his administration and energetic consumers. He might also head off politically motivated prosecutions of other officials in his administration such as those in the Justice Department who were guilty only of having a different ideology from the incoming administration. And he might also consider pardoning bank CEOs who were just trying to help home-buyers achieve the American dream.

But issuing blanket pardons may not be enough. Kristol goes on to say that not only should the Bush Administration officials who kept this country safe receive pardons, they should be awarded the Medal of Freedom. “They deserve it,” he says. That would certainly send a message to the America haters who think that they can change all the rules just because they won an election.

And if police do succeed in identifying the Wal-Mart shoppers, think of the message President Bush would be sending about the free enterprise system by awarding these great Americans the Medal of Freedom. They refused to horde their hard-earned dollars in low-interest savings accounts but instead went out to spend it, just as President Bush has urged them to do, at an American company that in the best American tradition has given consumers the best bargains possible by not overpaying their workers and by scouring the world for the cheapest merchandise produced in countries that are not subject to draconian labor and environmental laws. Isn’t that the very definition of freedom?

Carnivals: Carnival of Conservatives, Carnival of Market Anarchy

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