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DEA: Our Job is Not to Practice Democracy

By Jeralyn, Section Crime Policy
Posted on Fri Sep 29, 2006 at 04:53:24 PM EST
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You gotta love it....after a large, months-long undercover drug operation in Aspen using wiretaps, snitches and car tracking devices, the DEA had this to say in defense of its undercoverwork:

Undercover work isn't always popular in Aspen, but "to quote a movie, 'our job is to protect democracy, not to practice it,'" [DEA Agent Jeffrey] Sweetin said.

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    DEA: Our Job is Not to Practice Democracy | 12 comments (12 topical)
    Re: DEA: Our Job is Not to Practice Democracy (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Sep 29, 2006 at 05:46:41 PM EST
    C'mon now, It would be perfectly logical to make the comparison, since a reasonable person should assume it references popular democracy i.e. the people don't get to vote on everything at a tactical level. Lighten up. Cordially, Uncle J

    Re: DEA: Our Job is Not to Practice Democracy (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Sep 29, 2006 at 08:48:12 PM EST
    I like this:
    If Aspen were as tolerant as some would have people believe, these deals would be going down at traffic lights.
    That is so true. Those guys at the lights are way more reliable (and have a much better business sense) than those fools who can actually get themselves a building from which to conduct their business.

    Re: DEA: Our Job is Not to Practice Democracy (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Sep 29, 2006 at 08:48:12 PM EST
    Yep...that's part of the Bush administration all right!!

    Re: DEA: Our Job is Not to Practice Democracy (none / 0) (#4)
    by rdandrea on Fri Sep 29, 2006 at 08:48:12 PM EST
    Is the issue that this happened in Aspen? How about Rifle, or God forbid, Grand Junction, where the DEA shot a guy in a bowling alley when there was a pre-school there on a field trip?

    Re: DEA: Our Job is Not to Practice Democracy (none / 0) (#5)
    by cpinva on Fri Sep 29, 2006 at 08:48:12 PM EST
    was this intentional irony? first congress, now the dea. osama is laughing his ass off somewhere!

    Re: DEA: Our Job is Not to Practice Democracy (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Sep 29, 2006 at 08:48:12 PM EST
    Sounds like the DEA is well indoctrined into Bush's america. To practice democracy is to go against the Dear Leader

    Re: DEA: Our Job is Not to Practice Democracy (none / 0) (#7)
    by scarshapedstar on Fri Sep 29, 2006 at 10:11:58 PM EST
    I think there ought to be limits to freedom. G.W. Bush
    Re: DEA: Our Job is Not to Practice Democracy (none / 0) (#9)
    by kdog on Sat Sep 30, 2006 at 09:47:44 AM EST
    That's a laugher allright....I'd love for someone to explain to me how the dea "protects democracy". I think it's quite the opposite...they weaken it. Americans want drugs by the millions, americans are willing to sell drugs to fill that demand. The people have spoken!

    Re: DEA: Our Job is Not to Practice Democracy (none / 0) (#8)
    by kipling on Sat Sep 30, 2006 at 09:53:18 AM EST
    Well, if someone in a movie said it, it MUST be true! In Hitler's Germany, the system rewarded the amoral, the thugs, and the clever: they rose to the top of the heap. According to this quote, what kind of people rise to the top in your country at present? It's a puzzle, innit!

    Re: DEA: Our Job is Not to Practice Democracy (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Sep 30, 2006 at 10:56:38 AM EST
    The DEA is in the business of arresting as many people as they can get away with. Their budget and their power (as a Gov't Agency) are directly tied to how many arrests they make.

    Re: DEA: Our Job is Not to Practice Democracy (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Sep 30, 2006 at 10:55:04 PM EST
    What movie is that from? It seems like "A Few Good Men" or something. And it was probably a line by the bad guy... --YY

    Re: DEA: Our Job is Not to Practice Democracy (none / 0) (#12)
    by Sailor on Sun Oct 01, 2006 at 12:04:11 PM EST
    It would be perfectly logical to make the comparison, since a reasonable person should assume it references popular democracy i.e. the people don't get to vote on everything at a tactical level.
    Sorry, doesn't wash. Every American gov't agency's overriding mission is to defend and support the constitution. You can't do this by ignoring it. You cannot save a village by destroying it. You cannot kill in the name of Jesu. You cannot violate your core beliefs to uphold them. I can't believe that only a sailor can understand that it isn't the destination, it's the journey. In the larger sense; we all have the same destination in this life; how you live your life is much more important than how you die.

    DEA: Our Job is Not to Practice Democracy | 12 comments (12 topical)