Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Attorney General Eric Holder testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month about the Fast and Furious investigation.
Until recently, the Republican investigation into Operation Fast and Furious had been churning along in the background of our political debate, mostly ignored by just about everyone but Fox News and its viewers. That changed in a hurry Wednesday, when a House committee, on a party-line vote, approved a measure to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for his refusal to turn over documents related to the probe.
Since the issue now looks like it could be with us for a while, it’s worth getting up to speed. Here’s what you need to know about Fast and Furious and the latest partisan skirmish that it’s triggered:
I thought The Fast and the Furious was a Vin Diesel movie about exploding cars which was later unwisely extended into a whole series of basically identical sequels. What does that have to do with Eric Holder?
That’s different. The Fast and Furious we’re concerned with was one of the operations conducted as part of Project Gunrunner, a program of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) that was begun in 2005 under the Bush administration. The idea behind Project Gunrunner was to deliberately allow traceable firearms to go to Mexican drug cartel members, with the hope that this would help lead law enforcement to higher-ranking criminals.
That sounds like a terrible idea? Did it work?
Of course it didn’t. In 2010, a U.S. Border Agent was killed in a firefight by a gun that had fallen into the hands of drug cartels as part of the program. That led an ATF whistleblower to reveal that the Fast and Furious operation, begun in 2009 as part of Operation Gunrunner, had lost track of many of the guns it had allowed criminals to obtain. And that in turn prompted Rep. Darrell Issa, the California Republican who chairs the House Oversight committee, to begin investigating Fast and Furious last year.
But some conservatives are treating Fast and Furious like a nefarious conspiracy, rather than just a botched program. The head of the NRA called it “just one part of Barack Obama’s agenda to attack gun owners and our Second Amendment rights.” And one conservative blogger called it “the Reichstag fire of the Second Amendment.” What are they talking about?
Great question. As Rachel Maddow explained Wednesday night, a conspiracy theory that originated in the far-right blogosphere argues that the program was designed to deliberately provoke an increase in gun violence, giving the administration a convenient excuse to then crack down on gun rights (just as the Nazis set fire to the Reichstag building soon after coming to power and blamed it on their political opponents, giving them an excuse to crack down on political dissent). It's of a piece with the general idea pushed by among gun-rights supporter like NRA president Wayne LaPierre that the fact that the President Obama hasn't yet done anything to limit gun rights only serves as evidence that he plans to limit gun rights. He's lulling gun owners into a false sense of security, you see.
All pretty crazy, right? And yet, as Maddow made clear, the"Reichstag Fire of the Second Amendment" theory has been taken up by Republican lawmakers including Sen. Charles Grassley and Issa himself, and has informed the committee's investigation.
Wow. So anyway, what’s the point of contention? Why is this blowing up now?
Holder’s Justice Department, which oversees ATF, has turned over 7,600 documents to Issa since the investigation began, by its count. But it refuses to turn over documents that relate to internal communication after February 4, 2011. Why that date? That’s the date of a Justice Department letter which claimed the ATF always tried to interdict illegally purchased guns—an assertion that DoJ was forced to walk back later that year, after an internal investigation into the matter. In other words, it appears that Holder’s concerns aren’t about documents covering the program itself, but rather are about documents that relate to the department’s response to the controversy.
Doesn’t Congress have a right to get whatever documents it asks for? How can the administration withhold them?
President Obama is citing executive privilege, arguing that the documents are covered under “presidential communications privilege,” which is intended to ensure that presidents can conduct a full and robust decision-making process without fear of internal deliberations being exposed. As it’s been used in the past, it can be applied even to communications in which the president himself was not personally involved. Holder wrote in a letter to Obama this week (pdf) that releasing the documents "would inhibit candor of such executive branch deliberations in the future and significantly impair the executive branch’s ability to respond independently and effectively to congressional oversight.” Holder added that the requests relate in part to ongoing criminal investigations and prosecutions, and so releasing the documents could compromise those efforts.
More generally, Democratic lawmakers agree that the whole thing—not just Fast and Furious, but Project Gunrunner in its entirety—was a major screw-up that needs to be probed. But they say the focus on Holder is misplaced, and shows that the investigation is a politically motivated effort to embarrass the administration. Nancy Pelosi argued further Thursday that the effort is payback for Holder's bid to block state voter ID laws pushed by Republicans.
I thought President Obama was all about open government. Is asserting this executive privilege common?
More common than you might think. President Clinton invoked it 14 times, and President George W. Bush 6. This is the first time that President Obama has done it.
So what happens now that the committee has voted to hold Holder in contempt?
The vote will now go to the full House, likely as soon as next week. The committee vote was on party lines, with all Republicans voting yes and all Democrats no. A similar breakdown is expected in next week’s vote, for which Speaker John Boehner has voiced his support. If that happens, the House could then, in theory, initiate a criminal proceeding against Holder, with the potential of up to a year of jail time. Congress could even be empowered to arrest Holder and throw him in the Capitol jail (yes, there’s a Capitol jail).
But that’s unlikely. Instead, the House will likely pursue a civil prosecution in federal courts, meaning a judge would ultimately decide—no doubt after a lengthy process of appeals by both sides—whether the documents have to be released. But by that time the Obama administration may no longer exist, and everyone will likely have forgotten about the kerfuffle. In other words, the important point isn’t really about what happens to the documents, it’s about the political impact of an Attorney General being held in contempt.
When was the last time someone was held in contempt?
Not too long ago, actually. In 2008, the Democratic House held Bush White House officials Josh Bolten and Harriet Miers in contempt for refusing to turn over documents relating to the Bush administration’s politicization of the Justice Department. The matter is still ongoing in the courts.
Leave a Comment:
Abomination and complete lack of principles from the Left.
Scores of innocent people were murdered as a result of Fast and Furious STARTED IN 2009 long after a similar program (Wide Receiver) was cancelled under the Bush administration.
The Left is again playing the "Bush Card" to divert attention away from a demonstrably destructive program that the Obama administration restarted, continued, and covered-up until whistleblowers alerted Congress.
Republicans may have committed an act of treason involving Operation Fast and Furious by halting drug enforcement on the Mexican border.
Treason definition:
Article 1 section 8 of the US constitution does not authorize congress the power to coerce other branches of government. Any power not mentioned in article 1 section 8 is prohibited. That means the contempt charge violates the constitution.
One of the reasons that executive privilege exists is so that the identity and home address of law enforcement officials can be kept secret so that the criminals can't hunt them down and kill them.
For that reason, it is illegal to release wiretap information, depositions, and investigation transcripts because this violates the National Security Act of 1947 and other federal laws.
Releasing wiretaps and transcripts would give aid to enemies involving the war on drugs and terrorists by allowing criminals to gain the true identity of law enforcement officials. The definition of treason listed in the constitution.
Contempt of Congress definition:
Holder provided congress with over 7,600 pages of documents and has made numerous high-level officials available for public congressional testimony, transcribed interviews, and briefings.
So Holder did not commit any contempt offense.
And Republicans have violated the constitution and blocked the War on Drugs?
Holder would actually be violating multiple provisions of the constitution if he obeyed the illegal congressional that have requested prohibited information.
So Holder cooperated with congress and republicans committed treason?
And Holder can now arrest and detain members of congress for treason?
And only Pres Obama has the power to pardon anyone for treason?!?
And Republicans halted the War on Drugs?!?!?
This is getting way interesting.
Republicans only found out about the program because they started it.
Site #1:
Site #2:
Site #3:
Site #4:
And so on.
Obama is going to have to throw these clowns in jail for a few weeks to straighten them out.
Well, I see the first part of your name is correct. You are so typical. You've apparently spent hours researching more of that "unbiased investigative journalism" just so you can prove that it's all "Bush's fault". Seriously, do you ever tire of that? We're 3&1/2 years into O's administration and yet you still want to blame Bush for everything! O is the most corrupt president in our history, surpassing Nixon. Maybe if you spent more time researching your chosen one, you'd become enlightened. Then again, I doubt it would matter to you.
Says the guy who gets information from Fox news.
CHA- Are you serious?? Do you even read your own links?
Wide Receiver was a preview of an even bigger, equally misbegotten gun-walking probe conducted by the Obama Administration in 2009 and 2010: Operation Fast and Furious, which unleashed 2,000 weapons in just over a year. Last December, two of those guns were found at the scene of the murder of a U.S. Border Patrol officer near Rio Rico, Ariz. A subsequent congressional inquiry has led to a shake-up in ATF management and the resignation of the U.S. attorney for Arizona. Republicans in Congress have called for Attorney General Eric Holder to step down as well, accusing him of concealing his knowledge of the Fast and Furious program and lying to Congress. In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Nov. 8, Holder denied covering up anything but condemned tactics used by his department’s gun-trafficking investigators. “I want to be clear,” the Attorney General said. “Any instance of so-called gun walking is unacceptable.” Fast and Furious, he added, “was flawed in its concept and flawed in its execution.”
Not only does Holder admit that the whole operation went wrong, but he lied about even knowing about it. Oh and watch this:
...the Obama administration is responsible for F&F and the 15,000 lives taken from the 5,000+ guns lost in the operation.
See I can make up my own crap too and make it look official. Site #3 and #4 are the same moron and you obviously didn't read the rest of #3 which explains and pretty much debunks this guy Humungous... OPINION!! Doesn't make it fact just because it's online.
Crackhead Awards:
I take it that you're smoking some of that crack, right?
Whether it was Bush or Obama is irrelevant. Terry is dead. BATFE and the DOJ under Eric Holder was responsible for it. Eric Holder has not punished one single person yet for this operation.
How is that Government accountability and transparency? The Fed's are killing their own people and then refusing to answer the American citizens about how and why it happened. We want to know who is responsible. We want them to be accountable for the blood of Brian Terry and countless other Mexican families.
when are they going to investigate me?
I have nothing but contempt for congress....
Horrible coverage once again. You left out a few thing, I believe.
The number of guns
The choice to not follow the guns over the border into Mexico
The canning of the federal whistle blower (gotta love that Obama protection)
The cover up by the DoJ is what the documents show and perjury which is a felony and a much greater sentence than one year.
In fact both Obama and Holder knew about the program even though they denied it.
Don't vote for Obama
Don't vote for Romney
Be your own president
At least Obama can't claim to hold opposite viewpoints on every issues.
Opposite viewpoints
maybe not (but very arguable) but lies? yes
Bill Ayres was "just a guy in the neigborhood"
"We'll get rid of lobbyists in my administration" (read Solyndra, GE, Wall street bailouts, GM)
"born in Kenya" (from bio HE wrote in his own book!!!)
"This administration (Bush's) seems to hide behind executive privelege"
Brian Terry is dead. Eric Holder has not punished one single person. President Obama has done absolutely nothing to punish the people responsible. It has taken a Congressional Impeachment to get this far. You are disgusting for trying to defend this. It doesn't matter if it was Bush, or Clinton or Obama. Wrong is wrong.
It is an abomination that the Left has abandoned principles to protect their cronies in the Obama administration.
Scores of innocent people have been murdered because of this destructive program RESTARTED in 2009 by the Obama administration AFTER it was CANCELLED by the Bush administration.
Moreover, unlike the Bush administration in which Wide Receiver was cancelled when it was found to be dangerous, the Obama administration has demonstrated criminal negligence by continuing the program even after it was obvious that the guns were being used in violent crimes AND unlike the Bush administration they had to resort to obstruction because whistleblowers had to alert Congress.
The Bush-era gun tracing program known as "Wide Receiver" was executed in concert with the Mexican government, which was fully involved at every step of the process. "Fast & Furious" was conceived and launched without the knowledge of the Mexican government -- and its citizens have paid a very dear price as a result. Even Holder himself has acknowledged that Fast & Furious was entirely an Obama-era endeavor. Leave it to people like Rachael Maddow to try to make it seems this started with the Bush Admin. Wide Receiver involved controlled delivery with agents close by. F&F just let the guns walk. Now this inexperienced rookie of a president has to explain to the mother of agent Terry what his administration knew and when. Right in the middle of a election year. You can't make this stuff up! I can only imagine what David Axelrod is doing to make his boss come out smelling like a rose after all the manure they created.
Riding Filthy,
Kindly refer to post #2.1 regarding congressional treason.
I think the treason thing would make an excellent advertisement.
Your opinion?
Actually, the issue is that A.G. Eric Holder testified, under oath, that he did not know about the program until AFTER Brian Terry was murdered with a gun ignorantly provided by the DOJ through the ATF.
Documents have actually shown that Eric Holder and other ranking members DID know about the program before Brian Terry's death.
This is a major issue because it appears the Attorney General of the United States, (the chief law enforcement officer in the entire country people), lied while under oath. Don't you think that affects his competency or credibility in carrying out the office?
Moreover, the NRA very well may be correct in their assertion that the administration was sending firearms into Mexico for ulterior purposes. Janet Napolitano and both BATFE were making agruments that weapons in Mexico came from the U.S. (when in fact they are much cheaper to buy from China or Europe). Morever, internal U.S. cables show the overwhelming majority of heavy weaponry actually comes from South American countries and not the United States. To simply pretend that the asserted position of the administration might have something to do with Fast & Furious is not that much of a stretch when you consider just how utterly moronic the program actually was.
Combine that with the DOJ's prior notice of the program and you can not help but think that the motives for the program were not legitimate. If they were, people would have put an end to it immediately. Instead it did not occur and more than 1500 assault rifles were given to drug lords in Mexico. Why is anyone surprised that those guns ended up killing innocent people (NOT JUST BRIAN TERRY, there are others).
Transcripts, wiretaps, and agent identity are prohibited from public disclosure by federal law. Holder would be violating federal law without authorization if he obeyed republicans.
Congress must first grant immunity from prosecution AND must guarantee secrecy before the requested documents can be provided. That has not happened because congress is attempting to get Holder to violate the law.
Documents that include the name of a program do not reveal the nature of a program.
That is called "compartmentalization". That is how the US government keeps secrets while having a government that is open and democratic.
Difficult to understand. Huh?
These rules were established as a results of mistakes, many of which were fatal.
DoJ, DoD, CIA, and NSA programs require:
The charter eliminates the obligation to obey certain legal and treaty obligations.
Security information is classified and compartmentalized on a need to know basis.
The name of the program goes with a line item that goes right up through the chain of command to congress, so congress knew the same about of information as Holder knew by having access to the name of the program.
That is how the funding for Fast and Furious got approved by the same people that now want to incarcerate the Holder after Holder did what congress told him to do.
The charter, mission statement, and rules of engagement are available only to managers within the division assigned to the task. Field agents receive specific assignments from managers that have access to the charter, MS, and ROE.
Nobody has proven that Holder had access to those three documents. Top level managers usually don't have that kind of access so that the identity and assignments of the enforcement agents can be kept secret.
Federal employees are not required to obey federal, state, and local laws if they have access to these three things. That is why congress can't tell the president what to do.
Nobody has proven that Holder had seen a copy of the charter, mission statement, or rules of engagement.
Nobody has proven that Holder withheld that information after it became available.
Crackhead Awards, you deserve an award. Complying with a Congressional Subpoena merely requires redaction of the information or protection of it. The fact that one department of the government already has the name means that the information is known. There is no governmental privilege designed to protect any division of the government from hiding the individuals responsible for other federal/governmental employees.
If your argument was sound, ever single congressional inquiry would be utterly worthless. What is so difficult to understand about that? It is said that you will willing close your eyes to the death of a person trying to uphold the law while Holder purposely ignores and refuses to enforce laws passed by the will of citizens and vote of Senate and House; and ultimately signed by a United States President.
You should be disgusted with yourself.
Executive Privilege (Watergate) = Nixon guilty and impeached.
Executive Privilege (Fast&Furious) = Obama guilty and impeached?
Rewrite much? Nixon was never impeached, he quit office when the republican congress initiated impeachment hearings it was not the Water Gate break in that caused Nixons down fall it was Nixons illegal wire taps that brought him down, Water Gate was just the stepping stone to how far Nixon went to wire tap anyone who disagreed with him.
Congress is going to back down because they actually halted the War on Drugs using an unconstitutional tactic described in post #2.1, so republicans are actually participating in treason by doing something that will give aid and comfort to the enemy.
Think about this for a moment as well, these people are correct:
"Why is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States of America testifying inaccurately about the biggest issue of his career? Did the facts just slip his mind? Did he not prepare for the hearing? I thought an attorney's entire job was to be over-prepared." - The Cluster Duck
....
Brian Terry has been dead for more than one year and Eric Holder has not punished one single person. Here is his testimony about it:
"No I have not a s yet -- as yet," Holder said when questioned by Issa on the matter. "There have been personnel changes made at ATF. We obviously have a new U.S. attorney in Arizona. We have made personnel switches at ATF. People have been moved out of positions."
For the record, Holder praised the individuals that he moved, at the time of the move, for the good work and competence they had shown. REALLY!?? Yes. Fact. Look it up.
As usual, the REAL NEWS is obtained from the bloggers in the COMMENTS section ... NOT the BIASED MSNBC diatribe! Can you try just a little harder to NOT show your complete, undying loyalty to the fraud in the WH? Thanks again, MSNBC, for your "investigative reporting"!
Operation Fast & Furious is nothing new. Remember Reagan, Oliver North and the Contras? Why is any one in congress pretending like this is something to get anyone in coongress involved let alone the whole country. US has been in South America violence war for the longest. Well of what National Interest is this information to the public?
The Attorney General who is in charge of enforcing the laws, lied under oath. That doesn't bother you?
I love the "no big deal, nothing to see here" introduction. Then we have the obligatory "it’s Bush’s fault." Followed by conspiracy theories to show you how paranoid the right is. It looks like Mr. Roth pretty much followed MSNBC’s standard template #2 for reporting on obama scandals.
Just an observation Mr. Roth, you very well know the reason no one has done much reporting on this scandal. It’s the same reason you haven’t reported on it until now, when your hand was forced. You love obama and you’re more than willing to compromise journalistic integrity to carry the water for the guy.
*wipes screen down*
Sorry, I had just taken a drink of water when I thought of MSNBC and "journalistic integrity" and it caused me to laugh ... a little too hard ... a bit of a sprayer actually. It’s all good now, nothing to see here ... Bush’s fault you know ...
The Attorney General of the United States apparently lied under oath in connection with a program that put AK-47's (over 1500 of them) directly into the hands of violent drug lords. This "project" killed innocent people including a United States border patrol agent. Yet, here you sit and say it isn't a big deal? What is happening to America!?
Should we just ignore the fact that the A.G. apparently doesn't understand the rule of law?! What an Oath means?
Well, Zachary Roth, I thought that your article was just fine. I appreciate your providing this insight. Thank you!
According to the ATF website <http://www.atf.gov/firearms/programs/project-gunrunner/> facts in this MSNBC article do not coincide with the ATF's own words.
Fast and Furious funded through American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Something that needs to be mentioned as well is the infintestimal amount of primetime coverage that the NBC Nightly News has given to this situation. Until the situation deteriorated to the point that Obama stuck his big foot into this, NBC viewers were exposed to mere seconds of coverage since this began. That the article above exists at all is proof of the deliberate lack-of-coverage by NBC. How NBC maintains the false veneer that "journalism" still exists at the network is a tribute to their partisan ideology.
Can someone please give me a location where the information is not tainted with political bias and pointing fingers. I just want to know that someone in the media is still doing "real" investigative reporting and not just trying to divide the country.
This is a great summary of the real facts of Fast and Furious. It's from a UK publication so it's mostly free of bias. It even clarifies the relationship between F&F and Bush's administration in response to the beloved "Blame Bush" defense. The new Chewbacca Defence.
Seriously?? This is an MSNBC story which is pretty much THE most biased news media on the planet. Plus if you read the story straight, all it does is point fingers at Bush the entire time. Where are the facts supporting their accusations?
Under the "for what it is worth" category, I offer this tidbit of opinion from Houston: http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2012/06/fast-and-furious-sparks-partisan-grandstanding/
ABC's TAPPER Q&A with WH Spokesperson Carney: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/06/fast-and-furious-todays-qs-for-os-wh/
And here MSNBC is playing coverup too, introducing their readers to the "facts" about Fast and Furious to cover up their lack of reporting of an investigation that Congress has been conducting for over a year. And as expected they gloss over the facts. The Wide Receiver Operation during the Bush administration did not intentionally allow the guns to go across the border and was done in cooperation with the country of Mexico - not so Fast and Furious. MSNBC also doesn't mention that over 200 Mexican citizens were murdered by guns linked to the Fast Furious scandal.
One more thing. I'm sick of hearing that this is "the first time Obama has evoked executive privilege" - like that is somehow relevant. It's a little like saying this is the first time someone killed a person so we should cut them some slack.
..
I will tell you all you need to know about fast and furious
The ATF and the DoJ allowed and encouraged guns from American gun shops to be sold to criminals with no intention to track them to advocate the removal of our 2nd amendment rights
Those guns was used to kill 100 of Innocent Mexicans and 2 American law enforcement officers
A Congressional committee for over a year now has asked for documents pertaining to the failed operation to be able to give answers and justice to those 100s dead Mexicans and the 2 law enforcement officers that the DoJ has refused to release but a token few
You can try to blame Bush all you want and call it a witch hunt but we have hundreds dead including 2 American law enforcement Offices that deserve answers and justice and Msnbc is more worried about protecting obama and holder then finding out the truth
Your statements are incorrect. Anytime anybody says they can tell anyone all they need to know is pulling a fast one.
The real issue is why the NRA and right-wing are obstructing background checks. Over 100,000 gun accidents occur annually with over 30,000 deaths. Where is the NRA, Republican, and right-wing outrage against all the American citizens getting killed because of a failed gun policy? It's hypocrisy to be using the deaths of Mexicans and one ATF agent and not being concerned about the massive number of gun injuries and death in America. You right-wing people demean the loss of death with your politics.
It easy to see that msnbc is pro Democrat and leaves out the information that so importance so people can get all the facts of fast and furious. There have been over 300 people murdered with the guns that the goverment turned over to criminals with no tracking device or any attempt to follow the gun at all. No way to see where they were going at all. There has been around 2500 gun bought with tax payer money and very few have been recovered. At the current rate of murders the death toll will be in the thousands by the time they get the guns back it they can! With the projected death toll in the thousands, it about time they get serious about who started the program and why. With no way to track the guns it hard to believer the excuse given for the program was to catch the criminal. With all the cover up and thousands of blacked redacted pages given to investigaters, makes many suspect that the real reason for the program has not come out. And then we know that Obama had reasured Sarah Brady that the administration was working on gun control Under The Radar was the words he used and with Fast and Furious being the only known program dealing with guns at the time we have to wonder if fast and furious was a way of boosting the numbers of american guns in mexico causing murders to open up new rounds of gun control laws. It's sad that msnbc does not tell all the facts and is not worth reading anymore! Of course it's just my opinion.
The whole anti gun conspiracy thought up in the mind of the guy who thought breaking democrats windows would lead to the over throw of the government lunatic. Pushed by Fox news and the lunatics the GOP have in congress who have no proof but they know its true and you say MSNBC is stretching the truth. LOL.
CBS has obtained documents from the ATF asking about the gun dealers that sold the weapons to decide witch one they was going to use in their brief to advocate for more gun control
Fast and furious was nothing about catching drug dealers it was all about setting gun dealers up to push for more gun control
It is fact that guns were allowed to walk (by ATF) over the border. It is claimed by ATF whistleblower agents that there was no effort on the part of ATF to track those guns once they walked. That, in itself is against ATF established policy. Further, Mexican authorities claim that they were never notified about the Fast and Furious program...meaning that ATF had absolutely no intention of ever being able to follow/trace these guns. One must then ask, quite logically, what motive would there be to allow such a situation to exist? It is quite reasonable to sumise that, when this gun walking was "discovered" the Administration would be agast...and use this "situation" to argue for stricter gun control since the existing controls didn't work. It's hyprocracy fun? If I were associated with MSNBC I would be ashamed of how this story has been reported.
This election is a choice between two visions for the future of America: One vision is for continuation of the progressive vision of a balance between equality and freedom as the moral foundation of justice, and a more recent conservative vision of an entitlement due the wealthy and the equivalence of corporations to the rights and protections of natural persons under the Constitution.
The free market is a myth: if it isn't regulated by government to prevent fraud, it is regulated by the corporate oligarchy to prevent competition. Free means not having to go to jail for fraud and theft.
A progressive future is one in which government is a custodian of the public trust and advocates for justice; where justice is a balance between equality and freedom. Government as a custodian of the public trust means that everyone plays by the same rules and that everyone is equal before the law. Public trust means the rights of the people to preserve and protect the common property of the United States is not severable to the interests of privatization. Public trust means that a corporation has no rights except those given to it by law and does not have equal standing with a natural born person under the Constitution.
The conservative future is one of a hostile corporate takeover with privatization of government functions. The corporate takeover means that having wealth is an effective barrier to others participating in the process of government. It means that government would no longer serve the interests of the community but collaborate with the wealthy corporate owners to establish a separate set of laws that entitle them to preferential treatment while creating barriers to competition by eliminating opportunities for others.
This election is a moral choice between affiliation or aggression, empathy or egotism, service or selfishness, cooperation or competitiveness.
The tale of two visions is the difference between a government of the people, by the people and for the people, and a government run by a plutocracy of corporate power.
I envy your ability to see such things as black and white. However, I am uncomfortable with your notion that there is only a "progressive" vision...which is good and a "conservative" vision which is bad. Personally, having grown up and lived through the 50's, 60's, etc. it is not easy to see how our "progress" has been such a marvelous thing. You are fortunate to be so comfortable with your opinions.
All of this "progressive" legislation passed since the Sixties has led to a moribund, bankrupt, polarized nation, headed toward a blood-drenched civil war.
If death and destruction are progress, I'd hate to see failure.