Politics: More Americans angry at Bush
Published March 01, 2004
The anger is not limited to Democrats. Both independent voters and some Republicans express something stronger than mere annoyance with Bush. That may go back to what I said about being deceived and manipulated. 'Business' Republicans who do not share Bush's Christian Right-influenced domestic agenda could think they were misled into believing he would leave well enough alone vis-a-vis some issues. They feel no pressing need to erode the wall of separation between church and state, which is high on the Christian Right's list of priorities. Across the country, far Right led local governments are attacking an arrangement most Americans support by imposing religious imagery on the general population in public places. There is even talk of running the most popular of the batch, former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court Roy Moore for President, if the White House's support is not made more explicit. The failure of the administration to sign off on a compromise that would have recognized gay unions as acceptable is another domestic issue that some Republicans may not want to see become a banner they are expected to march under. However, since the far Right has made opposing gay marriage a litmus test for right-thinking conservatives, those supporters of the GOP may find themselves less welcome in the not so big tent. And . . . angry.
As the invasion of Iraq gradually becomes to resemble an occupation moreso than a liberation, and the price tag for it soars, moderate Republicans and independents, as well as Democrats, are also questioning whether the Bush administration's policies there are sound. The absence of any weapons of mass destruction in the rather pathetic Iraqi arsenal has left the Bush administration and its allies appearing less than credible in regard to military intelligence. (Some would say intelligence, period.) The waste, of lives and money, is more grounds for anger.
It does not help matters that Bush/Cheney favorite Halliburton appears to be the biggest pig at the trough.
Earlier this month, Halliburton agreed to repay the U.S. government about $27.4 million that it had overbilled for meals at five military bases in Iraq and Kuwait.
. . .Back when Halliburton was given such a large and lucrative role in U.S.-occupied Iraq — it also got the contract to repair and refit the oil fields — the Bush administration denied that it was handing out favors to the Texas-based conglomerate.
. . .Not surprisingly, the decision is now backfiring. First came allegations that the firm was overcharging for gasoline being shipped to Iraq, a matter now under investigation by the Pentagon inspector general.
Then, in January, the company admitted that two of its employees had pocketed enormous bribes from a Kuwaiti subcontractor servicing U.S. troops. Halliburton promptly coughed up a $6.3 million reimbursement check.
Reading the facts about Vice President Dick Cheney's longterm ties to Halliburton, his $20 million retirement package and the continuing oddities in the relationship alone could make a person wonder.
The anger at George W. Bush seems understandable to me.
Note: This entry also appeared at Mac-a-ro-nies.
- Politics: More Americans angry at Bush
- Published: March 01, 2004
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- Section: Politics
- Writer: Mac Diva
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Comments on this articleComments
I agree that now that we've stepped in it (Iraq) we can't just leave as that would compound the error.
But MD is right in saying that even some "moderate Republicans and independents, as well as Democrats, are also questioning whether the Bush administration's policies there are sound."
It's not exactly a ground-swell yet, but we still have a few months until November :-)
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/13264)
In fact,I'm not at all that surprised that Bush is vehemently disliked by some people. If you recall the Anti-Clinton forces were equally visceral in their distaste for Clinton.
I think that there currently exists a distinct and growing polarization of political opinion in the United States, one that increasingly forces political debate into a radicalized and marginal state by pushing both political parties and the voters into "all-or-nothing" positions.
The reality is that Bush is not the embodiment of ultimate evil and neither was Clinton. Both political parties and the general polity itself do themselves a disservice by marginalizing arguments in that manner. It pushes the debate into absolutism, erodes the middle ground that is often necessary to progress on many of these issues, and generally contributes to the growth of voter apathy and disassociation. Not for nuthin' does the US rank extremely low in voter turnout...
As for your passing comment regarding Iraq "gradually becomes to resemble an occupation moreso than a liberation", I think it is an accurate statement in so far that yes, it is an occupation, most sensibly an occupation. It should be an occupation. For a time.
I think that after having "liberated" Iraq, to abandon it post haste to chaos and civil war would have been abrogating the US's responsibilities to that nation in the most profound sense of the word. Whatever you think of the current administration reasons for perpetrating the war, once instigated, the US has a clear responsibility to ensure that the vaunted "freedom of democracy" doesn't vanish down the rabbithole.
Whatever you think of Bush et al, I doubt that many Iraqis would trade the current state of affairs for another 20 years of Saddam-style governance....