Way, way back in 1998, I remember hearing how the Republicans wanted to run GWB as their candidate in the 2000 election. I remember laughing to myself, thinking
that moron? I already knew him as a temper-tantrum prone, spoiled brat son of a former president, who as governor of Texas had done very little.
Then, very early in 1999, I read where he had already amassed a war chest of $60 million, and I said to myself, hmmm, that boy's got some powerful friends that have bought him, but I still thought he'd go nowhere.
Then the primaries started, and I remember Elizabeth Dole dropping out before a single primary, saying she couldn't compete with that $60 million. I remember being sorry for that, because I'd have liked to see what she could do. Bush ended up going head to head with McCain, and I thought for sure McCain would win out, until South Carolina and the Great Smear Campaign.
When Cheney, in charge of finding a VP candidate, found himself as the ideal candidate, I actually giggled. I thought, just wait till people get a load of his voting record! It was about then that I started getting a niggling feeling, that maybe that $60 million had bought the
two of them. And knowing how inept Bush was, I started to wonder if Cheny was the entire purpose of that money.
All during the campaign, I remember being angry. The NYT and WP focusing on Al Gore's image as an alpha male, what color ties he was wearing, inventing the internet, and ignoring the issues. Like those tax cuts that Bush promised, that I knew would decimate the middle class. I mean, had people forgotten that quickly what happened during Reagan? And his ubiquitous `compassionate conservatism', which I knew was just a polite way of saying he'd have his hand around your shoulders as the knife went into your back.
After Bush's selection by the USSC, I don't know about you, but I was furious. And worried about our country. (After the 2004 election, I'll tell ya. I was drunk. At 9 AM in the morning, I drank myself into a stupor.)
And then they started.
* The tax cuts, which did exactly as I said, decimate the middle class. We all know the story here, the hundreds of ways the middle class has been screwed. That's even before you get to the poor.
* Increase our debt to breaking point. Why? Because they can. Simply use that debt to help their buddies, and let someone else worry about the future. They won't need to.
* Undermine women's health by putting zealots in key spots.
* Undermine science by the same.
* Big give aways to business, but particularly oil, health care and pharma's. There's a good reason the Medicare plan didn't go into effect until after the 2004 election, it doesn't benefit seniors, but the buddies. The party that says it's against a `nanny state' has created the biggest nanny state ever. For business
* Start a war. The war in Iraq was never about WMD, and it was never about democracy. By my best guess, it was about enriching his buddies. His supporters. Oh, the Israel hawks wanted it for their own purpose, but Bush and Cheney did it for the buds. If you remember, the money for the war had no strings attached, meaning almost zero oversight (Bush and Cheney insisted on that), and many billions have either outright disappeared, or been squandered on useless contracts. Does anyone else remember the 24 year old put in charge of starting Iraq's stock exchange, whose only previous work had been selling ice cream? Plus, if you ever read the orders that Paul Bremer instituted when he got to Iraq, you'd know they planned to rape the country financially. And did, except that the insurgency prevented them making even more money. At every step along the way towards free and fair elections in Iraq, the administration balked, and threw up roadblocks. Just imagine what they'd have done if there wasn't a Sistani to block them.
* Wholesale institution of corruption in government. All government jobs are for buddies. And when you get there, rape the department in any way you can. After all, that's what government is for. Lining your own pockets, and your buddies. As just one example, look at the companies FEMA has contracted with. All buddies. All inept.
* Laws are for fools. Bush certainly doesn't have to obey them. FISA? For fools. We've only begun to see how they've flouted the law on domestic spying. Does anyone doubt they're using it not just for political gain (spying on Democrats), but that they aren't helping their buddies? I would have absolutely no trouble believing that there's a little sub-office in NSA doing just that.
Now, imagine the return on that investment of $60 million dollars. Pretty good, huh?