Let's go back.

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Monday July 19, 2010 · 8:43 AM PDT

2010/07/19 · 08:43

Here's the scene: 2005. Bush just won re-election and plans to privatize social security. Congress passes his energy bill, written by lobbyists to subsidize the oil industry. Democrats just barely manage to salvage the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Regulations have been stunted, and regulators are having sex and coke parties with industry. Hurricane Katrina smashes the Gulf Coast. Thousands homeless as Bush congratulates FEMA Director: "Heckuva job, Brownie."

Why not go back? The Washington Post notes that Rep. Pete Session (R-TX), in a discussion about Republicans under Bush on Meet the Press, suggested just this. "We need to go back to the exact same agenda that is empowering the free enterprise system rather than diminish it." Sessions' strange wording is incidental to what he's saying. How to best articulate the odd notion that Bush knew what was better for our economy?

That thing about empowering ~~free enterprise~~ corporations? Try no new federal regulations (Thanks Boner!). Empowerment indeed. The GOP agenda is a time machine in which only the past button works.

The attempt to drag America kicking and screaming back to the Bush years is -- well, kinda stinky. And the Republicans know it, so there has to be some mandatory quiet time when GOPers actually give their ideas on legislation. That's why Boehner walked back his statement, saying new regulations for the oil industry were permissible. And emergency regulations. Sessions, too, will be forced to address his wording.

While Democrats fight for a single GOP vote for American families -- families who need healthcare, unemployment assistance, who need some job creation and safer infrastructures and environments -- Republicans want to go back to spoon-feeding corporations tax cuts and lax regulations. This is just the tip of the iceberg though. The next targets are any and all programs that benefit everyday Americans: Social Security, healthcare, Medicare, etc.

President Obama's right. The choice in November couldn't be any clearer. Keep going, tough as it is, through thick and thin for the right thing -- or turn the whole thing around and embrace the Bush decade. The party of No is still the party of Bush. Too bad he's not around anymore, to at least make their policies somewhat funny.

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