Posted on 01/24/2009 4:03:45 AM PST by Zakeet
Now that George W. Bush has finally left office, here's a challenge to a nation famous for its proud tradition of invention: Can somebody invent a machine capable of fully measuring the disaster that was the Bush presidency?
[Snip]
In a way that was inconceivable when he took office, Mr. Bush -- the advance man for the "ownership society," smaller and more trustworthy government, and a humble foreign policy -- increased the size and scope of the federal government to unprecedented levels. At the same time, he constantly flashed signs of secrecy, duplicity, ineffectiveness and outright incompetence.
Think for a moment about the thousands of Transportation Security Administration screeners -- newly minted government employees all -- who continue to confiscate contact-lens solution and nail clippers while, according to nearly every field test, somehow failing to notice simulated bombs in passenger luggage.
Or schoolchildren struggling under No Child Left Behind, which federalized K-12 education to an unprecedented degree with nothing to show for it other than greater spending tabs. Or the bizarrely structured Medicare prescription-drug benefit, the largest entitlement program created since LBJ. Or the simple reality that taxpayers now guarantee some $8 trillion in inscrutable loans to a financial sector that collapsed from inscrutable loans.
Such programs were not in any way foisted on Mr. Bush, the way that welfare reform had been on Bill Clinton; they were signature projects, designed to create a legacy every bit as monumental and inspiring as Laura Bush's global literacy campaign.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Many more disturbing facts in the article -- especially concerning government spending and regulations.
Big Government Republicanism. This is something that all who are pushing Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana need to know about. I live here and know the man well. He too is a Big Government Republican.
He’s been in office only a year and we conservatives have already had a couple of run-ins with him. Tax cuts and a legislative pay raise.
Would a Libertarian such as Gillespe run the country any better? We would be suffering terrorist attacks every week, but I guess we wouldn't notice it as we will all be able to take legalized heroin and marijuana.
How could anyone have understood Compassionate Conservatism to mean anything but more government intrusion in the lives of the citizenry? Bush was for big government and relaxed immigration in 2000. Those were my two biggest fears about the man then and they were born out during his terms.
Jorge pretty much destroyed the republicrat party.
There is truth to this.
And yet, anyone who has studied business should know that bureaucracies are very difficult power structures to break down. They feed off cash, and are incentivized to grow.
They are like AIDS - no one has every thought of a cure for bureaucracy. The conservative solution is to not make more of it. GREAT. And yet doesn’t that just doom us to be dominated by the lib structures that cannot be torn down?
hmmm...sounds like something I and a few others have been SCREAMING about back stabbing Bush. But it doesn’t matter. The RINO loving Freepers will still cling to Bush and defend this big gov blue dog DEMOCRAT as a success even though he thoroughly ripped up and crapped on conservatives. The Republican Party is responsible for what we have today because they jettisoned their principles to cater to the the Bush.
good job of summarizing Bush presidency without a reference to the single biggest historical event, (guess what?) Plus the moldy left wing blather about Katrina. An article that you can run over and post on KOS to high applause and acclaim.
***good job of summarizing Bush presidency without a reference to the single biggest historical event, (guess what?) Plus the moldy left wing blather about Katrina. An article that you can run over and post on KOS to high applause and acclaim.***
My thoughts, exactly. And it’s not just Zakeet. Wonder what “nom de plumes” they use over at DU.
had he not held the line on global warming, that federal registry of regulations would have increased by far and above 71k pages/year.
If you wondered what the US would have been like under gore or kerry, just watch, we now have zero. Even plugs said something big would happen.
I tell you right off the bat, there are so many Bush Bashing liberals on thread this morning!
Come and get me, Im ready!
bULLFROG
Well said, gus. Bush had big government on the brain, but it doesn't tell the whole story of the man and his presidency.
HE STAYED THE COURSE in the face of brutal fire from the anti-American mainstream and world media, and in staying the course he kept us safe. For that I will always be grateful.
So what? This is not the point! Bush has ruined the conservative republican party. I give him plenty of credit for keeping us safe, but he was just another moderate who mollycoddled democrats. Bush spent way too much on gov't, and pursued an estrangement from conservative principles!
Thank you. nuff said.
C’mon you BushBots, not a one of you has screamed that ‘BDS’ mee-mee and we’re already past a dozen posts in this thread.
wow..the Bush haters will have a field day whining over how Bush was awful....the Libs and Lefties love this when they throw red meat to conservative websites.
that way the conservatives just keep spinning their wheels.
****Bush Bashing liberals *****
That would be “Bush Bashing CONSERVATIVES”
I don’t know why liberals don’t like him. He gave them everything they wanted except a couple supreme court picks and a tax cut that will expire.
bttt
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