What Makes the Bush Haters So Mad?

Time ^ | 9/22/03 | Charles Krauthammer

[Marcus Alonzo Hanna]

What Makes The Bush Haters So Mad? First, it was how he got the job. Now it's how much he's doing with it

By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER

Bill Moyers may have his politics, but his deferential demeanor and almost avuncular television style made him the Mr. Rogers of American politics. So when he leaves his neighborhood to go to a "Take Back America" rally and denounces George W. Bush's "government of, by and for the ruling corporate class," leading a "right-wing wrecking crew" engaged in "a deliberate, intentional destruction of the United States way of governing," you know that something is going on.

That something is the unhinging of the Democratic Party. Democrats are seized with a loathing for President Bush — a contempt and disdain giving way to a hatred that is near pathological — unlike any since they had Richard Nixon to kick around. An otherwise reasonable man, Julian Bond of the N.A.A.C.P., speaks of Bush's staffing his Administration with "the Taliban wing of American politics." Harold Meyerson, editor at large of The American Prospect, devotes a 3,000-word article to explaining why Bush is the most dangerous President in all of American history — his only rival being Jefferson Davis.

The puzzle is where this depth of feeling comes from. Bush's manner is not particularly aggressive. He has been involved in no great scandals, Watergate or otherwise. He is, indeed, not the kind of politician who radiates heat. Yet his every word and gesture generate heat — a fury and bitterness that animate the Democratic primary electorate and explain precisely why Howard Dean has had such an explosive rise. More than any other candidate, Dean has understood the depth of this primal anti-Bush feeling and has tapped into it.

Whence the anger? It begins of course with the "stolen" election of 2000 and the perception of Bush's illegitimacy. But that is only half the story. An illegitimate President winning a stolen election would be tolerable if he were just a figurehead, a placeholder, the kind of weak, moderate Republican that Democrats (and indeed many Republicans) thought George Bush would be, judging from his undistinguished record and tepid 2000 campaign. Bush's great crime is that he is the illegitimate President who became consequential — revolutionizing American foreign policy, reshaping economic policy and dominating the political scene ever since his emergence as the post-9/11 war President.

Before that, Bush could be written off as an accident, a transitional figure, a kind of four-year Gerald Ford. And then came 9/11. Bush took charge, declared war, and sent the country into battle twice, each time bringing down enemy regimes with stunning swiftness. In Afghanistan, Bush rode a popular tide; Iraq, however, was a singular act of presidential will.

That will, like it or not, has remade American foreign policy. The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy is the subtitle of a new book by two not very sympathetic scholars, Ivo Daalder and James Lindsay. The book is titled America Unbound. The story of the past two years could just as well be titled Bush Unbound. The President's unilateral assertion of U.S. power has redefined America's role in the world. Here was Bush breaking every liberal idol: the ABM Treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, deference to the U.N., subservience to the "international community." It was an astonishing performance that left the world reeling and the Democrats seething. The pretender had not just seized the throne. He was acting like a king. Nay, an emperor.

On the domestic front, more shock. Democrats understand that the Bush tax cuts make structural changes that will long outlive him. Like the Reagan cuts, they will starve the government of revenue for years to come. Add to that the Patriot Act and its (perceived) assault on fundamental American civil liberties, and Bush the Usurper becomes more than just consequential. He becomes demonic.

The current complaint is that Bush is a deceiver, misleading the country into a war, after which there turned out to be no weapons of mass destruction. But it is hard to credit the deception charge when every intelligence agency on the planet thought Iraq had these weapons and, indeed, when the weapons there still remain unaccounted for. Moreover, this is a post-facto rationale. Sure, the aftermath of the Iraq war has made it easier to frontally attack Bush. But the loathing long predates it. It started in Florida and has been deepening ever since Bush seized the post-9/11 moment to change the direction of the country and make himself a President of note.

Which is why the Democratic candidates are scrambling desperately to out-Dean Dean. Their constituency is seized with a fever, and will nominate whichever candidate feeds it best. Political fevers are a dangerous thing, however. The Democrats last came down with one in 1972--and lost 49 states.

[Utah Girl]

And may history repeat itself.

[Samwise]

YES! The thing that terrifies the Democrats the most, more than terrorists, more than biweapons, more than nuclear war, more than Hillary's breath, is the possibility that George W. Bush just might get something done.

[SkyPilot]

What Makes the Bush Haters So Mad?

His Christianity.

[STARWISE]

As usual, Charles is priceless and peerless in his analysis. Thanks for posting. He is so very perceptive.

[lainde]

great article!

[auboy]

Charles is the Man!

[Flora McDonald]

Amen to that!

[muawiyah]

Then, taking a look at other headlines this evening we see that yet another reason the "Bush haters" are so mad is because the Canadian government just betrayed Tokers Internationale with it's first pot sales.

They say it's so bad they want their money back.

Life can be too good ~ as it is under Bush ~ and that's what gets these guys so angry. They are not happy unless their President is involved in personal scandals up to his eyeballs. They actually like to buy their MJ from a stranger under a streetlight in the bad part of town.

It's all one and the same. Now, if we could get them all interested in "too long" bungee jumping.

[jigsaw]

Those who hate President Bush, by definition, also hate me.

And more and more decent people who relate in so many ways to
President Bush are realizing that the RATS must hate them also.

Not a good strategery by the RATS.

[AGreatPer]

"George W. Bush just might get something done."

Of course, this scares the hell out of Democrats.

Let me tell you something else. I am mad as hell with GWB right now. His positions on illegals is stupid, his spending is stupid and I could go on. But I see what he is doing. GWB is pandering to get re-elected.

Watch, when he gets elected for a second term. This will all change. LOOK OUT DEMOCRATS. That has got to scare the hell out of them.

[At _War_With_Liberals]

Dems and hate go together, much like

fascism and hate go together.


IMO, their party embraces hatred and corruption.

[Mo1]

PING

[concerned about politics]

That something is the unhinging of the Democratic Party. Democrats are seized with a loathing for President Bush — a contempt and disdain giving way to a hatred that is near pathological

Democrats are: Rabid dogs. A Hate group. Mean spirited. Bigots. Straightaphobes. Anti-Americans. Baby killers. Race baiters. White elitists. Pedophiles. Rapists. Forest burners. Domestic terrorists.

Care to add any?
Their hate for anything pro-human is overwhelming. There's nothing new under the sun, but now they're even more blatant about it.

God Bless President Bush!

[untwist]

You are so correct. Bush's self-assurance, which comes from his faith, terrifies the left. Their hate rises from their fear. I remember his beautiful speech to Congress after 9/11 when he said fear and freedom are at war. He chose freedom and has been relentless in pursuing it. Inside, that little voice we call our conscience is screaming at his enemies because deep inside they know Bush is right. As always the left rebels against anything that forces them to face their conscience and realize they are living a fraud. This must be torture.

[Malesherbes]

I believe SkyPilot has it right. It's his Christianity that infuriates the Bush-haters. How about Carter? Well, Carter was both sanctimonious and incompetent and was easy to dismiss (- and besides, he appointed liberals to the courts.) Bush is neither sanctimonious nor incompetent, and the genuineness of his Christianity is a threat to those who have bet wrong on Pascal's wager.

[bjcintennessee]

I can almost empathize with the Bush haters, because if Gore had managed to steal the election, I would never, ever have been able to acknowledge him as my president.

The biggest difference between Bush-haters and Gore-haters, is that we have never had to distort the truth or out-right lie about Bush in an effort to gain support of the um... less educated masses.

We need a bumper sticker that states: If democrats couldn't lie, they couldn't win.

[StarfireIV]

"a contempt and disdain giving way to a hatred that is near pathological..." No kidding!

[oyez]

The Democrats can't stand closure of a particular issue because it can't be used to hammer the Rebublicans with. I think they have lost so many issues now they have to resort personal attcks and out right lies. .

[TexasTransplant]

They Hate you, they hate me too.
Worst part is that it boils over into every thing, I did my 8 years in the Military with Bubba, I had my bumper sticker and I was mad, but I didn't Hate the people that liked him, Pity yeah...

[RLK]

Bush is hated by the political/lifestyle left because he has displaced the Clinton-type figures who flaunted and superficially validated that life style.

[BookmanTheJanitor]

What makes Dems mad? What doesn't? Dems are mad because they believe/are told that family, church, hard work, comittment are all bad things and should be avoided. This leaves their lives filled with nothing but crap, leaving them angry, bitter, depressed and confused.

[concerned about politics]

BUMP

[woofie]

Isnt Krauthammer a psychiatrist?

[WOSG]

didnt they hate Newt Gingrich with the same fervor?
didnt they hate Ronald Reagan with the same fervor?

Krauthammer hits on one point that is essential: The Left hates bush for his boldness, confidence and *consequence*.

Any Conservative of *consequence* becomes a target.

[nutmeg]

.

[MarkL]

I think that the main reason that the leftist hate President Bush so much is because they KNOW that they're so much smarter than him... But he keeps outsmarting them! And since it can't be that they're really not quite as smart as they think they are, it must be something else... Either a "vaster" right wing conspiracy... Nahhh, the conservatives are too dumb for that... Or just blind luck... But that luck has to run out sometime...

I just hope that they keep on "misunderestimating" President Bush. I don't agree with a lot of the things he's done, but he's a lot better than the alternatives.

Mark

[Windcatcher]

"..a contempt and disdain giving way to a hatred that is near pathological."

Remember the "hate sessions" in George Orwell's 1984? I'm starting to wonder what the atmosphere's like when Libs and leftists get together. I don't suppose we have any infiltrators... :^)

[Porterville]

Oh, don't forget... he staffs his cabinets with blacks (whom liberals do not consider "really Black") and appoints federal judgeships to Hispanics (whom liberals don't consider "really Hispanic")... frickin' liberal racist.

[Cicero]

Bush threatens to undermine the abortion industry.

[NutCrackerBoy]

The President's unilateral assertion of U.S. power has redefined America's role in the world. Here was Bush breaking every liberal idol: the ABM Treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, deference to the U.N., subservience to the "international community." It was an astonishing performance that left the world reeling and the Democrats seething. The pretender had not just seized the throne. He was acting like a king. Nay, an emperor.

During the eight years of Clinton, liberals slept easy knowing that their president would maintain their fictions, such as the US being on board with the international BS like Kyoto and ICC. They thought that the mandateless W would be obligated to continue those fictions, i.e. "long-established doctrine."

But it had required amazingly disciplined cowardice on the part of Clinton, in the face of terrorist attacks during his tenure, to completely avoid betraying the liberals trust. So that was a bit of a house of cards.

That the country as a whole approved of Clinton job performance further lulled the liberals to blissful sleep. The American people had been pleased that things seemed to be going so well, but they never bought the lying doctrine. With Rush, Drudge, 9/11 fallout, FoxNews, FR on their side, and the bully pulpit, W and Rove were able to have the political cover to jettison all that BS effectively.

The liberals are very angry to be jarred out of such a pleasant sleep.

[kennedyd]

In my experience, intellectual leftists hate those who disagree with them because they view those on the right as evil. Disagreement with their political doctrine brings moral condemnation, because their political views stem from notions of "fairness" and "social justice" which only the morally enlightened are able to discern.

Those on the right side of the political aisle more often base their political views on ideas such as individual rights, limited government, and separation of powers. As a result, those on the right are more likely to view those on the left as mistaken or misguided than evil.

A person on the right can generally live with those on the left without feeling the need to shout them down or convert them to their cause, as the conflict from his perspective is one of competing ideas and ideologies. A genuine leftist feels he must convert or destroy the other side as part of a great moral struggle.

[Sabertooth]

The President's unilateral assertion of U.S. power has redefined America's role in the world. Here was Bush breaking every liberal idol: the ABM Treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, deference to the U.N., subservience to the "international community." It was an astonishing performance that left the world reeling and the Democrats seething.

In their hatred the Democrats attack Bush at his strengths. They're too corrupt and intellectually bankrupt to understand or exploit his weaknesses.

At this point, Bush should, and will, win re-election on the basis of his foreign policy alone. Deservingly so.

[concerned about politics]

. A genuine leftist feels he must convert or destroy the other side as part of a great moral struggle.

Like the Al Quata.

[prov1813man]

You got it. The left is "Christaphobic". The current rabid atmosphere is not new. Throughout history, demons shriek and curse in the presence of the truth. It is their only response. Just watch the swine now as they head for the cliff.

[STARWISE]

And .. he's not moral relativist .. he knows there is good and evil, he voices that truth repeatedly (much to their chagrin) contrary to the DemonKrats, who like the picture a little muddier .. no clear lines between the two.

[Porterville]

Dude, he was an unknown quantity and won against a near incumbent and now that he is a known quantity, everyone loves him, of course he is going to crush any opponent, not even Hillabitch will run against him... Bush is the man, he like Galahad.

[rdb3]

Worse. I think he's a neocon.

Nope. Can't have those hated neocons. No siree.

Be sure to check for neocons under your bed before you go to sleep. You never know. I mean, one just may be hiding under there.

You just never know. So be afraid. Be very afraid.

[NutCrackerBoy]

Remember the "hate sessions" in George Orwell's 1984? I'm starting to wonder what the atmosphere's like when Libs and leftists get together. I don't suppose we have any infiltrators... :^)

I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year. There will be 11 raving liberals (my spouse, my sibs and their spouses, their spawn and their spouses) here with just 2 sane people (my mother and myself). I am readying the hidden tape recorders. I will post to you what they say when they are on their own... :)

[kennedyd]

Hardcore leftist ideology does seem to have a quasi-religious feel to it insofar as it is almost completely insulated from facts. You can quote data to a leftist for as long as you like demonstrating the repeated failures of past social experiments, but nothing will come of it. There is always an excuse to the effect that some person, or society, was to blame for the failure. It never seems to occur to them that their basic assumptions about human nature and the way the world works may be flawed.

[T'wit]

> Bush's great crime is that he is the illegitimate President who became consequential

But he's not an illegitimate president.

The Democrats themselves did so much vote rigging, they may have stolen two or three millon votes and as many as six senate seats. I suppose they figured it was just not fair for Mr. Bush to win after all the trouble they took to steal the election.

[lorrainer]

Democrats are seized with a loathing for President Bush — a contempt and disdain giving way to a hatred that is near pathological — unlike any since they had Richard Nixon to kick around.

I myself am seized with a loathing for Mr & Mrs X42--a contempt and disdain giving way to a hatred that is near pathological--unlike anyone else in my lifetime.

So there.

[concerned about politics]

. It never seems to occur to them that their basic assumptions about human nature and the way the world works may be flawed.

Yep. Some liberal got my e-mail address from a distant family member, and suggested I check out how great Dean is doing. WELL.......You KNOW that got me going!
I e-mailed facts to discredit everything she said - back and forth for a while - until the liberal was incoherant, and her thought processess were irratic. I couldn't even make out what she was attempting to say. It was jumbled.
It ended with: "You're mean, mean, mean."

[concerned about politics]

But he's not an illegitimate president.

I believe the author was being sarcastic, i.e., that's what DEMOCRATS say.

[Valin]

Bill Moyers may have his politics, but his deferential demeanor and almost avuncular television style made him the Mr. Rogers of American politics. So when he leaves his neighborhood to go to a "Take Back America" rally and denounces George W. Bush's "government of, by and for the ruling corporate class," leading a "right-wing wrecking crew" engaged in "a deliberate, intentional destruction of the United States way of governing," you know that something is going on.

Yes what's going on is someone forgot to take his meds.

[MJY1288]

What makes them so mad is this...... He doesn't respong to their baseless attacks, he allows the facts speak for themselves and doesn't lower himself to their level.

Bush has his share of faults and will never satisfy the so-called "True Conservatives" among us, but no electable candidate ever will. When push comes to shove, 90% of those of us on the right will vote to re-elect George W. Bush, and what will make this next election a landslide, will be the vast majority of the everyday middle of the road Americans who understand what we have gone through as a nation and appreciate GWB's strong leadership in taking on the terrorist.

The Bush haters will go on hating him and he will keep on ignoring them

[cartoonistx]

BINGO!!!

[Lancey Howard]

What Makes the Bush Haters So Mad?

Huh, that's an easy one - - their guy was a scandal-ridden scumbag who disgraced the office of the Presidency, and our guy is an American hero who has returned dignity to the White House. If I was a Democrat, I would be pissed, too.

But then, I work for a living and believe in God as well as traditional America and its families, and so I could never be a Democrat.

[Swiss]

One day at work I was in a very lazy mood, I figured out a devious underhanded way to have a coworker do my work. I was so proud of the plan I knew it couldn't fail.

But it did and I had to do the work I had avoided and I was mad as hell that day, not at doing the work but because he caused my plan to fail.

The Democrats had the perfect plan to steal an election, one that couldn't fail and when G.W. foiled their months of planning and scheming they never forgave him.