Top 10 Reasons Bush and the Republican Leadership Suck (1 Viewer)

[JustMyPOV]

10. Theocratic Tendencies- Pushing for things like compulsory school prayer, using tax dollars to pay for Christian religious displays and to fund "faith-based" charities who use the money for 'recruitment' in addition to any legitimate charitable causes. Just because it's the majority religion doesn't make it the "official state religion". The founding fathers realized the importance of keeping the state out of religion and vice versa, why can't you?

9. Inability to tolerate opposing viewpoints- This amounts to: Agree with us or you're "irresponsible", "un-American", a "traitor", and so forth. Why not debate your positions on their merits rather than simply dodge all argument by seeking to dismiss the positions of others without review? Perhaps if the GOP platform had any merit to stand on they wouldn't have to resort to name-calling and personal attacks to get their points across, hmmm?

8. Fiscal Retardation- If it isn't clear to absolutely everyone by now that the GOP is completely incapable of adhering to any sort of fiscal restraint, then you're ignoring the facts. Despite record revenues, the executive and legislative bodies of government, held by the Republicans, have been unable to hold back from spending every penny, plus the social security surplus, PLUS another $300b-$400b on top of that, adding to our national debt. Fiscal conservatives my ass.

7. Corporate Favoritism- They let the big energy companies write our country's energy policy, they've rolled back important safety and health regulations (How much insect matter and hair do YOU think should be allowed in your peanut butter??), they've directly and blatantly passed legislation which favors business and puts the screws to the individual and the worker... The list just goes on and on.

6. Inability to Respond to a Crisis in a Timely Manner- The response to Hurricane Katrina, particularly after spending billions upon billions of dollars on increased preparedness in the event of a terrorist attack was deeply troubling. It wasn't until they saw people on the news outside the Superdome holding up signs that said, "HELP US", that any sort of mobilization even began. It speaks volumes as to their ability to manage, well... Anything.

5. Bumbling in Iraq- Many leadership mistakes were made in Iraq and even the current administration admits to that. Perhaps if he'd sought out advice from those outside his circle of cronies three years ago instead of waiting until a week ago, some of these mistakes could have been avoided and the troops could be home by now.

4. Inability to Win the Hearts and Minds of Those Our Enemies Want to Recruit- Bush stubbornly clinging to his 'right' to order agents of the US to use torture during interrogation of enemy suspects certainly sends a clear message to these people, doesn't it? If you can put yourself in the position of a middle-easterner for a second, what's the difference between being tortured by Americans and being tortured by Saddam? No wonder 80% of Iraqis want us to withdraw and a majority of them think it's 'ok' to attack Americans.

3. Spying on American Citizens Without a Warrant- Despite any technical legality of it that may or may not exist, this just ranks right up there with internment camps. It is plainly a scar on Bush's presidency, and an open, festering wound on the core principles of freedom.

2. Pat Robertson & the Rest of the Evangelical Outrage Gang- Well Tinky-winky and Spongebob are gay and trying to recruit your children into their "lifestyle", we should assasinate Chavez, and Sharon's stroke was a punishment from God. Need I say more?

1. THEY'RE FOR SALE!- Most of us knew that from the start, but now thanks to Abramoff it's all coming into the spotlight. Now that some of their dirty conversations have been taped (Thanks, Duke!!!), the American people will get to know the GOP for what they really are (again), and have been since the 1970's... A bunch of crooks, con-men and cronies.

 

[Axismaster]

10. Theocratic Tendencies- Pushing for things like compulsory school prayer, using tax dollars to pay for Christian religious displays and to fund "faith-based" charities who use the money for 'recruitment' in addition to any legitimate charitable causes. Just because it's the majority religion doesn't make it the "official state religion". The founding fathers realized the importance of keeping the state out of religion and vice versa, why can't you?

9. Inability to tolerate opposing viewpoints- This amounts to: Agree with us or you're "irresponsible", "un-American", a "traitor", and so forth. Why not debate your positions on their merits rather than simply dodge all argument by seeking to dismiss the positions of others without review? Perhaps if the GOP platform had any merit to stand on they wouldn't have to resort to name-calling and personal attacks to get their points across, hmmm?

8. Fiscal Retardation- If it isn't clear to absolutely everyone by now that the GOP is completely incapable of adhering to any sort of fiscal restraint, then you're ignoring the facts. Despite record revenues, the executive and legislative bodies of government, held by the Republicans, have been unable to hold back from spending every penny, plus the social security surplus, PLUS another $300b-$400b on top of that, adding to our national debt. Fiscal conservatives my ass.

7. Corporate Favoritism- They let the big energy companies write our country's energy policy, they've rolled back important safety and health regulations (How much insect matter and hair do YOU think should be allowed in your peanut butter??), they've directly and blatantly passed legislation which favors business and puts the screws to the individual and the worker... The list just goes on and on.

6. Inability to Respond to a Crisis in a Timely Manner- The response to Hurricane Katrina, particularly after spending billions upon billions of dollars on increased preparedness in the event of a terrorist attack was deeply troubling. It wasn't until they saw people on the news outside the Superdome holding up signs that said, "HELP US", that any sort of mobilization even began. It speaks volumes as to their ability to manage, well... Anything.

5. Bumbling in Iraq- Many leadership mistakes were made in Iraq and even the current administration admits to that. Perhaps if he'd sought out advice from those outside his circle of cronies three years ago instead of waiting until a week ago, some of these mistakes could have been avoided and the troops could be home by now.

4. Inability to Win the Hearts and Minds of Those Our Enemies Want to Recruit- Bush stubbornly clinging to his 'right' to order agents of the US to use torture during interrogation of enemy suspects certainly sends a clear message to these people, doesn't it? If you can put yourself in the position of a middle-easterner for a second, what's the difference between being tortured by Americans and being tortured by Saddam? No wonder 80% of Iraqis want us to withdraw and a majority of them think it's 'ok' to attack Americans.

3. Spying on American Citizens Without a Warrant- Despite any technical legality of it that may or may not exist, this just ranks right up there with internment camps. It is plainly a scar on Bush's presidency, and an open, festering wound on the core principles of freedom.

2. Pat Robertson & the Rest of the Evangelical Outrage Gang- Well Tinky-winky and Spongebob are gay and trying to recruit your children into their "lifestyle", we should assasinate Chavez, and Sharon's stroke was a punishment from God. Need I say more?

1. THEY'RE FOR SALE!- Most of us knew that from the start, but now thanks to Abramoff it's all coming into the spotlight. Now that some of their dirty conversations have been taped (Thanks, Duke!!!), the American people will get to know the GOP for what they really are (again), and have been since the 1970's... A bunch of crooks, con-men and cronies.

I agree with 100% of what you say, but there are ten problems with your Democrats as well.

10. They are too stubborn to accept anything in the way of a relief in taxes. They think they are helping people, but don't they realize that abolishing the income tax and replacing it with a consumption tax would actually help the least fortunate.

9. If it itches, throw a program at it. Of course, the GOP is just as bad about this, if not worse.

8. They think everything is a human right. Is there not a point at which some people can be expected to earn things themselves? I mean really, not everything is entitled by God.

7. Political correctness. Who the hell goes to all that trouble to pick and choose words.

6. Their idea of positive and negative liberty. I just wish they would realize that liberty is liberty, some is not "good" and some is not "bad."

5. They bend the Constitution for the "common good." Just watch them for a minute, it is pretty self-explanatory.

4. They are unwilling to cut spending. They want to clear up the deficit, but they are too hooked on all their social programs to actually do something about it.

3. They think the military is a global sheriff. While the GOP uses the military like a raiding party, the Democrats seem to think that we were meant to be some kind of global sheriff.

2. They never stop crying. All they do is whine and cry, and never come up with good plans of their own.

1. They are nitpicking in our lives. I just wish they would realize that government is not meant to protect people from themselves. Hey Uncle Sam, I can live my own life however I choose, I don't need your guidance in my "human rights."

That's why you should vote Libertarian!

 

[JustMyPOV]

I agree with 100% of what you say, but there are ten problems with your Democrats as well.

10. They are too stubborn to accept anything in the way of a relief in taxes. They think they are helping people, but don't they realize that abolishing the income tax and replacing it with a consumption tax would actually help the least fortunate.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with tax relief provided it doesn't drive us further into the hole. We have a national debt right now that is rapidly soaring to 100% of our annual GDP! The irresponsibility of everything that got us to this point aside, surely even a libertarian such as yourself can see the necessity of beginning to pay down this debt before it leads to the fiscal collapse of our country...

Sure, under a consumption tax the burden on the wealthy would be miniscule since the wealthy tend to hord much more than they spend, and it would be the average American who spends most of their earnings who would suffer by and large. It would also mean that the American consumer would be spending less on products and services because it's likely their overall tax bill would be higher through a consumption tax as opposed to the current system used which more heavily taxes those who can afford to pay it. This would ultimately have a negative impact on the economy and lead to recession/depression.

9. If it itches, throw a program at it. Of course, the GOP is just as bad about this, if not worse.

Something like this needs to be judged on a case by case basis. Some programs are good for the country, other programs are not so good. So I can say that I agree with you about halfway on this one. But where do you draw the line as to what programs you approve of? Being a Libertarian, do you approve of any federal programs at all?

8. They think everything is a human right. Is there not a point at which some people can be expected to earn things themselves? I mean really, not everything is entitled by God.

Not everything is entitled to us by God, indeed, but there are certain standards of decency in the free, industrialized world. Would you have the elderly and the infirm starving to death in the streets, begging for meager handouts? People without health insurance who are very ill simply go untreated and die a painful death because they can't work due to their illness? Again, at what point to you draw the line with the "every man for himself" style of government that Libertarians support.

7. Political correctness. Who the hell goes to all that trouble to pick and choose words.

There's nothing wrong with taking a little time to be polite, or didn't your parents ever share that tid-bit of wisdom with you? If someone of a particular ethnic or other minority group is offended by certain language regarding their labelling, what does it take to use a different word? You make it sound like it's a massive amount of work to say "African American" instead of black. I know it's a few more syllibles, but really, not that difficult. Only people I ever see or hear whining about PC now are conservative talking heads anyway, the rest of us have accepted it and moved on.

6. Their idea of positive and negative liberty. I just wish they would realize that liberty is liberty, some is not "good" and some is not "bad."

I'm just assuming that you're referring to positive liberty, in which everyone is equally free, and negative liberty, wherein someone's liberty could somehow hinder someone else's liberty. Should a parent be free to beat their children into submission without any sort of lawful intrusion? Would that freedom granted to a parent not violate the liberty of the child? I can't really imagine what else you could mean by this, since I've never even heard of the concept. If I'm wrong, I'd love to hear what you mean by positive and negative liberty.

5. They bend the Constitution for the "common good." Just watch them for a minute, it is pretty self-explanatory.

Isn't it the job of the courts to ensure the constitutionality of any legislation passed that is challenged by anyone? The Constitution provides a great degree of flexibility to ensure that it would stand the test of time.

4. They are unwilling to cut spending. They want to clear up the deficit, but they are too hooked on all their social programs to actually do something about it.

Well, the GOP is pretty well the same way. Out of a $2.5trillion budget, they only managed to find about $50billion that could be cut. Not that I have the time to actually go through it, but I'd be willing to bet that I could knock off about $300billion or more in spending without batting an eyelash.

3. They think the military is a global sheriff. While the GOP uses the military like a raiding party, the Democrats seem to think that we were meant to be some kind of global sheriff.

I don't think you realize the immense scope of our role in the world as purveyors of freedom. Sometimes it's in our interests to aid the developing world as an investment toward our future prosperity. I don't think we should go it alone, essentially, as has been done by the current administration in Iraq. It's in the best interest of the entire world to end tyrranny, and sometimes, military force becomes necessary.

2. They never stop crying. All they do is whine and cry, and never come up with good plans of their own.

Sounds like the fantasy world of Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh. Have you ever even looked at the Democratic platform? The "non-plan" of the Democrats seemed to work pretty damn well in the 90's, my income was a hell of a lot higher back then, I don't know about yours...

1. They are nitpicking in our lives. I just wish they would realize that government is not meant to protect people from themselves. Hey Uncle Sam, I can live my own life however I choose, I don't need your guidance in my "human rights."

I'm confused here and I wonder if you could give an example or two of this "nitpicking", and how it is done specifically by the Democrats. Live your life how you choose, but let others live their lives free of the byproducts of your life. The only right you don't have is to trample on the rights of others, so I really don't see your complaint.

That's why you should vote Libertarian!

I'm all set. "Every man for himself" leads to immense inequality between those with, and those without. How free is the unskilled man who has to work 100 hours a week just to "get by", because the people he works for are free to pay him only $2.00 an hour governed by market conditions? How free is he when he's too old to work, he didn't make anywhere near enough to save anything and there's no social safety net for when he needs to retire? These are the questions that libertarians don't take into account. People like these, the infirm, the mentally incapacitated, the elderly, and so forth would be relinquished to begging in the streets, living in card-board boxes, possibly on the sidewalk in front of your house. It didn't work prior to the "New Deal", and it would likely have a similar result today, and this is almost universally accepted, thank God.

 

[KCConservative]

and don't forget the main point. The rotten Republicans stole both elections. :rofl

 

[Billo_Really]

Originally posted by KCConservative:
and don't forget the main point. The rotten Republicans stole both elections.

You forgot to bash Bush.

 

[The Real McCoy]

10. Theocratic Tendencies- Pushing for things like compulsory school prayer, using tax dollars to pay for Christian religious displays and to fund "faith-based" charities who use the money for 'recruitment' in addition to any legitimate charitable causes. Just because it's the majority religion doesn't make it the "official state religion". The founding fathers realized the importance of keeping the state out of religion and vice versa, why can't you?

Agreed.

9. Inability to tolerate opposing viewpoints- This amounts to: Agree with us or you're "irresponsible", "un-American", a "traitor", and so forth. Why not debate your positions on their merits rather than simply dodge all argument by seeking to dismiss the positions of others without review? Perhaps if the GOP platform had any merit to stand on they wouldn't have to resort to name-calling and personal attacks to get their points across, hmmm?

Agreed... 50%. Democrats aren't very well known for their ability to tolerate opposing viewpoints.

8. Fiscal Retardation- If it isn't clear to absolutely everyone by now that the GOP is completely incapable of adhering to any sort of fiscal restraint, then you're ignoring the facts. Despite record revenues, the executive and legislative bodies of government, held by the Republicans, have been unable to hold back from spending every penny, plus the social security surplus, PLUS another $300b-$400b on top of that, adding to our national debt. Fiscal conservatives my ass.

Agreed. 100%. Cut taxes AND cut gov't spending.

7. Corporate Favoritism- They let the big energy companies write our country's energy policy, they've rolled back important safety and health regulations (How much insect matter and hair do YOU think should be allowed in your peanut butter??), they've directly and blatantly passed legislation which favors business and puts the screws to the individual and the worker... The list just goes on and on.

As opposed to letting the government, devoid of competition, write the country's energy policy? Passing all this legislation for "the worker" screws companies and in many cases brings them down along with all their workers, kinda like the UAW.

6. Inability to Respond to a Crisis in a Timely Manner- The response to Hurricane Katrina, particularly after spending billions upon billions of dollars on increased preparedness in the event of a terrorist attack was deeply troubling. It wasn't until they saw people on the news outside the Superdome holding up signs that said, "HELP US", that any sort of mobilization even began. It speaks volumes as to their ability to manage, well... Anything.

To me, it speaks volumes about the failures of Nagin & Blanco (democrats). We live in a country where respoinsibility begins at the local level, then the state, THEN federal... not vice-versa.

5. Bumbling in Iraq- Many leadership mistakes were made in Iraq and even the current administration admits to that. Perhaps if he'd sought out advice from those outside his circle of cronies three years ago instead of waiting until a week ago, some of these mistakes could have been avoided and the troops could be home by now.

He seeks advice from the generals and other commanders who are on the ground there.

4. Inability to Win the Hearts and Minds of Those Our Enemies Want to Recruit- Bush stubbornly clinging to his 'right' to order agents of the US to use torture during interrogation of enemy suspects certainly sends a clear message to these people, doesn't it? If you can put yourself in the position of a middle-easterner for a second, what's the difference between being tortured by Americans and being tortured by Saddam? No wonder 80% of Iraqis want us to withdraw and a majority of them think it's 'ok' to attack Americans.

First off, Bush changed his mind and agreed to comply with McCain's torture bill.

Secondly, water-boarding (our usual method of torture) is slightly different than the amputation of hands, tongues, eyes, etc. and the slaughtering of children in front of parents (Saddam's methods of torture.)

3. Spying on American Citizens Without a Warrant- Despite any technical legality of it that may or may not exist, this just ranks right up there with internment camps. It is plainly a scar on Bush's presidency, and an open, festering wound on the core principles of freedom.

Ranks up there with internment camps?? Surely you don't actually believe that.

2. Pat Robertson & the Rest of the Evangelical Outrage Gang- Well Tinky-winky and Spongebob are gay and trying to recruit your children into their "lifestyle", we should assasinate Chavez, and Sharon's stroke was a punishment from God. Need I say more?

What does this have to do with Bush and Republican leadership? Pat Robertson and his lot have been around for quite awhile now.

1. THEY'RE FOR SALE!- Most of us knew that from the start, but now thanks to Abramoff it's all coming into the spotlight. Now that some of their dirty conversations have been taped (Thanks, Duke!!!), the American people will get to know the GOP for what they really are (again), and have been since the 1970's... A bunch of crooks, con-men and cronies.

But the democrats are completely innocent and immune to corruption, right? :roll: