Bush's gambling debts mounting

[dArKeR]

US President George W. Bush's economic policies have been based on an extraordinarily reckless gamble that reflects a political coalition of two major forces: the super-rich and evangelical Christians. As those policies fail, global financial markets are reacting negatively, adding uncertainty to the world economy, and there is little relief in sight, because the US is entering a period of prolonged political infighting and stalemate.

The super-rich had one over-riding objective in joining the Bush coalition: tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefited the wealthiest households. Evangelicals were brought in on the basis of so-called "family values," meaning opposition to abortion and gay marriage, and promises of active government support for religious activities, including direct payments to religious groups for social services that they provide.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/edit/archives/2005/04/29/2003252434

[UCLA Dem]

1. I don't think anyone else liked *'s little performance tonight either.

Every article I've read has been negative.

Oh poor Shrub, what's an unpopular president to do???

[aquart]

2. We didn't elect him. He took what wasn't his.

I hope he winds up pissing on himself for sheer terror of the people he's betrayed.

[tom_paine]

9. And if his State Sanction Approval Rating reads as 45%

You can bet your ass it's REALLY 27%.

[enid602]

3. Bush economics

Bush's economic plan is not a gmble, but rather an intentional policy developed by the best and brightest minds the GOP has to offer. Remember, trade and government deficits don't matter, because when you cut taxes, the resulting increase in economic activity will actually cause government receipts to rise, resulting in smaller deficits which are proportionally even smaller to a rising GNP. Sadly, the opposite appears to be happening, which comes as no surprise to professional economists and academia. Unfortunately, we've had to waste much of the country's patrimony and future to prove the point.

[Martin Eden]

6. Intentional, and Ideological

They probably believe their own rhetoric that lower taxes boost government revenues by stimulating the economy, but I think that's secondary to their ideological agenda.

Deficits "don't matter" because what matters most is implementing as much of their agenda as they can while they control the reigns of government. They want to dismantle Roosevelt's New Deal and the regulations that have restrained corporate power. They've got their eyes fixated on these goals, with the agenda of the religious right thrown in, and everything else is secondary.

Grover Norquist's strategy of "starving the beast" requires huge deficits, because popular government programs can only be eliminated by making them impossible to fund. Everything they do and say must be viewed in the context of their ideological/corporate/religious goals -- if you take them at face value and enter into a dialogue on that basis, they have already succeeded in framing the debate to their advantage.

[yurbud]

11. Norquist's words should be an albatross around their neck

Howard Dean should force every candidate to memorize some of Norquist's greatest hits. Every campaign could just be saying what Grover said, then explaining to voters what it will do to them.

[indepat]

14. Like they want to return to Repuke policies which fed a world depression

and ignored massive corporate misdeeds?

[bemildred]

4. "US is entering a period of prolonged political infighting and stalemate"

Wrong. We've been in a period of "prolonged political infighting
and stalemate" since the VietNam boondoggle went down the crapper.
We've been mis-governed a good deal longer than that, but with
VietNam the government lost it's legitimacy, and it's been resorting
to more and more extreme measures to hang onto power and prevent
the necessary house-cleaning.

[sarcasmo]

5. I wonder if the smell of LAME DUCK is pretty bad in the White House right

Now.

[agincourt]

7. I think the GOPig endgame all along,

was to bring about an economic collapse that would put them in position for a more authoritarian rule. People like Delay,Pat Robertson, and Bush are degenerates who care little about the state of american citizens. They just want absolute rule and the sheeple can't see the endgame.

[yurbud]

10. yep--doing to us what they did to South America

bankrupt, buy cheap, rule with an iron heel.

[struggle4progress]

8. kick

[DrZeeLit]

12. Gambling? Well, he's got PLENTY of political CAPITAL, right? n/t

[Hand]

13. Oh, Chimpy's a gambler, all right

As long as it's someone else's money or someone else's life.

I see you and raise you one of these, Chimpy...