Category Archives: Republicans

Musings on the election from a Linux user’s group email list…

One thing that libertarians, moderates, liberals and progressives seem to agree about is that the current administration has made a mess of things. The nation is much worse off now than it was eight years ago. Aside from the 25% or so of staunch neo-conservatives/Bush devotees, everyone is happy that the Bush years are coming to an end. I think that, no matter which way the election goes, things are going to get better starting in January.

Of course, as one of our groups two progressives, I have to say that I am looking forward to an Obama presidency. Obama is poised to do for the country what Bill Ritter is doing for the state of Colorado: break us out of the rut that politics has been stalled in for decades, and move us onto a better, brighter future. We are seeing this in Colorado, as renewable energy corporations are starting to invest heavily in our state under Ritter’s natural energy initiatives. Obama’s policies are on a much larger scale, and the impact will be that much larger.

Of course, I am making the assumption that Obama will be the winner in November. Based on the current economy, the momentum that Obama is building, and the general feeling that the American people are sick of Republican leadership, I am pretty positive about that assumption. Add to this the fact that John McCain’s main strength is national defense, which is not going to be a factor in the upcoming election (unless there is a major economic recovery in the next six months), and I become even more positive about my assumption. It’ll be Obama in ’08. And 2012, for that matter. :)

Dick Cheney is not Darth Vader….

As much as I hate to disagree with Randi Rhodes (mainly because she almost always ends up being proven right), I think she is completely wrong when she refers to Dick Cheney as Darth Vader. Vader was the active hand of the government; he was a visible sign of the Empire’s power. Cheney is more like Palpatine from the prequels, sitting behind the scenes, guiding everything that happens but doing a good job of not being seen. This is apparent from the the washingtonpost.com four-article series on Dick Cheney. As stated in Part Three:

it was Cheney who served as the guardian of conservative orthodoxy on budget and tax matters. He shaped and pushed through Bushs tax cuts, blunting the influence of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, a longtime friend, and of Cabinet rivals he had played a principal role in selecting. He managed to overcome the presidents “compassionate conservative” resistance to multiple breaks for the wealthy. He even orchestrated a decision to let a GOP senator switch parties — giving control of the chamber to Democrats — rather than meet the senators demand for billions of dollars in new spending.On the home front, the vice president is well known for leading a secretive task force on energy policy. But in a town where politicians routinely scurry for credit, Cheney more often kept his role concealed, even from top Bush advisers.

“A lot of it was a black box, and I think designedly so,” said former Bush speechwriter David Frum. “It was like — you know that experiment where you pass a magnet under the table and you see the iron filings on the top of the table move? You know theres a magnet there because of what you see happening, but you never see the magnet.”

That is some seriously scary power. It’s an evil, corrupting influence. Cheney is a very scary man. The idea that he is controlling so much – including the President – and really doesn’t care what others think shows exactly what Cheney is made of. And that’s the scariest though of all.

‘Brownie’ blasts Bush

So is this a case of rats leaving a sinking ship, or just a man trying to cover his own ass? Dunno for certain, but Michael Brown came out swinging hard against President Bush about the Hurricane Katrina recovery disaster (courtesy 9News.com):

Brown said his biggest mistake during the handling of Katrina was not standing up to his bosses and letting the American people know how the president and his aides did not want to hear the truth. He says subsequent media reports have shown him briefing the president as to the problems in New Orleans and questioning his staff when he heard people were being sent to the Superdome which he asserted was not safe.

“What really irritates me the most is that the leadership in this administration failed me miserably during Katrina,” Brown said.

I find this extremely interesting. George W. Bush stood by Michael Brown for a long time, even though everyone else in the country was screaming about how horrible Katrina relief was handled. Brown helped destroy an American city, and he deserved to be raked across the coals. Yet there was the famous quote from Bush talking about how good a job Brown was doing. Bush showed a lot of loyalty in Brown.

Which is what makes Brown throwing Bush and Chertoff under the bus so interesting. And odd. Is Brown just in self-preservation mode now? Actually, that is probably the answer…