Not that bad, except for Americans

I wanted George Bush to lose this time round chiefly for personal reasons: he’s an arrogant, ignorant, smirking oaf from whom I never want to see or hear ever again, and a President shouldn’t be allowed to get away with screwing up, lying, and cheating.

There were partisan reasons too, the most important of which is the replacement of Rehnquist and probably some liberal justices on the Supreme Court. The socialists who said there was no margin between the two candidates are daft purely on these grounds: while a President Kerry would have had to nominate conservative-moderates to get them confirmed by Congress, Bush could now successfully nominate Rush Limbaugh if he wanted, which he probably does. The same’s true for lawmaking: nobody sensible wants the religious right in charge of the presidency, the Senate and the House.

The war on Oceania^H^H Terror isn’t such an important factor. I’m not quite visceral enough in my hatred of the administration to think they’ll screw up the terrorist intelligence side on purpose, or that they’ll accidentally screw it up notably more than a Kerry administration would have done.

Iraq isn’t going to be withdrawable-from at any point in the next four years without descending into Somalian levels of everyone slaughtering everyone forever, and its oil should ensure it isn’t allowed to go that way. As long as the entire US army is busy in Iraq, there’s not really any scope to invade anywhere, which is just as well, and means that military policy will broadly be the same under both candidates.

So the main impact of Bush’s re-election on people in the UK will be to make watching the international news a singularly unpleasant experience. If the second term’s economic policy is as dodgy as the first term’s, this could also have an impact (why the hell does US business lean Republican when Democrats nearly always do better on the economy?). And there is a slightly greater chance of World War III than under Kerry, albeit still only a small one.

Americans, however, are set for a real-life adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale. While it would be nice to believe that the administration were lying about being religious-right loonies to bring out the fundy vote and that they won’t actually implement disturbing theocratic nonsense, there’s not much beyond wishful thinking to base that on. If I lived in a sane bit of the USA, at this point I’d be wishing that Lincoln had just let the nutters in the South bugger off…

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11 thoughts on “Not that bad, except for Americans

  1. I continue to find it rather astounding that Bush has a "dodgy economic policy", when his employment and growth numbers are better than that economic wizard Clinton ever recorded. In ’96, we were supposed to elect him because a 5.6% unemployment rate and 2.9% growth was outstanding, but in ’04 we’re supposed to run Bush off because 5.4% and 3.4% are just plain awful. Sorry mate, but to anyone paying attention, you just aren’t making any sense.

    There’s that, and I’d much rather have the looney religious right have the dominant influence than the looney aetheist left. At least the right tends to honor some moral limitations on themselves, which can’t be said for the socialist lapdogs. In the end, that’s what got record voter turnout this cycle (which was "supposed" to help the Dems), and that’s what sank the Dems as a party: an utter lack of anything recognizable as basic ethics.

  2. Clinton didn’t run up record trade and budget deficits.

    It’s like you’re saying "Dave is good with money: he’s driving around in an Armani suit and a gold Rolls-Royce, and he’s buying drinks for everyone in the bar". Not if he’s buying them all on credit he can’t easily afford to pay back, he isn’t.

  3. "an utter lack of anything recognizable as basic ethics"

    You’re talking about the Bush team, right? Or does the numerous attacks on liberty, freedom, the truth and scientific rationality (see a number of John’s posts in the past) not count?

  4. I don’t like his spending, but Kerry would have made him look like Ebineezer Scrooge. Most of it was for the war anyway, and that falls under the "necessary" column not the "optional", and is therefor outside of consideration on the matter. Clinton had a minor surplus because he gutted the military budget. That should be the last thing cut, since it’s the fed’s primary responsibility.

    Attacks on liberty & freedom? You’re delusional, or reading The Guardian too often, which amounts to the same thing. He wants to give me more freedoms, freedom from government-botched retirement plans, freedom from litigationally-inflated medical costs, freedom from affirmative action racism, and freedom from friggin’ Hollywood leftist/socialist condescension.

    The scientific rationality that everyone keeps referring to is usually Kyoto, and Bush didn’t have anything to do with rejecting that, the Senate did 98-0 under Clinton. Stem cell research was not banned, it was simply banned from federal money when it came from destroyed embryoes. Medical research isn’t funded by the feds anyway, nor should it be.

  5. I think you are absolutely right that the biggest difference between Bush and Kerry is what will now happen domestically and in the Supreme Court. The commonly voiced idea that a Bush presidency will lead to further wars is something I think unlikely, for exactly the practical reasons you have outlined.

  6. Oh what choice words – "freedom from friggin’ Hollywood leftist/socialist condescension."

    I may be the yapping dog, but you sound more like General Jack D Ripper with every post – uttlerly, utterly unhinged. Dunno if you noticed, but the fight against socialism ended *years* ago. If it continues in any form whatsoever, it’s because us Eurotrash (and half of the US voters) still want it.

    But, to use your patronising rhetoric, you’re probably too young to remember that. Or maybe not well-read enough.

    Here’s to the next four years though – hope you have plenty of good luck.

  7. Well, I just like it’s a bit funny hearing about losing my liberties from Brits, whose government har at work fighting for them to lose their right to bear arms, their right to hunt, their right spank an unruly child, and even a right to vote for their first and very own Constitution. Liberties? The liberty to be a hive-mind?

    The condescension is and has been rather thick, but it becomes a little comical once you consider the sources. You actually crave socialism…..I can begin to tell you how funny that is.

  8. Well I crave it. It’s the brainwashing, you see.

    Anyway, I’ve got to go now, they’re taking me to a place called the gulag – I hear it’s quite nice!

  9. "Not that bad, except for Americans" ? I beg to differ. First, what’s bad for Americans is bad for the rest of the world too. And a second Bush term is going to be worse, much worse, in my opinion, than the first.

    Rather than lay down his rifle and play nice now that he doesn’t need to be macho anymore to be re-elected, Bush can push through any number of medieval policies. And he will.

    The neo-cons dominate all three powers (legislative, executive and judiciary) in the US now, with only the liberal (ha, ha) media to ‘oppose’ them. It’s going to be like shooting fish in a barrel for the Right, and the rest of us are in for a rough ride.

  10. "The right to spank an unruly child" is something our entire civilisation depends upon. Once you take that away, or give it up so easily, you are no longer entitled to an opinion.

    The right for everybody to purchase a gun as easily as ordering a beer is an essential prerequisite of freedom and democracy. If you people don’t really care for it, you’re no longer entitled to an opinion. How dare you not like guns?

    The right to hunt is one of the most sacred of human rights and if a majority of people don’t give a toss about it because they may have more interesting and slightly healthier hobbies than torturing foxes, then they have renounced democracy.

    And signing the EU constitution! the crime, the horror, the loss of liberty.

    Translation: Brits – only good as military backup for the Yanks and providers of fake intelligence claims. Vive la liberté e la coherence!

  11. It’s difficult to tell whether he pities Europeans, envies Europeans, or just plain hates Europeans. Probably a combination of all three.

    Mind you, I can see the logic – if I choose to spend all my money on an arsenal of weapons, at least I’ll have the choice of shooting myself when I can’t afford the cancer treatment.

    It’s all about priorities.

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