printIt’s a chore to watch more than 60 seconds of this hypocrite unveil the carefully qualified Truth he never uttered while campaigning (and will forget if ever his faction is in power again). During his presidential campaign, Fred Thompson, and the rest of the Republican front runners, praised Bush’s three-trillion-dollar war.
Thompson and his ilk had no qualms about W’s warfare-welfare wantonness: his compassionate conservatism they touted endlessly, including Bush’s “ownership society” which amplified the mortgage meltdown. Where was cuddly Fred when,
To achieve his vision, Bush pushed new policies encouraging homeownership, like the “zero-down-payment initiative,” which was much as it sounds—a government-sponsored program that allowed people to get mortgages without a down payment.
Those who still choose to cheer for the GOP (RIP), and saddle Obama with its travesties, might wish to commit to memory (if only fleetingly) the fact that in order to privilege Hispanics (mostly illegal), Bush not only pushed for their amnesty, but worked overtime to incorporate them into the “ownership society.” Easy credit for minorities unworthy of credit was par for the course during the Bush years.
While campaigning, did fuzzy Freddy denounce, or even mention, Bush’s prescription-drug benefit that has added trillions to the Medicare shortfall? The unconstitutional campaign finance-reform bill and “Sarbanes-Oxley Act” (a preemptive assault on CEOs and CFOs, prior to the fact of a crime)? The collusion with Kennedy on education?
What is it about establishment Republicans that they will cover up for each other and for the crimes of their Leader for 8 solid years, and are still begged to come back for encores by their followers, none of whom is the wiser? (That’s a rhetorical question).
Why do the party parrots have no curiosity about the one man who has been correct for 30 straight years? Or about the few columns that have been predictive and always spoken truth to power? (Stephen Moore, of the Wall Street Journal, wrote a book titled Bullish on Bush: How the Ownership Society Is Making America Richer. This snake-oil merchant–and failed philosopher kings like him–are still touted as the crème de la crème of the American commentariat.)
Mencken explained this with reference to the genus called “Boobus Americanus,” but then today, in the Age of the Idiot, Mencken himself would be voiceless, unemployed.
Update III (Jan 25): Still fawning over Fred and the Republican phonies? In case you find it hard to believe Bush helped build the ownership society on quicksand, do read about the American Dream Downpayment Act of 2003. Did know-it-all Fred protest that when he had a chance to? Not on his life. He ought to leave “Economics in One Lesson” to the great Henry Hazlitt, who, like Mencken, would be unemployed or underemployed in the Age of the Idiot.
Update IV (Jan. 26): About the convergence of the Demopublican duopoly, Vox Day, my WND colleague, writes:
“[W]hen in power, the differences between the two parties are mostly illusory. Republican and Democrat are simply two different factions of the same ruling party, and their congressional battles are primarily over political spoils, not political ideology. This is why a ‘conservative’ president will immediately tack left upon taking office, while a ‘liberal’ president will tend to move to the right. We’ve seen this with Bush 41, Clinton and Bush 43, so there’s no reason to expect a massive difference between the previous administration and the current one.”
As I have written, “Antitrust laws ought to be deployed, not against business, but to bust this two-party monopoly, which subverts competition in government and rewards the colluding quislings with sinecures in perpetuity.”
I do, however, hope Vox tackles the mindlessness of the parties’ respective followers.
Update V: To Myron. I thought the point I was making was obvious–or has responsibility (as opposed expediency) become such a vague term? The point is not whether Fuzzy Fred was present in the flesh when Bush did what he did; but this: The onus was on FF to articulate the principles he has only now discovered while vying for the Party’s nomination for president. It was THEN that FF ought to have disavowed the violation of these principles by Bush. But Fred denounces spending and cheap credit only now that a Democrat has taken over where Bush left off. It goes without saying that had the Republicans not been dethroned, they’d be doing exactly what the Democrats are doing–stimulating their packages–and their followers would be doing the same. (With one hand held out for their share of the loot.)
“The dog commends himself to our favor by affording play to our propensity for mastery.”
– Thorstein Veblen
Party parrots or party lapdogs, their very disregard of Ron Paul indicts them. It is not inability to see or understand, it is a willful disregard in the name of the state and its (their) power.
It’s always amazing to watch the Republicans find the handle on free market economics when they are out of power. With history as our guide it should be clear to even the thickest Republican Kool-Aid drinker that once returned to power the GOP will immediately, “Leave No Child Behind”.
It’s a mystery to me how Ron Paul can tolerate being surrounded by the most vile and cretinous human beings our country has produced.
As for the Republicans, their conduct during the recent presidential campaign was appalling. They openly mocked and laughed at Paul about the perilous nature of our economy and of the prospects of a Democratic rout if they did not change policy. Who is laughing now?
Good riddance to the pathetic GOP. And once the Democrats drive the bus over the cliff, maybe Boobus will wake up and realize how they were sold a bill of goods.
What is rather pathetic is the attempt to continually apologize (and this goes on decade after decade by the deluded apologists) for a group of people who violate the so-called “principles” that they are supposed to stand for. E.G. – the Bushes (who were nominated on 5 G.O.P. national tickets) are not “real” Republicans. Or Stalin the mass murderer was not a “real” Communist. And Bin Laden and the numerous terrorists are not “real” Moslems. Ahhhh, yes – the ideal Republican cuts spending and obeys the Constitution, the ideal Communist is a non-violent utopian angel, and the ideal Moslem is a peaceful pious monotheist. It is just all them Fake Republicans, Fake Commies, and Fake Moslems who have messed things up. Sadly, we might add most modern day businessmen to the mixture too – more have “learned” (at Harvard MBA programs like G. W. Bush) how to make short-term fortunes by eminent domain abuse, bribing politicians, and near-term Ponzi-esque hustling than have actually figured out how to honestly produce a useful product at low cost. {William Buckley said “the worst thing about capitalism is capitalists”}
Ron Paul’s alias, Dr. No, is well deserved because he constantly refuses the false choice between “republican” socialists dressed in shepherd skin or “democratic” socialists dressed in sheep skin. In a word, he honestly represents “real change”. Obama and Bush, as the living examples of their existing parties,actually come closer to representing the old FBI television series with Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., where the names were changed to protect the innocent. Except of course in contemporary American politics,we voters keep changing the names simply to protect the guilty. One principle that organized crime apparently shares with the current political duoploy is when it comes to matters of life and death, “it is strictly business.” Thoughtful, intelligent, citizens of good will like Ron Paul,Ilana Mercer or Pat Buchanan — folks who speak their mind with courage and conviction or defend their loves against the creeping (I could have said creepy)socialists are considered armed and dangerous by the duopoly, as indeed they are. Thank G-d for them. The Old Testament required the worst of decadent cities to have at least ten of them before justice and mercy could spare the whole, and of course the New Testament began with only twelve with one,the treasurer,being a traitor. Keep up the good work, Ilana, small is still beautiful and truth is still powerful.
Bulls Eye!
Ilana, in all fairness to the humorously bloviating actor/senator Fred Thompson, he was not in congress in 2003 when the idiotic American Dream Downpayment Act of 2003 (sponsored by infamous Katherine Harris of Florida recount fame) passed so overwhelmingly that there was only a voice vote. However, he voted with McCain for McCain-Feingold. Thompson also supported (as did McCain and alleged “libertarian” Bob Barr) the Department of Homeland Security, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the No Child Left Behind Act and the Patriot Act.
Ahh – those small government “conservative”/”libertarian” republicans… Ron Paul voted consistently no. Best yet is to read Congressman Paul’s dissent on the obscene “American Dream Downpayment Act
of 2003”:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/001817.html