Amherst County Virginia Democratic News
"Obama equals Bush" is a complaint from the left that didn't just spring up yesterday. The fact that this president still has troops in Iraq, prisoners in Guantánamo Bay, tax cuts for the rich, and now a new war brewing in the Middle East has some of his supporters heading for the exits .
Amherst County Virginia Democratic News
Obama's address to the nation Tuesday seemed to echo a 2002 speech Bush delivered announcing that the nation was going to war in Iraq. It made me wonder how alike these two Presidents are? You may say actions speak louder than words to which I respond their actions are carbon copies, the same, like looking a miror, cloned twins.
As you read thru the quotes below the first of each set belongs to Obama. If the order were jumbled it would make no difference. We no longer have a two party system, we have two parties who agree on 90% of the issues and who get together behind closed doors to split up the rest.
Amherst County Virginia Democratic News
Quote 1-A: "So we face big and difficult challenges. And what the American people hope – what they deserve – is for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work through our differences; to overcome the numbing weight of our politics. For while the people who sent us here have different backgrounds, different stories and different beliefs, the anxieties they face are the same. The aspirations they hold are shared. A job that pays the bills. A chance to get ahead. Most of all, the ability to give their children a better life." President Obama
Amherst County Virginia Democratic News
Quote 2-A: "In a system of two parties, two chambers, and two elected branches, there will always be differences and debate. But even tough debates can be conducted in a civil tone, and our differences cannot be allowed to harden into anger. To confront the great issues before us, we must act in a spirit of goodwill and respect for one another - and I will do my part. Tonight the state of our Union is strong, and together we will make it stronger."
G. W. Bush
******
Amherst County Virginia Democratic News
Quote 1-B: "But families across the country are tightening their belts and making tough decisions. The Federal government should do the same. So tonight, I'm proposing specific steps to pay for the $1 trillion that it took to rescue the economy last year." President Obama
Amherst County Virginia Democratic News
Quote 2-B: "Many of you have talked about the need to pay down our national debt. I listened, and I agree. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to act now, and I hope you will join me to pay down $2 trillion in debt during the next 10 years."
G. W. Bush
*******
Amherst County Virginia Democratic News
Quote 1-C: "I'm also calling on Congress to continue down the path of earmark reform. You have trimmed some of this spending and embraced some meaningful change. But restoring the public trust demands more. For example, some members of Congress post some earmark requests online. Tonight, I'm calling on Congress to publish all earmark requests on a single website before there's a vote so that the American people can see how their money is being spent." President Obama
Amherst County Virginia Democratic News
Quote 2-C: "The time has come to end this practice. So let us work together to reform the budget process, expose every earmark to the light of day and to a vote in Congress, and cut the number and cost of earmarks at least in half by the end of this session."
G. W. Bush
******
ACVDN
Quote 1-D: "Now, even after paying for what we spent on my watch, we will still face the massive deficit we had when I took office. More importantly, the cost of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will continue to skyrocket. That's why I've called for a bipartisan, Fiscal Commission, modeled on a proposal by Republican Judd Gregg and Democrat Kent Conrad. This can't be one of those Washington gimmicks that lets us pretend we solved a problem. The Commission will have to provide a specific set of solutions by a certain deadline." President Obama
ACVDN
Quote 2-D: "So tonight I ask you to join me in creating a commission to examine the full impact of baby boom retirements on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. This commission should include Members of Congress of both parties, and offer bipartisan solutions. We need to put aside partisan politics and work together and get this problem solved." G. W. Bush
******
ACVDN
Quote 1-E: "By the time I'm finished speaking tonight, more Americans will have lost their health insurance. Millions will lose it this year. Our deficit will grow. Premiums will go up. Patients will be denied the care they need. Small business owners will continue to drop coverage altogether. I will not walk away from these Americans, and neither should the people in this chamber."
President Obama
ACVDN
Quote 2-E: "Keeping America competitive requires affordable health care. Our Government has a responsibility to provide health care for the poor and the elderly, and we are meeting that responsibility. For all Americans, we must confront the rising cost of care, strengthen the doctor-patient relationship, and help people afford the insurance coverage they need." G. W. Bush
*******
ACVDN
Quote 1-F: "I urge the Senate to follow the House and pass a bill that will revitalize our community colleges, which are a career pathway to the children of so many working families. To make college more affordable, this bill will finally end the unwarranted taxpayer-subsidies that go to banks for student loans. Instead, let's take that money and give families a $10,000 tax credit for four years of college and increase Pell Grants." President Obama
ACVDN
Quote 2-F: "We will help an additional 200,000 workers to get training for a better career, by reforming our job training system and strengthening America's community colleges. And we will make it easier for Americans to afford a college education, by increasing the size of Pell Grants." G. W. Bush
Pretty difficult trying to understand, what differences, if any exist between the two Presidents once you look at their public statements, stripped away of all politics and campaigning.
Beyond the striking similarity of quotes, consider how consistent with each other their actions are:
Even Though President Obama campaigned strongly to quickly get U.S. troops out of Iraq, there are still 50,000 troops in that country that will not be withdrawn until later this year. This is the same timetable that President Bush had laid out.
Even though President Obama campaigned strongly to close the terrorist prison at Guantanamo Bay, the facility is still open, still holding prisoners that have yet to receive any trial, and there is no sign that the prison that the Bush administration opened will be closed anytime soon by the Obama administration.
Even though President Obama campaigned strongly to curtail and rein in Congressional earmarks, two years into his administration, the number of earmarks and the amount of taxpayer money they waste is just as high as during the Bush administration.
Neither President ran a CIA organization that was correct in the major issue of each administration. The CIA and government intelligence apparatus under Bush grossly misunderstood the extent of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction capability and the CIA and government intelligence apparatus under Obama grossly misunderstood how quickly dictatorships would fall and how quickly freedom protests would spread in northern Africa and the Middle East.
Neither President found a way to curtail the advancement of nuclear weapons capabilities of Iran and North Korea.
Neither administration found a way to get the Palestinians and Israelis to come to a peace agreement. The latest views from the Arab world press pretty much assume that this will not happen under the Obama administration ("Obama has lost whatever credibility he may have had in the Arab world." - United Arab Emirates' Gulf News, "If the peace process was stalled before, it is now certainly dead." - Jordan's Al-Dustar).
The "War On Drugs" was a losing battle under both administrations, a defeat that is quickly leading to a lawless narco state throughout vast stretches of Mexico.
Our public schools are still severely under educating our kids despite "No Kid Left Behind" from the Bush administration to the "Race to The Top" from the Obama administration.
Both administrations have kept the Patriot Act in effect despite its chilling effect on freedom and unknown effect on stopping terror attacks on the U.S.
Both administrations set unheard of records of deficit spending, starting with the record Bush deficit numbers which have been blown away by the much higher Obama administration.
Social Security and Medicare are further away from insolvency with each passing day with neither administration willing to take the courageous and necessary steps to get both programs under financial control.
Neither administration can claim victory in Afghanistan and to a cynical person, neither could even claim a coherent strategy for victory either.
Neither administration served the country well in times of major disasters with Bush badly bungling the Hurricane Katrina episode and Obama badly bungling the BP Gulf oil rig explosion episode.
Neither administration has put forth any kind of coherent national energy program that rationally balances pollution, economic costs, and energy independence.
The country has never been so badly divided and uncivil to those that hold contrary views with both administrations holding the top two slots according to a recent Gallup poll. The poll found that 81% of Democrats approve of President
Obama's job performance while only 13% of Republicans approve of his performance. This 68 point difference is second only to the 76 point gap difference during the Bush administration. However, the Bush record was set during his second term so President Obama has a very good chance of getting to this overall dubious record of divisiveness.
Neither administration formulated or implemented a sane immigration policy. Thus, even their actions or inactions are very similar to their words.
The very sad part of all this is nothing much will change in the next twenty months or so since the unofficial 2012 Presidential season is upon us already. No one in either major party will take any kind of courageous or forward thinking stand since it might endanger their political careers in 2012.
Thus by 2012 we would have endured twelve years of the Bush reign, disguised over the last four years as the Obama administration. No problems addressed, never mind solved, no progress in making America a better, nicer, and freer place to live. Same old story, just a different cast of characters.
Amherst County Virginia Democratic News
Every day as President Obama awakens his first thoughts are what can I compromise on today, what can I give away to Republicans. I might as well say it straight out, Obama has no spine. If all we require as a people is someone who speaks beautifully about our problems and it ends there I'll take Ted Williams. Ted is the guy with the great radio voice who was discovered living in a tent after a life mispent on drink and drug abuse. He does everything that Obama can do and he speaks better.
Amherst County Virginia Democratic News
Failure to break out will just burden us with further Obama administrations policies and failures that look like failed Bush policies. The political class has failed us and the country, not a specific President. Neither the Democratic Party or the Republican Party or the Tea Party is deserving of your vote or your confidence.
Here's the ACVDN Bottom Line. Years of weak leadership have crippled our country. Neither party is up to the challenge. Holding political office is just another way of earning a living and a way to get special treatment. Perhaps the most corrupt, worthless and lazy individuals are drawn to politics. In any event politicians are at least a close second to preachers when it comes to having no honest use in real life.
Are You less smart than a Fourth Grader? Are You a leader in the Republican Party? Hello Eric Cantor.
ACVDN
House Republicans will introduce legislation, likely by the end of this week, that would make it so that if Congress is unable to come to an agreement over an operating budget, the GOP’s version would simply become law of the land. The bill, titled “The Government Shutdown Prevention Act,” is designed for the purposed described in its title. In terms of partisan equity, it’s lacking.
Announced by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on Wednesday, the legislation would make it so that “if the Senate fails to pass a measure before April 6, 2011 providing for the appropriations of the departments and agencies of the Government for the remainder of fiscal year 2011, H.R. 1 (as passed by the House on February 19, 2011) becomes law.”
The bill also stipulates that Members of Congress and the President will not get salary payments in the event of a shutdown or the U.S. debt limit being reached.
This is the most stupid of all the insane ideas coming out of the GOP. Please, Eric....read the US Constitution and learn that a bill must pass BOTH Houses of Congress in identical form - and be signed by the President - in order to become law. Republicans are more than lying scum they are a danger to our way of life, too stupid to be trusted with power. The Virginia voters in Cantors district should hang their heads in shame that they waste their precious votes on such garbage.
Why do the reporters who cover the Republican Party and Cantor let their ignorance pass without asking a question? What does freedom of the press mean to a reporter today? Do it mean they can fail to pay attention to what is happening and continue to print exactly what the politicians spoon feed them? Are there any real reporters left?
No comments:
Post a Comment