November 03, 2004
The More Things Change, and Whats Next
Its Over. George W. Bush has taken virtually the same coalition of states that won him the presidency in 2000 and has won re-election over John Kerry. Despite all of the overanalyzing of the economic shifts in each state, the supposed young voter turnout that never materialized, and the impact of the war in Iraq, practically the same people from the same states chose George W. Bush as President of the United States. Given that the Democrats presented them with a completely uninspiring leftist candidate as an alternative, the result is hardly surprising.
I have had great misgivings about George W. Bush's first four years, especially in regard to the growth of the federal government. From increasing the government's role in education to Medicare to control over civil liberties (especially of so-called 'enemy combatants'), Bush has gone back on his promise to be a small-government conservative. But I am willing to give a man a second chance, especially when I have no choice. Here are four things I want to see from Bush over the next four years:
1. Real Social Security reform. Mr. President, we need reform that will harness the power of the market and give people ownership over their contributions into the system. You understand the importance of this and you realize that this battle will be difficult. But if you managed to push through two major tax cuts, I know you can do this- if you have the political will.
2. Smart Supreme Court appointments. Mr. President, you need to appoint Supreme Court judges that will cut back on invented constitutional rights like 'the right to an abortion' while zealously enforcing rights actually guaranteed by the constitution- like free speech and the right to a trial. It will be tempting to appoint judges who will validate your claims to broad powers to hold alleged terrorists, but you need to consider the long-term future of our constitutional system. You must appoint judges who want to seriously consider the history, text and principals of our constitution, even if that consideration leads them to rule against you.
3. Cut Spending. Our government is running huge deficits we cannot afford, and there are solutions to this problem. Our government is currently funding billions of dollars of scientific research that has little chance of helping any American and it is engaging in incredible amounts of pork-barrel give aways to powerful interest groups. People from both parties can get together and find areas in the federal government that we can cut. Otherwise, we are financing today's tax cuts (which I supported) and spending on the shoulders of tomorrow's wage earners.
4. Unite on Foreign Policy. You need to make a concerted effort to get Democrats involved in the discussion about foreign affairs and the war on terror. I generally agree with you on foreign policy matters, but you have clearly failed to convey what I think is a powerful and persuasive agenda to those on the other side of the isle. I think we will fight a better, more effective ACTIVE war on terror if we can have the majority of people on both sides of the political spectrum to have input into our foreign policy decisions.
It is often said that the first term of a presidency is spent trying to get re-elected, while the second term is spent building one's legacy. Well, President Bush, you have been re-elected. Now its time to build a legacy that Americans will be proud to look back on.
Say hello to Chief Justice Scalia and his four horseman: Justice Thomas, Justice Esterbrook, Justice Clement, and Justice Luttig.
Posted by: JusticeFriedman at November 3, 2004 01:17 AMummm misha….ohio still technically has 11 days to get all the provisioinal votes in…
i’ll give you….it doesn’t look good for kerry….
but be careful, you never know what may happen….
Posted by: rob at November 3, 2004 03:00 AMwith $2,000,000 George couldn’t find oil in texas.(otherwise known as texas tea.)
with $70,000,000,000 george couldn’t find osama in afganistan.
with $200,000,000,000 george can’t find weapons of mass destruction in iraq or peace for the iraqi people.
What makes you think theres a chance in hell he can accomplish anything you just listed???? ……even if he can get someone to read it to him.
Stupendous optimism from someone who had “great misgivings” about GW’s first four years. Don’t you still have at least some of the same misgivings? After four years and how many billions on a war we were not justified to start in Iraq, that subequently cost us the respect and cooperation of a startling number of nations.
As for cutting spending…umm…how ‘bout we not start any other wars that cost us billions of dollars so that we can expect the beheading of hostages in return (not my idea of a good investment). We have created a ripe, festering, breeding-ground for generations of Anti-American terrorists by our own actions in the Middle-East. Also, tax cuts don’t relate to Social Security, and they aren’t going to help it at all (the Baby Boomers insist on getting older, and Social Security reform isn’t likely to win major votes for Mr. Bush, unlike gay marriage bans).
Scientific research is not our major expenditure, the war in Iraq is. Research has afforded Americans tremendous advantages, like early treatment of Alzheimers and other diseases, as well as treatment for heart disease (which is why Vice President Cheney is still among the living). As for uniting our foreign policy with those overseas, we first have to be willing to compromise (which GW has been notoriously bad at). The US acted as if we didn’t need the UN or major allies to go to war in Iraq. It would be extremely naive to assume that European nations will forget/forgive that…anytime…at…all…in the near future.
You’ve requested from Bush, what his administration cannot possibly grant you. Why?
Lastly, you speak of ‘inverted’ rights like abortion, but do you have a religious justification for that? Scientifically, through the first trimester, a fetus cannot survive outside of the mother. It is not a sustainable lifeform. Do you plan on prosecuting women who miscarry their pregnancies due to excessive physical activity, or lack of pre-natal care (whoops—Bush doesn’t favor national healthcare, so mothers who could be held liable!). Regardless of that, RELIGION HAS NO PLACE IN AMERICAN POLITICS. This country was founded on the principle of religious freedom, and we support a SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. As a baptised, confirmed Roman Catholic, I may not agree with legislation, but if my motivation for supporting legislation is religious, I know that I am not respecting the history of America, or the individuals who died for our independence.
I’d watch out, for those of you who, like this fellow, watch Fox news. It might come that you are misled when they, for instance, call two states for a candidate that has by no means won them. I could go into a large rant about what it says about the state of the conservative end of the media and our democratic process when Fox announces that Bush has won two states that are very obviously Too Close To Call(TM) and which no other news network will touch at about the same time that GW sends a statement that he has 1 electoral vote left to win. One might think that they talk to each other a bit. But I won’t go into that rant. Or, actually, I just did.
The point is that this really isn’t over quite yet. Ohio has as many as 250,000 uncounted provisional votes and the gap between the two candidates seems to be jumping by the hour. There’s not going to be any 50,000 vote gap, but 100,000 still isn’t out of the picture.
This race is still winnable, and there’s absolutely no way to know one way or the other for a good 11 days. And so when Fox News makes a point of calling Ohio and Iowa for Bush when (A) They obviously don’t belong to him yet and (B) Bush synchronizes his actions with the news and (C) It comes right after everyone realizes that the two states will need a recount to be sure of anything, it makes it look like it’s being set up so that the right can pretend that the election is being stolen from their iron grip again. They’re trying to synthesize another florida.
So, hey, if Bush does win, look for Rupert Merdoch to be getting some sweet deals from this administration. He’s earned it.
Posted by: Stephen at November 3, 2004 05:32 AMahh… looks like we are going to go back to our party-line bunkers! I am not a “fox news watcher” or did I even vote for Bush, I watched most of the election on MSNBC, and wrote this article well before any network “called” the election for Bush. It was obvious that Ohio was trending exactly as it did 4 years ago, just as the entire nation did (except Florda, because Jeb is very is very popular this time around).
It is dangerous to assume that everyone who does not drink your side’s coolaide is part of the “enemy” camp, as Stephen did here. Kerry lost this election, the only quesiton is how long he wanst to drag this out.
Phil- I am not going to argue abortion with you on this thread, I have written an article about aboriton that I plan to publish here once Kerry admits defeat and we get back to business as usual. I will just say for now that all I said here was that the “right to an abortion” is nowhere in the constitution, and was invented by judges, where as the right to free speech and right to a trial are in the constitution.
Posted by: Misha Tseytlin at November 3, 2004 07:47 AMI meant to say “nor did I even vote for Bush”
Posted by: Misha Tseytlin at November 3, 2004 07:55 AMFox News called Ohio for Bush long before you wrote the article, and since they were the only one who did, I assumed that you had gotten your information from, well, the only information source that gave the same information as you. I’m sorry that this was an incorrect guess on my part (and I’m fully aware of what an ass I look like, considering that you’re right and all), but it wasn’t crazy partisanship, it was all the signs pointing to you sourcing a news corporation that was admittedly acting illegitimately, especially considering the debacle (and subsequent court hearings) with Florida in 2000 and their solemn swears never to do anything of the like again.
Posted by: Stephen at November 3, 2004 11:48 AMAn article does not write itself in 10 minutes- i spent 2 hours writing it. I do not know what time Fox News called Ohio, but i seriously doubt it was before midnight- i posted my article at 1 AM. Originally, the first line of my article was “Since the networks do not have the guts to call this election, I will” but then MSNBC called Ohio for Bush and I had to change it right before posting.
Posted by: Misha Tseytlin at November 3, 2004 12:08 PM
