Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 24 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 11/16/13

Counting the Days ... Again

By       (Page 1 of 3 pages)   No comments
Message Stephen Pizzo
Become a Fan
  (12 fans)

(Article changed on November 16, 2013 at 17:16)

From 2000 to 2008 we had an administration that had a lot of really bad ideas, but were unusually good at getting put those ideas into action. 

Now we have an administration with some pretty good ideas, but who are unusually inept at execution.

  The more you compare the two administrations, the more depressing it gets. The W. Bush administration was able to roll right over Democratic Party opposition and get some remarkably audacious things passed through Congress: 

  • A law cynically named, "Clear Skies" that allowed industry and power companies to shove more, not less, pollutants into the atmosphere.

  • They got breathtakingly enormous tax cuts for the wealthy, cuts that gutted the US Treasury and ballooned the national debt.

  • The Patriot Act, the most aggressive assault on America's core freedoms since Lincoln suspended Habeus Corpus during the Civil War.

  • Gained Congressional authorization for America's first "preventative war" against Iraq by lying about WMD.

  • Though the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will ultimately cost the nation over $2 trillion, the W. Bush administration got congress to authorize them without budgeting for them. In other words, they said, "just charge it." And Congress did just that.

There was more, of course. The entire premise of the W. Bush administration was based on their belief the president was a  "unitary executive" theory. It's the theory of American constitutional law empowers "the President who controls the entire executive branch. (and) ... that Congress's power to interfere with intra-executive decision-making is limited, and that the President can control policy-making by all executive agencies within the limits set for those agencies by Congress." (Wikipedia)

  When the W. Bush administration wanted something, be it domestic or foreign policy, they steamrolled it through congress. They fought for their ideas, bad as they were. And they got what they wanted almost every time. They weren't deluded by highfalutin notions of "bipartisanship." They knew the Democrats were out to get them, so they got them first.

  After that disastrous experience, the nation decided to send a more thoughtful guy to White House, Barack Obama. Unlike W. Bush, Barack could string coherent sentences together forming real paragraphs that, unlike Bush's, actually made sense when english majors diagramed them.

Oh we were ever so relieved! Gomer Pyle was no longer running the world's most powerful nation.

  And Obama seemed ready to push through some much-needed and long overdue legislation; immigration reforms, military de-escalation, a rebalancing of the nation's tax system, stronger financial regulation. 

  Oh, and healthcare reform, which became his signature piece of legislation. 

  Wow! If the Obama administration was half as aggressive, and ruthless, as the W. Bush administration had been, a new, better, brighter and more egalitarian America was just eight years away.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Must Read 2   Well Said 2   Supported 2  
Rate It | View Ratings

Stephen Pizzo Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Stephen Pizzo has been published everywhere from The New York Times to Mother Jones magazine. His book, Inside Job: The Looting of America's Savings and Loans, was nominated for a Pulitzer.

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Secrets Kill Too

Dying for Change

What's the Matter With Gaza?

Who You Callin' Un-American?

Worst Clinton Contributor Ever

I Was At the Birth...

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend