Is Obama George Bush III?

[joeunderdog]

(This story dovetails with the NY Times piece recently posted.)

I recently had an interesting conversation with my Republican buddy about his Obama objections. He was surprised when I told him I wasn’t happy either. I went on to tell him that I unenrolled from the Democratic Party because I was no longer going to be a blind cheerleader and hand my partisanship to any party that didn’t fight for my interests and values. I said that since I had complained that too many Republican voters had become political lemmings as their party went Facist during BushCo, that I wouldn’t be a hypocrite when the Dems started acting like them, too.

Sometimes you have to swallow hard and deal with the truth, ignore the labels, look past the slogans, and look at the issues themselves and the facts. We both agreed that this country is a trainwreck and right now, Obama’s the conductor.

Given that my pal is not a TeaBag-type Republican and has seen the harsh side of corporate politics, I saw a softening in him as we discussed the problems most Americans face. Starting with common ground and applying the facts was a sobering exercise. Issue by issue, we agreed that we were heading in the wrong direction and that everyone but the rich is getting screwed. And as I pieced together the history of when/where most of Obama’s policy came from, he made the BushCo connection with little resistance. (It didn’t hurt that I had facts to back me up while—like a good Republican voter--he only relied on empty slogans and partisan fandom as the basis for his political leanings.) And even though there was some disagreement on matters of degree or the difference between what each President wouldn’t (vs. couldn’t) do in office, it was easy to agree on what IS happening.

You tell me, is there really that much difference?

Bush OR Obama:
Occupies Iraq and Afghanistan
Offshore tax shelters and tax-free corporate policy
Trades the Constitution for the Patriot Act
No progress for the health-insured or the uninsured
No platform to help the poor
Warrantless wiretaps--domestic spying
More of a Divider than Uniter
Policy favors Individual wealth over the Commonwealth
Guantanomo
Hires corrupt Republican career pols to key posts
No resistance to media consolidation
Diplomacy not a priority
No protection for Net Neutrality
Thinks “reform” only applies to programs for poor and middle class
Lobbyist Lover
Estate tax and capital gains tax rates preserved, accelerating consolidation of wealth
Won’t prosecute war crimes, bank fraud or corruption on Wall St.
Will prosecute wistleblowers and baseball players
Unlimited Military budget and no-bid contracts
Decreases States’ funding, leading to property tax increase and local service cuts
Won’t say NO to entitlement threats
Massive handouts to Military, Banking and Insurance industries
Offshore drilling regardless of devastating environmental impact
Dismantles Education
Indefinitely detains suspects without Constitutional rights
Allows Banksters to create modern day sharecropping
Tax Breaks for Billionaires
Supports ridiculous CEO compensation at workers’ expense
Won’t even talk about making Elections safe and secure
Torture. That’s right--torture
Outsourcing over job creation
MIA when Public Employees’ rights and benefits targeted nationwide
Supports continued De-Regulation and loopholes
Won’t address unaffordable college tuition for most kids
Friends with Walmart
Demands “sacrifice” from Working Class Americans, not billionaires
Free trade, not FAIR trade
And this just in...
Building re-election on money, not policy


In my opinion, Obama is old wine in a new bottle. Aside from Gay Rights which makes for some great political capital to whip up the bible-waving RW base, he has managed to continue virtually the same policy as GWB. It felt good to be able to have the kind of honest political discussion that is missing from the process nowadays by acknowledging, without partisan bias, the unfair policy that is putting all of us and all of our kids’ futures at risk. In the end, it was easy to make the case that it doesn't matter what Bush and Obama call themselves; what they are doing is screwing most Americans.

My pal’s changing his political party to Independent. Problem is, who the hell can we vote for?