Give me a hand convincing my Republican mother why Bush is a bad president

[BreweryYardRat]

Pretty please? Just rattle off the main reasons so I can make sure I haven't missed any of them in my sleepy state.

[rkc3]

1. Futile Care Act in Tx versus Erring on the side of life is a good start.

[patrice]

2. The "birth tax"

Interest alone on the deficit enslaves all future generations on issues they had no say in deciding.

[salinen]

3. So sorry

If she remains a * supporter, she may need Psychiatric help.

[BreweryYardRat]

10. Thanks...

...I already know she needs psychiatric help.

[Worst Username Ever]

4. This is one of those questions where the list is so long, I'm not sure

where to start. Tax cuts for the rich while DIRECTLY shafting the middle class? Destroying SS, the most successful social program in history? Running up huge deficits, while cutting still more taxes? At best, being misleading, and at worst, outright lying about the reasons for invading a country? Skipping over intelligence that could have prevented 911? Being border-line illiterate? Destroying the reputation of the US abroad, after this country received more goodwill after being attacked than we had ever seen? Gannon? Anti-gay? Allowing religion to enter into the government and public spaces like never before? Toe-ing the party line? "Clean skies" initiative that makes things WORSE? An EPA that basically just disregards the "E" and "P?" His biggest fundraisers were worldcom and enron crooks. He laughed at a mentally handicapped woman who died on death row. He is all around BAD.

God, he still can't even pronounce "nuclear."

[solinvictus]

5. Economy..

He started with a budget surplus and now we have record deficits with a decrease in the number of available jobs for Americans. He has the worst job record of any president since Hoover.

[patrice]

14. Amen!

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[girl gone mad]

7. Just mention amnesty for illegal aliens.

My nutty Republican Bush loving MIL left a message on my answering machine today complaining about Bush's proposed amnesty program.

She just "Can't believe" Bush would do something like that. I'm glad I didn't pick up the phone, because I would have had some choice words for her. Bush has never made his plans secret.

[tanyev]

8. Uh,

Sat frozen with fear and/or indecision for nearly half an hour at an elementary school while our country was under attack? Blitheringly ignored numerous warnings of that attack in the 8 months leading up to it?

[Texasgal]

9. Almost 1600 soilders dead

thousands of innocent Iraq's, no weapons of mass desruction, and Bin Laden still evading capture.

Oh... and the BALLONING deficit to fund all this crap!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

11. I assume she supports the Iraq war

Tell her how Bush has cut benefits for returning wounded, and slashed benefits for veterans.

Remind her it is Bush's mishandling of the Iraq situation that has been a contributing factor to the sky high gas prices.

Tell her how shaky the dollar is thanks to Bush's deficit spending (if she's a fiscal conservative, that will hit home).

[HockeyMom]

15. Personal Accounts for Social Security

[Career Prole]

12. Has Mom seen any WMD's we might have missed? n/t

[Nite Owl]

13. Ok

Misleading the public on the reason for war in Iraq but insinuating that Sadaam was involved in 9-11, that there were WMD's, lying to the UN about the 'yellow cake'

Giving a huge tax break to the richest and ineffect raising taxes on the middle and poor (someone has to pay for those cuts to the state and $300 doesn't do it)

Allowing 9-11 to occur by not listening to CIA reports and staying on vacation instead

[salin]

18. real believers don't buy that he did this intentionally... BUT

they will respond to the question as to why those who "misled him" are all still in place, or promoted. Or those who left (like Tenet) given a medal.

Go for the framing of issues that get her to start asking...WHY - rather than those that she will immediately go on the defense and denial route.

[GetTheRightVote]

16. Democracy Now Report on pre 9/11 plans for control of Iraq & oil

web site DemocracyNow with Amy and Greg palast.

Next,lies concerning WMD.

Torture of prisoners of war in most POW prisons.

Deficit raising higher putting us into pre inflation problems.

Millions of jobs lost to out sourcing for global economy

Halliburton being find to steal over 108 million dollars from tax payers.

Stolen election which has been proven in Ohio 2004, Florida 2000.

Law created by Gov. Bush to pull the plug on baby Sun in Texas while Terri in Florida should not have it happen. Tami F. death role woman turned Born again laughed at by Bush Jr.

Budget of 2006 which harms over 150 programs for veterans of military, education hit 48 times in budget, police taken off the streets by decreasing their funding, farmers harmed by taken protections from them as well, etc, etc.

Bandrupt law which sides with corporations and not the consumer, banks alread increasing payments on their credit cards since this change.

Media paid for by Bush, example No Child Left Behind, Jeff Gannon, and so many more. Latest example is the report paid for my Jeb Bush during the Terri S. ordeal goes on, I believe with ABC.

And there are so many, many more....

[kliljedahl]

17. Ask her to explain this

If she can she can remain a Repug, if not she has to renounce *.

"Because the—all which is on the table begins to address the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are calculate, for example, is on the table; whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers, affecting those—changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be—or closer delivered to what has been promised. Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled. Look, there's a series of things that cause the—like, for example, benefits are calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the increase of prices. Some have suggested that we calculate—the benefits will rise based upon inflation, as opposed to wage increases. There is a reform that would help solve the red if that were put into effect. In other words, how fast benefits grow, how fast the promised benefits grow, if those—if that growth is affected, it will help on the red."—Explaining his plan to save Social Security, Tampa, Fla., Feb. 4, 2005


http://www.kliljedahl.net

[jedr]

19. the new Medicare bill ought to raise her eyebrows!

[libertypirate]

20. Ask her where her responsibility is for his deeds?

This seems silly but Bush is never responsible for his actions hence who should be responsible. It should be those who voted for him...

If she wants to pretend that republican presidents don't have to take responsibility for their actions fine, then she should.

[blm]

21. He REFUSED to read the Hart-Rudman Report on Global Terror handed to him

on Jan 30, 2001.

So did Cheney and Rice.

That proves they had NO concern for global terror and criminally incompetent, or planned to allow terror to explode so they could assert greater control over American citzens and further an imperialistic agenda on the world.

[necso]

22. Start off by asking her if she knows what "denial" means.

And no, I am not being facetious. Accepting the party line, regardless of the obvious facts, is a big part of what it means to be Republican in practise.

I was a Republican for decades, and the denial thing ("just believe") has become increasingly important to the Republican strategy, because what people believe is often more important to how they will act than what the underlaying reality is.

Start off with an issue where she is inclined to disbelieve the lies. Then once she sees the bullshit the Republicans (and the media flunkies) are feeding her in this area, move on to others.

Sooner or later, she might see the pattern.

But don't count on it. If she sticks to the "just believe" line, then there is little hope.

[Zorra]

23. Please post your reasons why you think Bush is a rotten pResident first

so we don't have to cover ground that you have already covered. And there is a lot of ground to cover because Bush has not done a single good thing since he stole the office.

[pretzel4gore]

24. he blackmailed america while in control of it....

when bushinc sent 150 thousand troops to iraq's borders w/out a UN ok for the invasion, he was trying to blackmail the UN leadership: they refused, but Congress couldn't....that's blackmail.

[Donailin]

25. RU Kidding???

I'm trying to figure out how to convince my otherwise democratic mother how Bush is using Terry Shiavo to stack the courts with racist judges. <sigh>

[BreweryYardRat]

30. I wish I was...

Both my parents are Repubs. :cries: Mom's the further right of the two, so I'm focusing on her first, since Dad might come around on his own.

[Donailin]

31. Ask them to name traditional republican values, then ask them to show

point out where Bush has lived up to any of them. He's the opposite of republican: fiscal responsibility, no nation building (hell, planet building), protection of medicare and social security, states rights, regulations that protect the consumers, exportation of american jobs, etc.

Maybe they voted for Ross perot, you could find his talking points and bring out a chart. <g>

[jmcon007]

26. if her only reason is that he is a Christian then....

She needs to know that to be a true Christian one needs to claim that Jesus Christ is the only path to Heaven, which is what Bush believed in 1993 while deep in the heart of Texas. But, as part of his plan in 1998 to run for President he traveled with Abe Foxman of the Jewish Anti-Defamation League to Israel and when he returned he was quoted that Jesus was not the only way.
Abe Foxman then committed ADL's critical money and voter support for Bush's campaign. It's reported he even got Bush to make his new un-committment, if you will, in writing.

Check out texemarrs.com for more information on this.

Good luck and love her anyway! lol There are many good Republicans and I'm sure she's one.

[Skidmore]

27. Is she among the religious group?

I always ask people like that to tell me what actions of *'s are Christ-like after going through a list of the teachings surrounding the poor, peace, and the Golden Rule. I then point to the 10 commandments he has broken and follow up with a "You know that his works are not of God. Why do you persist in supporting a deceitful fraud who would use your faith in this manner?" Usually leaves them speechless.

[Swamp Rat]

28. Warning! Graphic photos of Bush's war.

Show her these photos of Bush's fine, pretzeldental work:

[phish420]

29. you need help?? That is sad.

[Les BOOGIE]

32. AWOL / Inside Trader / Deficit / Jobs/ WMD

but it's futile, they will not listen

[readmylips]

33. Democracy 3 legged-stool, bush and elites sit on top....

the bushes must maintain two legs fighting with each other and the third leg reports to the top elites (the bushies). If all three legs (majority) go againt the elites (minority in numbers) who are sitting on top, the elites will decrare war on all of us (our rights).

[BornLeft]

34. Do as i have done to my shrub loving mother

disown her.

[punpirate]

35. Oh, my goodness... let me count...

... the ways....

Even Republicans should be blanching at these:

Never has a president cut taxes in wartime, especially for the group of people most likely to profit from war, and then sought further cuts for the same group of people.

Never has a president unilaterally, and without consulting the Senate, withdrawn the country from so many binding treaties which were approved by the Senate.

Never has a president sought to use the outing of a CIA operative for political purposes.

Never has a president deployed a large, expensive weapons system, such as missile defense, without completing full field testing and evaluation.

Never has a president sought to create a legal framework to evade the Geneva Conventions.

No president has run up a higher amount of public debt in as short a period of time for non-war spending (see tax cuts above).

No modern president, including Nixon, has attempted to manipulate and control the press to the extent Bush's White House has done. No president, including Nixon in the depths of the Watergate years, has held as few press conferences as Bush.

No modern president has attempted to use government agency resources to propagandize the public about administration-proposed programs and then attempted to keep that effort hidden, then ignored directives from the GAO on the illegality of such.

No modern president has gone to war without the explicit approval of Congress. The Iraq war resolution passed by Congress required the president to obtain the approval of the UN Security Council for a US invasion, which he did not obtain (the so-called "second" Security Council resolution agreeing to an invasion). Therefore, the president did not meet the conditions of Congress for war, but went ahead, anyway, with an executive decision to wage war.

No modern president, including Nixon, has attempted to invest his administration with as much general and specific secrecy as has Bush.

No modern president has generated as much international ill will as has Bush, and in just four years. America's reputation, internationally, is at its lowest point in modern history.

No modern president has tolerated and ignored and encouraged as much corporate corruption as has Bush, including, but not limited to protection of Cheney's former company, Halliburton, from adequate scrutiny.

No modern president has attempted to suppress dissent to the extent Bush has, nor has any modern president attempted to control public debate to the extent Bush has through "town hall" meeting participant selection and coaching, loyalty oaths to enter public events, etc.

No president since Nixon has attempted to rewrite the intent of federal law through executive order to the extent Bush has, from the release of Presidential records to initiating spending programs ("faith-based initiatives") not approved by Congress.

Others will think of much, much more.

[zbdent]

36. Tell her that you can invest your inheritance (from her) better

now instead of waiting until she dies . . . so hand over the money now, b-tch.