POLITICAL COMMENT

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A BIRD IN THE BUSH, A THIEF IN THE HOUSE By Bishop Antonio Hernández, O.M.D., U.B. Reflecting on the last presidential election, and with the next one looming, I feel strangely vindicated. The usurper, Baby Bush, has turned out to be everything I said he'd be when he was playing patty-fingers with the ballads. He's a raving loon, no doubts there, and quickly catching up to a most unflattering Reaganish legacy. A horriffic attack on America, courtesy of the monster his father created, was dropped into his lap like a Christmas pudding, and he used it to drag us into war. A simple chip off the old block? Not even that.

Had it not been for these events, this mock-Bible-thumping Texas moron would have passed quietly into a nondescript lawfirm somewhere in Austin. There is no way he could have gotten as far as mayor, at least not without the help of his brother to fix the polls. As it is, there seems a very real danger that he'll be re-elected. Heaven forbid! The man is getting ready to do some serious court-packing... with Adolph Rhenquist and two others possibly retiring, Bush wants a court more extreme than the one we've got now.

That's not all. In an unprecedented blast of galactic stupidity, the Democrats have 9 registered candidates in the mix right now. I'll say it up front and simply: RICHARD GEPHARDT. Anyone else is either too green or vastly unworthy. If Gore won the last election (yes, he did), imagine the good Gephardt would do. He is a man who needs no description by me here. If you've lived with your head in the sand, find him on the web or in the periodicals and decide for yourselves. You'll see.

What is Bush's record thus far? Even without listening to the screaming mavens on the cable news channels, it's not difficult to break down (and remember, he's been president just over 2 years):
1. Cost us more jobs than any other president in history.
2. Failed every single campaign promise utterly.
3. Brought us to the brink of a new depression.
4. Totally decimated the projected surplus of the country.
5. Shot up the projected deficit of the country and brought us already to a record national debt.
6. Cut taxes for the very rich, with hopes to end taxation for them completely.
7. Threatens to precipitate us into another war before the last two he dragged us into have been finished.
8. Raised an unmatchable amount in campaign funds, with a total goal unheard of in presidential history.
9. Promises to pack the Supreme Court- and doesn't have the intelligence to keep the fact to himself.
10. Uses Christian moralizing more deftly than any half-baked preacher I've ever heard.
11. Does not believe in separation of church and state. (He does believe in separation of poor and benefits, surplus and deficits, government duty and privatized duty. None of these, his favorite separations, is good for the people.)

But what's that little list mean to a thief who stole the presidency? Hasn't his entire presidency been about theft?
Let's look at this problem, which I like to call "George W. Bush", blow-by-blow. Remember not to confuse your millions with your trillions. Before his inauguration, we had a projected $5.6 trillion ten-year budget surplus, thanks to President Clinton. Now we project a $4 trillion deficit over the next decade; it is the worst reversal in history. He's raised our national debt already to a record $7.5 trillion.

No president has ever cost jobs as Bush has. With 9 million people out of work, and another almost 5 million who've given up hope and stopped looking, the Job Dust Bowl is just beginning. Lots of employable young people may not find any Social Security when they reach retirement age thanks to Bush.

President Jimmy Carter raised jobs to over 9 million. Reagan cost us 5 million of those jobs in his first term, but brought it back up to a total of almost 11 million by his 2nd term. Papa Bush cost us almost 8 million of those jobs until Clinton raised it to a record high- nearly 12 million. Clinton forced unemployment to plummet. Since then, Baby Bush has cost us 14 million jobs overall- putting unemployment at a record 6.5% which is rapidly approaching 7%.

They say Bush loves stagnation. Clearly what he loves is the chance to ruin his country beyond anyone's worst nightmare. Is the Constitution toilet paper to this man or what? Bush has Reaganite in his pants, and the devastation will be worse than the damage of 9/11.

The writers of many magazines are hoping that it will be Bush left looking for another job after the next election. How likely will that be? Well, Bush is seeking to raise an unheard-of $200 million in campaign funds. Right now he has an unprecedented headstart of $45 million. His closest competitor, John Kerry, has only $16 million in campaign funds; Howard Dean, Richard Gephardt and a yarmulkeless Joseph Lieberman are closely tied, ranging from $8 million to $10.5 million, each.

Before recovering from the Afghani and Iraqi Wars, Bush seemed poised to take us to war with Korea. What does he want, to kill more of us than those who have already bravely died? Is he not satisfied with the over 400 who have died in Iraq alone, serving their country and its anti-president?

At this point, can there be any question as to whether this man should be re-elected? Candidates are darting out from every Democratic corner (not to mention Carol Mosely-Braun and Al Sharpton- there's an expensive joke that will cost votes like Nader did in 2000). Many people are wondering whether we will find ourselves where we were in 2000: without any choice, no matter how we voted.
Now who is calling for Bill (or Hilary) Clinton, and for what reasons?

I say again: be optimistic. Vote Gephardt, a man imminently worthy of the presidency. And remember, with our solid support he won't have to steal votes to win.

*My thanks to my source for data and statistics: AFSCME Public Employee, vol. 68, no. 5, September/October 2003, pages 8-14.

© Bishop Antonio Hernandez O.M. D. U.B. September 2003
suriak@yahoo.com

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