Sauron

Visual aid: "compassionate conservatism":

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/horsey...ate.asp?id=854

fromtheright

Sauron,

Clue phone call back: on at least a couple of issues, I think you're wrong: Bush signed onto most of Kennedy's education package a couple of years ago and he is trying to co-opt the prescription drug benefit. Also, I think that he is generally sympathetic to the idea of the welfare state.

Cicero

WHAT education package? Have you SEEN the budget?

Sauron

Clue phone still ringing for you: parallelism on a "couple of issues" doesn't constitute implementing the Democratic agenda - which was your claim. A few items off the top of my head that Bush is pushing which are *not* part of the Democratic agenda. Anyone else? Feel free to add:

Environmental policy

• rollback of environmental protections and Endangered Species Act;
• drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve;
• opening up public lands and national wildlife/wilderness areas for exploitation by timber and energy companies;
• Allowing local state govts to 'opt out' of enforcing federal Roadless Areas designation;
• Weakening standards for clean air (sulphur dioxide, mercury, nitrogen oxide);
• Making compliance with clean air and clean water standards by corporate polluters a 'voluntary' instead of mandatory act;
• A "Healthy Forests Initiative" that attempts to control wildfires not by scientific management, but by allowing timber companies to cut down trees (no trees, no fires - simple);

Social policy

• rollback of a woman's right to an abortion;
• rollback of affirmative action;
• rollback of separation of church and state, in federally funding such things as "faith-based" drug rehab programs;
• vouchers for religious education;
• Opposing the Family Medical Leave Act;

Economic policy

• Tax cuts during a time of economic downturn;
• Tax cuts targeted at the wealthiest percentage of people, instead of the middle and lower class;
• Increasing special protections and favoritism in the tax code for corporations and business;

Foreign policy

• Exiting the Kyoto treaty;
• Exiting the START II treaty, so that new nuclear weapons can be tested and developed;
• Exiting the 1972 Chemical Weapons ban;
• Exiting the 1972 ABM treaty with Russia;
• Unilateral invasions and 'regime change' around the world;
• A rabidly pro-Israel policy that approaches the complex Mideast situation from a dangerously naive and biased perspective;

Bottom line: there is almost *nothing* about this administration which resembles the platform of the Democratic party.

Arken

• Increasing the allowed amount of Arsenic in the water for no explainable reason.
• Funding 'alternative-energy' fuel cell research without allowing development funding to compliment it.
• Allowing companies such as Haliburton to not only literally dictate energy policy, but to draft executive orders themselves for him to sign.

• Declaring an official 'national day of Prayer and Rememberance,' thus violating church/state separation laws.
• Cutting veteran benefits.

• Presiding over the predicted largest federal deficit in history.
• Completely obliterating the budget surplus.
• Attempting to move Head Start and other federal programs to the state level when almost every state is on the verge of or declaring bankruptcy

• Antagonizing China by insisting they return captured spies unconditionally.
• Infuriating European nations with his 'with us or against us' policy, directly pointing fingers at both France and Germany.
• Undermining possible aid in the Afghanistan war by labeling Iran as part of the 'Axis of Evil' while Iran was readying troops to aid U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
• Befriending totalitarian, dictatorial regimes famous for human rights abuses such as those in Pakistan, Tadjikistan, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria while decrying those in Iraq and North Korea.

Nothing to add here. It just bears repeating.

fromtheright

Cicero,

WHAT education package?

The one Bush signed a year or two ago.

Cicero

You mean the one that never got funded? Oh, yeah. My bad.