Right-wing views of Bush:
- Pollute the environment for personal gain
If causeing any pollution for personal gain or letting others do so is right wing, then all but the most radical environmentalist wackos is right wing. Bush proposes balanceing environmental considerations with the cost to wealth and freedom of excesive regulations. He also wants to reduce the cost of reduceing polution by useing more market/incentive based solutions rather then a command and control/central planning solution. Al Gore wants to ban all
internal combustion engines..
Promote drilling, mining and clear-cutting even in most precious last wild-life refuges
The proposed Alaskan drilling would be for what is potentially a huge oil find, and would only directly disturb a small part of a large wilderness area.
Refuse any special treatment to any minorities
That is a normal conservative position, not "right wing".
It is also a position I support. However George Bush doesn't fully support it (thus falling short of being strongly conservative let alone right wing).
Help no countries with black populations
You'll have to be a bit more specific then that. He did say that he would normally only suppoort military intervention when our national interests where at stake. And honestly most of Africa does not effect our vital interests. Haiti would only be somthing that rose to that level if it threatend other countries. Simuarly I don't see
Bush propseing US intervention in central Asia or Tibet or Indonesia. Limiting US intervention to areas where US vital interests is at stake is a mainstream conservative position.
If you are talking about somthing else besides armed intervention then please provide more detail about what you mean.
Accept dirt-poor Mexicans
This is even more confuseing. I'm not sure I can even geuss as to what you mean by this.
Take care of the rich first
Not really. He will rather let the rich take care of themselves and will not forcably take as much of there wealth. This does not amount to the government taking care of the rich.
Fight against campaign finance reform
Most proposed campaign finace reform has 2 major negative issues. 1 - It amounts to a plan to protect incumbants." and 2 - It amounts to an unjust and unconstituional restriction on free speech. I might have some mild support for plans that do neither of these things but then there are probably going to have minimal impact.
In any case many people oppose particular campaign finace reform bills or even the whole idea. It again is no a radical right wing idea.
A question would you call the editors of Reason magazine right wing?
Allow concealed gun permits even to questionable characters
"Questionable chaacters" is very unspecific. I personally don't think the government should outlaw guns for people who are not certifiably insane or convicted felons.
Privatize medicare and social security
I wish. Bush's plans fall far short of that. However if you have provided any support for your argument in any of the cases you mention it is here. Bush's plan would amount to a somewhat radical change. Not however nearly as radical as some of Gore's ideas, but I suppose radical left wing is ok...
Cut crucial government programs in the name of "small government"
Cutting programs liberals find "crucial" to make government smaller is a mainstream conservative idea. It might be radical if Bush planed on eliminating half of the government budget or something like that, but I am sure he would fight against any such plan. Actuall for all the talk by conservatives about cutting programs they are usually unable or often even unwilling to actually make these cuts.
But increase the military
I think the cuts have gone to far, and a small increase is
in order. Al Gore says he plans an increase too. I guess he is "right-wing".
Fund un-needed military programs which the defence corporations want to sell us
What programs are you talking about? "Un-needed" is a matter of opinion and "ueful or important" may be enough reason to support a program even if it is not absolutely needed.
De-regulate industry even if it costs us an S+L debacle
De-regulation is also a mainstream conservative idea, not a radical right wing one. The only reason the S+L situation was a debacle was because 1 - It was done in a stupid way, and 2 - It was a government insured industry. Most industries do not have the same type of government insurance and deregulation can be implmented a lot better then it was in the S+L situation. Generally deregulation leads to more gorwth, effciancy, and freedom from government control. All of these are good things.
Be a memnber of an all white male country club
I havn't heard of this one. If he ever was a member of such a club I am sure he is no longer a member or the club is no longer whites only. If it is true and he is still a member of such a club that would be more stupid then right-wing. Members of such clubs are not nescessarily racist but giving that impression is stupid, but considering the number of people who were once members of such clubs (many of them not conservatives), this case even if true does not support your contention that Bush is part of radical right wing .
Be against a woman's right to choose
A signifigant minority of the population of the US is for an unborn child's right to life.
Talk tough on drugs but ignore the human problems
- Talk tough on crime but ignore poverty
Please be more specific on these charges.
Talk tough on public schools but take away money from them
What do you mean in this case by "take away money from them?
Accept low teacher pay and fight their union
I was not aware that in Texas the state paid the teachers salaries. AS for fighting the teachers unions, I can't see how someone could support serious and benefical reform in edication without fighting the teachers unions.
Fight unions in general
Can you be more speicifc?
Minimize victims right to sue corporations
Tort reform is another mainstream conservative idea, and a very good one.
Give tax breaks to cronies and the very rich
And everyone else.
Don't pay off the deficit
Do you mean pay of the debt, or reduce/eliminate the deficit? The deificts are projected to be 0, so I assume you mean the firts. Since there will be a surplus some of the debt will be payed down. Gore's new spending plans have a lot more chance then Bush's tax cuts of causeing long term problems with debt and deficits. Also even if your charge was true, how would not wanting to reduce deficits or pay down/off the debt be "right wing"?
Support local control meaning local right-wingerers can dominate schools, law enforcement and all the rest.
Local control - another main stream conservative idea and a good one. Centralized national burocracy is more likelly to be unresponsive to the needs and desires of the people in each area. Unfortunately I don't think Bush will go to far
in this area. I'm not sure how far he really wants to go, but even if he would like to make a big push in this area I'm not sure he would have the power to do anything.
Refuse to show sympathy for victims of hate crime
I think this charge is just directly false. BTW - Showing sympath does not require doing something like implmenting hate crime laws. The laws against murder, assualt, rape, robbery and so on should be vigoursly enforced where the crime is commited because someone hates the victim personally, hates him because of his race, or just wants his money. To the extent that a president has any influence on this I think Bush would do a better job then Gore. Also hate crimes laws are a liberal idea. Being against them doesn't even require you to be much of a conservative let alone "Right wing".
Try to get by on slogans and charisma
Well I guess about 95% of politicians are right wing then.
Avoid giving specific answers about programs you mean axe
To the extent this is true it is somewhat bad but again isn't right wing. If he was truely right wing he would want
to ax a lot and probably be quite enthusiastic about saying so. Actually I doubt Bush will even make a serious attempt to make deep cuts in any major social program. I suspect that if Bush becomes president that both government spending in general and social spending in particular will go up every year of his administration. This is unfortunate but hardly right wing.
Avoid putting money behind alternative clean fuels
When such fuels make economic sense people will use them.
The government can't change that much without massive and expensive regulation. What fuels people use should not normally be an item of major concern by the government.
Allow energy waste but rant and rave about DC waste
"DC waste", is the government wasteing money that it forcibly takes from you. Energy waste is a matter of thermodymaics, you will never have 100% efficancy. If you define it was not being as efficent as you can be, then true
waste could be reduced but it has to be weighed against the cost, convience and freedom lost to reduce the waste. If your not just talking about efficancy but rather how much energy is used (for example complaining about people using to much gasoline in their SUVs when they "should" all be driving econo-boxes) then the limits on freedom and convience become much greater.
Be a vindictive prude about sex even if you're horny too
I'm not sure what you mean by this in relation to Bush.
Vote against cop-killer bullets because NRA says so
The NRA was against one law banning armour penetrating bullets, and for another one. But I guess that just means they hate cops doesn't it? I don't know Bush's actual record on this issue, but if it mirros the NRAs then in this case there is no problem with it.
Vote against school lunch and Headstart
Can you provide a link to the particular bill or bills that he voted against? I didn't know governors voted on bills in either the state legislature or in congress.
Give 1% of millions in income to charity
If true its not particuarly right wing. Many rich Democrats also contribute very little. Are you talking about 1% of income or 1% of net wealth?
Lax government controls on white collar crime but lock a kid up for 20 years for a gram of cocaine
Can you provide any evidence that Bush was very lax on white collar crime (and an arguement that shows how this is right wing).
As for severe sentances for small time drug offenders that unfortunatly isn't limited to thefringe right wing.
many Democrats and relatively moderate Republicans support such "get tough on drugs" laws. I don't.
Deny you snorted coke yourself as a kid
Unproven and once again irrelevant to your specific contention. Neither using drugs nor refuseing to admit that you used drugs is something particuarly right wing. Allegations have been made about Gore as well. I don't really care too much because both are unproven, and even if true would only be a minor negative in my opinion because it happened many years ago. (If either was an active heavy user I could not vote for him).
I am forgetting something?
Your forgetting to make an actual case that Bush is a radical right wing politican, instead you are just posting a serise of attacks on Bush.
Tim |
