If Bush wins a second term...

[Bhaisahab]

The Last Word
W.'s Second Term: If you think the first is bad ...
By Robert B. Reich

Musings about a second Bush term typically assume another four years of the same right-wing policies we've had to date. But it'd likely be far worse. So far, the Bush administration has had to govern with the expectation of facing American voters again in 2004. But suppose George W. Bush wins a second term. The constraint of a re-election contest will be gone. Knowing that voters can no longer turn them out, and that this will be their last shot at remaking America, the radical conservatives will be unleashed.

A friend who specializes in foreign policy and hobnobs with subcabinet officials in the Defense and State departments told me that the only thing that's stopped the Bushies from storming into Iran and North Korea is the upcoming election. If Bush is re-elected, " Cheney and Rumsfeld are out of the box," he said. "They'll take Bush's re-election as a mandate to wage the 'war on terror' everywhere and anywhere."

continued...
http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=7507

[Don_G]

1. Well

It's good for business.

How much cheaper can a .45 ACP get if it wasn't for Dimbo and his attitude?

[Don_G]

2. BTW

"They" don't exactly demand proof either.

[LZ1234]

3. That's what I was telling other people a few weeks ago in fact.

For him it will be party time - he can do what he wants. There's no re-election for him to have to worry about. He doesn't have to worry about being on "good behavior" if that's what you want to call it now. I shudder to think what his behavior will be then if this is supposed to be good behavior.

[teryang]

4. They said it couldn't happen here

Watch.

[NEOBuckeye]

5. The Bush Administration/PNACers will inevitably destroy themselves...

...By following their neo-imperialist, anti-Christian, anti-American agenda of madness to its most extreme. By no means do I want to see it happen -- I fully intend to vote for Kerry -- but a second term for Bush would give his people all of the incentive that they need to overreach.

But when they do, they will inevitably ignite a massive revolt by the American people (*cough*...draft...*cough*) and/or possibly the entire world itself. The end result will be no less than the total discrediting of their ideology, and the end of the ultra-right as a political force in this country. Unfortunately, it could also very well mean the end of America as we know it, and/or possibly the end of Mankind (World War III -- Nuclear War).

I'd really like to see these contemptible men brought low before America and the entire world. I just hope that we don't have to destroy our country and the world to get to that point.

[zonmoy]

8. if america is destroyed

we will simply be getting what we deserve.

[belle]

12. Speak for yourself.

[AJ BENDER]

15. I agree Too

The line in the sand has been drawn...if this country either through apathy or approval re-elects this traitor and his cohorts then as unfortunate and cold & cruel as it seems I would have to concur that the nation deserves the worst.

To some extend I could forgive the people for 2000... and the lying Repuke Pigs never mentioned Iraq ONCE on the campaign trail of 2000. But now the issues are clear.

If Bush is re-elected I'm going to learn Dutch & go live in the Netherlands



"ELECT A MADMAN...AND YOU GET MADNESS"

:nuke: :smoke:

[keep_left]

18. and possibly us as well...

I've been listening lately to some talks given by Scott Ritter and Noam Chomsky. Both are extremely pessimistic about what another four years of Bush II might bring. Chomsky in particular has been hammering away at the plans for endless war in the Mideast, militarization of space, and futuristic DARPA-type weapons programs; things that are virtually guaranteed to increase WMD proliferation and terror. These actions often have unintended consequences as well, such as the potential to heat up ethnic rivalries around places like India/Pakistan, etc. And who knows what will begin to unfold if it becomes obvious to the rest of the world that the wheels really are off the wagon.

Your point about WWIII (or WWIV, as PNAC calls it--I kid you not!) is well taken. Chomsky is really going off about this lately; he's mentioned his grandchildren, who are now of college age (e.g. prime draft material). His talks have on several occasions mentioned "destruction of the species".

[physioex]

6. I agree....

This is the most scariest administration I have ever seen. You know I don't even care soo much about the money they are stealing through corporate give aways. What upsets me soo much is the number of Iraqi and US casualties. How many brave US soldiers were sent to death over a lie over WMD? How many lives have been interrupted? How many young men and women have come back seriously injured? This is totally unacceptable.

[ronatchig]

7. It's when they lose the

election that I worry about. If Bush/Cheney and the rest have shown one trait honestly while in power it is their taste for revenge. A solid drubing in the election will ignite who knows what from this cabel of traitors, even to stealing the JFK's from the keyboards.

I wonder what Kenny Boy would give for a pardon

[rfkrocks]

10. Their revenge equals 705 american coffins right now

Not only the JFKs will be missing but many more soldiers will be missing from American life (dead for GOP pride)-kinda makes the great gop Clinton penis hunt look sad doesn't it?

[cerulean_ink]

9. If * Wins, down the slippery slope we go... n/t

[rfkrocks]

11. Great post

Second Bush term=destruction of social security, wars without end, government debt without end, federal goods tax replacing income tax, "amended overtime rules" from the 2004 ones, permanent tax cuts with large military expenditures, no allies except Saudi Arabia, environmental regulations cut even further (want some arsenic water with you freedom fries?) Chief Justice Scalia, etc-some future eh?

[keep_left]

20. Why are you so sure about Saudi Arabia remaining an ally?

The PNAC members--actually, Americans for Victory Over Terrorism, whose membership is a subset of PNAC--have mentioned in their various soirées and publications that "we want you (Saudi Arabia, and the Mubarak regime in Egypt) scared", and that part of the big plan is to destabilize these regimes. They're just completely insane.

By the way, AVOT was founded by William Bennett, for those trying to keep score on this whole ballgame.

[rfkrocks]

23. Well I think the saudi monarchy will remain loyal to Bush

too many business connections and us holdings-but I believe the monarchy is crumbling like Russia 1917-their rasputin is the very fundie religion they have fostered but I agree that the next Saudi government will not be pro US-I guess it is a matter of time-when the house of Faud falls

[keep_left]

24. Yeah, but the house of Saud IS the country...

That's what makes the PNACers so insane. There is very little keeping that country from going up in flames if it becomes destabilized. You have a tiny elite--a family dynasty--running the place, even greater inequality than in Latin America. The health statistics alone for Saudi Arabia are horrifying, in terms of life expectancy, etc. The hubris of thinking that they can control the sh*tstorm to come is truly astonishing.

[rfkrocks]

25. Good points and welcome to DU!

:toast:

[mim.k]

13. we can't let it happen

but... I've been writing a futuristic horror story about a worse case scenario if bush does get re-elected. I've been working on it for a while, and I'm at the stage of editing it, developing parts of it further, making changes, etc. It's about 30 single spaced pages... I've been getting some feedback and advice from friends, family, and people who've found out about it through the internet...
and the feedback's been positive and I've been taking just about all the advice I get (a lot of really helpful suggestions). I spoke about it yesterday under a different discussion thread, but if anyone who is on this thread has any interest in helping, I'd welcome it.. My primary interest is in using it to help stop Bush from getting re-elected.The newest piece of advice that I've received yesterday was to get it copyrighted before I go any further. If anyone has any info had to go about doing that, I'd appreciate it. Thanks

[mim.k]

14. we can't let it happen: my e-mail address

oops! I forgot to put down my e-mail addresses:
[email protected]
or
[email protected]

[Jim Cane]

16. I've been taking just about all the advice I get

Then listen up. w is going to win because the American people think that getting rid of Saddam was a good idea. The big mistake that the Dems made was in choosing a constipated lurch like Kerry to compete against an affable, smirking chimp like bush. Kerry just isn't
making the case against bush. He's digging a hole for himself. His "I'm for losing the war and high gas prices" is a losing platform. And to think you could have had Edwards - a positive voice and a born winner.


The case against bush is not that he invaded Iraq. The Dems are losing on this issue because they are leaving out the other half of the equation - the fact that, by engaging Iraq, we are NOT
then able to fully engage al qaeda.


Because our military forces have been siphoned off and are now bogged down in order to facilitate the smirking chimp's personal peeing contest, bin laden is still walking around free, al queda is not destroyed, and the Iraqi excursion (tho' I'm happy to see the hussien boys dead and saddam in custody) has resulted in pushing many many
more marginal muslims into the extremeist camp.


I don't want kerry to win, but at the same I do want to see chimpy thrown out. You guys need to fix this situation and make the case that:


(W's war for "Freedom and Democracy" in Iraq) = (Loss of Freedom and Democracy in the U.S. + WTC murders go unavenged + bin laden remains free)

That's what will sell in Peoria.
Edwards would have figured this out by now. Ketchup boy sure hasn't.

[mim.k]

17. I'm not as disenchanted about the democratic choice of Kerry as

you are, but I do agree strongly that his war on Iraq has put the
U.S. directly in harms way. It gave the whole world to distrust the U.S. and it gave the terrorist organizations the magnet they needed to attract membership. I do hope that Kerry is able to stand up intelligently to address that and the multiple other issues that
bush has so far accomplished to destroy our dream of a humane and democratic model of leadership in the world.
My preference, by the way, would have been Kucinich. He was right-on and strong with human rights issues, the war, the environment, the World Trade Organization, education, health care, workers' rights, etc. But we have Kerry, and hopefully with a lot of effort from all the intelligent, active, pure-willed population, he'll pull through and move us hopefully far, in a much saner direction.

[Disturbed]

19. Amerika

Don't forget Roe v Wade. That would be overturned.

I favor Kucinich, as well. He is a for real Democrat. J. Kerry is
Corporate, no matter what he says.

I don't think Kerry can win. The swing voters, who are the only ones that actually count, will probably go with W because of the wrong perception that he is resolute. Most voters that are not staunchly one party or another go by the over all perception and not any complex facts. What can Kerry run on now? Any issues he has brought up so far have fallen flat. The only issue that resonates is Iraq and six months from now nobody knows how that situation will be.

[Disturbed]

21. Damned if they do

damned if they don't. Dems are in a no win box.
If they fight fire with fire then the Rethugs condemn them
for fighting dirty. If they don't then the Dem members diss them for being wimps. Lose, lose. I would never the less chose that they fight
the Rethugs with no hold barred.

[keep_left]

22. They almost certainly know where bin Laden is...

There are two possibilities:

1. There's either a plan for an October Surprise II (somewhat likely)

2. The dope-dealing Pakistani generals and top ISI intelligence officers are in cahoots with al Qaeda, and have made it clear that any harm to bin Laden will lead directly to Musharraf's assassination (even more likely).

The main problem is that by letting Afghanistan get totally FUBAR, al Qaeda has become stronger. That "bin Laden is walking around free" is indicative of some larger strategy, and maybe not just our own.

[mim.k]

27. the most important thing then is for people to come together to

do something, somethings, many things... but I'm just so unsure about how we can go about doing that. We really need to get all of the sane people together somehow and figure that out. This kind of discussion forum is a wonderful idea... and many similar concerns are resonating here, and it's truly wonderful to be exchanging ideas and discussing the issues, but maybe we need to really start brainstorming to plan some serious, peaceful, well thought out, productive actions that can work. I like what Moveon.orgs been doing, a lot... they're taking some good action... but there needs to be more.
In terms of Kerry's campaign, I don't think that the answer is for kerry to be throwing childish, petty finger pointing punches at Bush... it turns my stomach when I see politicians resorting to that. I think that a strong campaign has to come across intelligently, respectful, to the point, and strong in conviction and integrity.

[Disturbed]

26. Osama

It doesn't matter all that much if Osama is captured or killed. The American public has been brainwashed beyond that situation. The NeoFascists have never cared that much if he is captured or killed because either way he is an asset.

The new tact is the following.

"Freedom is not this country's gift to the world. Freedom is the Almighty's gift to every man and woman in this world. And, as the greatest power on the face of the earth, we have an obligation" to carry out the Lord's mission." GW Bush

Iraq is the prize. If Iraq can be subdued the NeoFascists will have won one of their major objectives. Next: Syria and Iran.