Andrew Sullivan: Is Bush a socialist? He's spending like one

The Sunday Times ^ | 9/25/05

[Canard]

I'd agree.

[alessandrofiaschi]

Read my post n. 7

[Sometimes A River]

Oh gimme a break.

Have you ever heard of the Veto power granted in the very constitution you cite?

He has yet to use it in 5 years.

Republican Socialism = Good

Democrat Socialism = Bad.

Go figure.

[msnimje]

Soon there should be a follow up story titled, "Is Andrew Sullivan a Kindergartner? He is writing like one."

[sourcery]

Not Yours To Give

[blindsideknight]

Bush does have the power to veto bills. He signed the unConstitutional No Child Left Behind Act, among many others.

[HitmanLV]

Haha, yea that's me! Actually I do value accuracy and precision in language, so in that respect I am a stickler. And clarity is very important.

I was just having a conversation about same-sex marriage with a young college student, for example. She consistently called the issue 'gay marriage,' which it isn't. The issue is not if gay people can or can not get married: every gay person is free to marry. The issue is if people of the same sex may marry each other.

The best way to clarity is to all know exactly what we are talking about.

[G.Mason]

Dear Mr. Sullivan:

Re: "Is (President, remember?) Bush a socialist?"

As with any compasionate drug rehabilitation program, President Bush wouldn't want the users to suffer immediate and painful withdrawl symptoms.

However, he is suppressing his homosexuality very well. Don't you think?

Signed,

Will U. Bemine

[elbucko]

Bush is spending like a socialist, and his successor will be a socialist. Our country is going downhill fast.

"As President Richard Nixon observed in 1971, “We are all Keynesians now...."

It's just been renamed, "Compassionate Conservatism".

[gondramB]

I'm not happy with current spending.

And I'm not happy with the size of the government and I'm upset about the deficit...

But we are often too quick to use words like "socialist."
Not only is it unfair and innacurate but it lessens the impact when the word is finally used appropriately.

[garyhope]

I stopped reading Sullivan a long time ago. Any reason to read him now?

[HitmanLV]

I think that's an overstatement. I don't think it's part of the democrat party platform for the government to own the means of production, for example, so describing them as communists isn't accurate at all.

They are certainly ideological kin to communists and socialists, but I don't think those words are descriptive. It's as silly as them calling conservatives 'fascists' routinely. It's just not a clear, accurate, and precise fit.

[Miss Marple]

Words cannot convey my total disregard for anything the whining Mr. Sullivan has to say.

[Rosemont]

" Sullivan is making some pretty good points - but he's also lying. The only reason Sullivan turned on Bush was because of gay marriage"

You nailed it. Sullivan has been throwing the world's longest hissy fit ever since Bush came out against gay marriage.

[durasell]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1592400876/002-4240206-9281623?v=glance

[mhx]

You're right. We ought to get rid of those Republicans in Congress.

[HitmanLV]

Punctuation isn't my thing! :-)

[cubreporter]

This moron must have Bush and the dem/lib party mixed up,.

[skeptical_con]

"President Bush has pledged to do whatever it takes to rebuild the lives and communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. This pledge comes with a price tag. To deliver this kind of aid, Congress and the President must set priorities and make sacrifices and trade-offs to pay for it. Offsetting the cost of rebuilding is all the more important because the rebuilding effort follows a 33 percent expansion of the federal government since 2001, a period that saw:

* The 2001 No Child Behind Act, the most expensive education bill in American history, which led to a 100 percent increase in education spending;
* The 2002 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act, the most expensive farm bill in American history;
* The 2003 Medicare Modernization Act, the most expensive Great Society expansion in history;
* A war in and the rebuilding of Iraq that, while justified, could cost between $300 and $600 billion, in total;
* International spending leap 94 percent;
* Housing and Commerce spending surge 86 percent;
* Community and regional development spending jump 71 percent;
* Health research spending increase 61 percent;
* Veterans’ spending increase 51 percent; and
* The number of annual pork projects leap from 6,000 to 14,000.

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Budget/wm844.cfm

Please note - the heritage foundation is not in favor of gay marriage either.

[sourcery]

I got news for you all...Bush doesn't spend ANYTHING!

He has more influence over what Congress spends than any other person in the world. The Unconsitutional MeddleCare Prescription Drug Giveaway is an excellent example (and not just because of its cost.) And then there's the Presiden't responsibility (and authority) to veto legislation that is not in the national interest, is morally wrong or is Unconstitutional.