ANGRY LEFT: The Insanity of Bush Hatred

The Wall Street Journal ^ | November 14, 2007 | PETER BERKOWITZ

[Aristotelian]

Hating the president is almost as old as the republic itself. The people, or various factions among them, have indulged in Clinton hatred, Reagan hatred, Nixon hatred, LBJ hatred, FDR hatred, Lincoln hatred, and John Adams hatred, to mention only the more extravagant hatreds that we Americans have conceived for our presidents.

But Bush hatred is different. It's not that this time members of the intellectual class have been swept away by passion and become votaries of anger and loathing. Alas, intellectuals have always been prone to employ their learning and fine words to whip up resentment and demonize the competition. Bush hatred, however, is distinguished by the pride intellectuals have taken in their hatred, openly endorsing it as a virtue and enthusiastically proclaiming that their hatred is not only a rational response to the president and his administration but a mark of good moral hygiene. . . .

Bush hatred is not a rational response to actual Bush perfidy. Rather, Bush hatred compels its progressive victims--who pride themselves on their sophistication and sensitivity to nuance--to reduce complicated events and multilayered issues to simple matters of good and evil. Like all hatred in politics, Bush hatred blinds to the other sides of the argument, and constrains the hater to see a monster instead of a political opponent. . . .

[Aristotelian]

I confess to being perplexed by the vehemence of Bush hatred. Part of it is due to an attitude of intellectual superiority: Bush isn’t smart enough to be president (despite his Ivy League degrees). It then goes to the 2000 election — e.g., dimpled chads, the SCOTUS ruling, the fact that Gore got more votes than Bush — and the notion that the election was stolen. (The one election that I know of that was stolen in U.S. presidential history was 1960, when JFK stole the election by fraud in Illinois — and also probably Texas — from Nixon.)

It’s not ideological, because Bush, unlike Reagan, is not noted for his “vision.” Nor is it corruption. This administration hasn’t been hit with a raft of subpoenas or trials as was the Clinton administration.

Perhaps the hatred is a reflection of frustration — frustration by the libs that their message isn’t very attractive to voters.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

BDS.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

We saw this before when the Gipper was in the WH. Your comment on unattractive message is probably correct, tho.
Recall when new Republican Norm Coleman and hard lefty Skip Humphrey were beaten by political unknown Jesse Ventura in the MN governor's race some years back. Skip asked the open question, "maybe our message wasn't getting through ?" Skip finished a vary distant third in the race, something like 200,00 votes behind Coleman. Skip's message was getting through alright...

[raybbr]

I don’t hate Bush. I just think he’s the worst “repbulican/conservative” president we’ve had in my lifetime.

[battlegearboat]

"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."

Rep Bulican

[txzman]

If you ask me, it’s Bush’s faith that creates the hatred. Telling a liberal ‘I love Jesus’ will do it everytime.

The name Jesus is a very powerful word.

[Aristotelian]

Some of us saw that coming before Bush was even elected. Others took a while.

Bush, like his father and Dole, was a product of the GOP machine. The wise men got together pre-2000 and decided what was needed was a Southern governor with name recognition. That boiled down to George and Jeb. They picked GW.

[Thrownatbirth]

It was the Gore thing. The old message board I posted on was never the same.

[Thermalseeker]

e.g., dimpled chads, the SCOTUS ruling, the fact that Gore got more votes than Bush — and the notion that the election was stolen.

And, this is undeniable proof that anyone believing this tripe is suffering from BDS. The reason is simple and is as old as the Republic itself. This notion that the 2000 election was "stolen" from Owlgore proves that they are not remotely intellectual at all, but rather morons who have neither read, nor understand the United States Constitution. Presidents are not elected by popular vote in this country. Anyone in the Democrat Party who thinks the 2000 election was "stolen" from Owlgore should read Article 2, Sections 1-4.

[atomic conspiracy]

Bush’s clumsy speaking style and general demeanor are a slap in the face to the institutional media culture. That he doesn’t especially seem to care turns media-cult irritation into fury.
Bush’s apparent contempt for media culture is what really makes them crazy, it threatens the media-industrial complex and its millions of disciples right where they live.

[cva66snipe]

Any real Constitution loving Conservative should not like Bush at all. He is the worst Republican POTUS in over 100 years. His liberalism is second only to LBJ as is his foreign policy. How can anyone cheer on a man whom himself said he was not that far apart with Al Gore on most issues? What is to like? His ability to have his anointed friends continue to shred the Constitution? His underlings saying things like Privacy no longer can mean anonymity, says Donald Kerr, the principal deputy director of national intelligence...Kerr's comments come as Congress is taking a second look at the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

We would not take this off a DEM yet because Bush is a Republican it's all just fine? What about Alberto Gonzales the man who never met a database on private law abiding citizens he didn't like? Bush and his cronies have all but destroyed the Republican party and made Hillary Clinton a far bigger threat to us than she ever could have been otherwise thanks to his new powers and programs the Stupid Party Republican Congress gave him. The name Bush should draw the disgust of all Conservatives. When will the GOP ever learn it's lesson? Bush is the Republicans Jimmy Carter. What is to like about the man? He wasn't Al Gore? Well Al Gore would have at least possibly faced some opposition by the GOP Congress.

[joesbucks]

If you ask me, it’s Bush’s faith that creates the hatred. Telling a liberal ‘I love Jesus’ will do it everytime. The name Jesus is a very powerful word.

I disagree to a point.

I don't think it's his faith as much as they see it as code to the religious right.

[snarkybob]

“Bush and his cronies have all but destroyed the Republican party”

Here in Austin, I’ve heard people say that Bush is the best thing to happen to democrats since Herbert Hoover

[cva66snipe]

Here in Austin, I’ve heard people say that Bush is the best thing to happen to democrats since Herbert Hoover

In reality the GOP Congress may have faired better controlling Al Gore's liberalism than Bush's. We saw this happen in Tennessee with our last GOP governor. He was a nightmare that made a DEM self professed liberal who took his place look conservative in comparison. Actually the DEM has been a better governor sad to say.

[Aristotelian]

Unfortunately, you can trace this back to Reagan’s decision to pick Bush as his running mate. Reaganites were appalled. Bush was the machine candidate, an anti-Reagan. Remember “voodoo economics”? Remember “I never got this ‘vision’ thing”?

[Aristotelian]

Oh, yes, and remember “Read my lips”?

[snarkybob]

“In reality the GOP Congress may have faired better controlling Al Gore’s liberalism than Bush’”

I agree, and I also think that’s why the Republican Brand is looking pretty frazzled at the moment. I don’t think a majority are anti-conservative, just anti-Republican. The GOP congress did seem to “Rubber Stamp” plenty of things that IMO would have been squashed had the president been a dem.

[cva66snipe]

Unfortunately, you can trace this back to Reagan’s decision to pick Bush as his running mate. Reaganites were appalled. Bush was the machine candidate, an anti-Reagan. Remember “voodoo economics”? Remember “I never got this ‘vision’ thing”?

That is true enough. GHW Bush stood against everything Reagan stood for and began proving it in 1989. Had he stayed the Reagan course he would have had an easy second term. Unfortunately Poppy's son is a bigger liberal than his Rockefeller Republican dad was.

[pieceofthepuzzle]

I think many on the left feel that the right, and especially the religious right, are ‘preaching’ to them. What the left doesn’t realize is that those on the right see the left in the same way, as proselytizers of socialism and social engineering. It’s much more complex than that, but I think there’s definitely involvement of the above.