What Makes the Bush Haters So Mad?

Time ^ | 9/22/03 | Charles Krauthammer

[Marcus Alonzo Hanna]

What Makes The Bush Haters So Mad? First, it was how he got the job. Now it's how much he's doing with it

By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER

Bill Moyers may have his politics, but his deferential demeanor and almost avuncular television style made him the Mr. Rogers of American politics. So when he leaves his neighborhood to go to a "Take Back America" rally and denounces George W. Bush's "government of, by and for the ruling corporate class," leading a "right-wing wrecking crew" engaged in "a deliberate, intentional destruction of the United States way of governing," you know that something is going on.

That something is the unhinging of the Democratic Party. Democrats are seized with a loathing for President Bush — a contempt and disdain giving way to a hatred that is near pathological — unlike any since they had Richard Nixon to kick around. An otherwise reasonable man, Julian Bond of the N.A.A.C.P., speaks of Bush's staffing his Administration with "the Taliban wing of American politics." Harold Meyerson, editor at large of The American Prospect, devotes a 3,000-word article to explaining why Bush is the most dangerous President in all of American history — his only rival being Jefferson Davis.

The puzzle is where this depth of feeling comes from. Bush's manner is not particularly aggressive. He has been involved in no great scandals, Watergate or otherwise. He is, indeed, not the kind of politician who radiates heat. Yet his every word and gesture generate heat — a fury and bitterness that animate the Democratic primary electorate and explain precisely why Howard Dean has had such an explosive rise. More than any other candidate, Dean has understood the depth of this primal anti-Bush feeling and has tapped into it.

Whence the anger? It begins of course with the "stolen" election of 2000 and the perception of Bush's illegitimacy. But that is only half the story. An illegitimate President winning a stolen election would be tolerable if he were just a figurehead, a placeholder, the kind of weak, moderate Republican that Democrats (and indeed many Republicans) thought George Bush would be, judging from his undistinguished record and tepid 2000 campaign. Bush's great crime is that he is the illegitimate President who became consequential — revolutionizing American foreign policy, reshaping economic policy and dominating the political scene ever since his emergence as the post-9/11 war President.

Before that, Bush could be written off as an accident, a transitional figure, a kind of four-year Gerald Ford. And then came 9/11. Bush took charge, declared war, and sent the country into battle twice, each time bringing down enemy regimes with stunning swiftness. In Afghanistan, Bush rode a popular tide; Iraq, however, was a singular act of presidential will.

That will, like it or not, has remade American foreign policy. The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy is the subtitle of a new book by two not very sympathetic scholars, Ivo Daalder and James Lindsay. The book is titled America Unbound. The story of the past two years could just as well be titled Bush Unbound. The President's unilateral assertion of U.S. power has redefined America's role in the world. Here was Bush breaking every liberal idol: the ABM Treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, deference to the U.N., subservience to the "international community." It was an astonishing performance that left the world reeling and the Democrats seething. The pretender had not just seized the throne. He was acting like a king. Nay, an emperor.

On the domestic front, more shock. Democrats understand that the Bush tax cuts make structural changes that will long outlive him. Like the Reagan cuts, they will starve the government of revenue for years to come. Add to that the Patriot Act and its (perceived) assault on fundamental American civil liberties, and Bush the Usurper becomes more than just consequential. He becomes demonic.

The current complaint is that Bush is a deceiver, misleading the country into a war, after which there turned out to be no weapons of mass destruction. But it is hard to credit the deception charge when every intelligence agency on the planet thought Iraq had these weapons and, indeed, when the weapons there still remain unaccounted for. Moreover, this is a post-facto rationale. Sure, the aftermath of the Iraq war has made it easier to frontally attack Bush. But the loathing long predates it. It started in Florida and has been deepening ever since Bush seized the post-9/11 moment to change the direction of the country and make himself a President of note.

Which is why the Democratic candidates are scrambling desperately to out-Dean Dean. Their constituency is seized with a fever, and will nominate whichever candidate feeds it best. Political fevers are a dangerous thing, however. The Democrats last came down with one in 1972--and lost 49 states.

[kennedyd]

Hardcore leftist ideology does seem to have a quasi-religious feel to it insofar as it is almost completely insulated from facts. You can quote data to a leftist for as long as you like demonstrating the repeated failures of past social experiments, but nothing will come of it. There is always an excuse to the effect that some person, or society, was to blame for the failure. It never seems to occur to them that their basic assumptions about human nature and the way the world works may be flawed.

[T'wit]

> Bush's great crime is that he is the illegitimate President who became consequential

But he's not an illegitimate president.

The Democrats themselves did so much vote rigging, they may have stolen two or three millon votes and as many as six senate seats. I suppose they figured it was just not fair for Mr. Bush to win after all the trouble they took to steal the election.

[lorrainer]

Democrats are seized with a loathing for President Bush — a contempt and disdain giving way to a hatred that is near pathological — unlike any since they had Richard Nixon to kick around.

I myself am seized with a loathing for Mr & Mrs X42--a contempt and disdain giving way to a hatred that is near pathological--unlike anyone else in my lifetime.

So there.

[concerned about politics]

. It never seems to occur to them that their basic assumptions about human nature and the way the world works may be flawed.

Yep. Some liberal got my e-mail address from a distant family member, and suggested I check out how great Dean is doing. WELL.......You KNOW that got me going!
I e-mailed facts to discredit everything she said - back and forth for a while - until the liberal was incoherant, and her thought processess were irratic. I couldn't even make out what she was attempting to say. It was jumbled.
It ended with: "You're mean, mean, mean."

[concerned about politics]

But he's not an illegitimate president.

I believe the author was being sarcastic, i.e., that's what DEMOCRATS say.

[Valin]

Bill Moyers may have his politics, but his deferential demeanor and almost avuncular television style made him the Mr. Rogers of American politics. So when he leaves his neighborhood to go to a "Take Back America" rally and denounces George W. Bush's "government of, by and for the ruling corporate class," leading a "right-wing wrecking crew" engaged in "a deliberate, intentional destruction of the United States way of governing," you know that something is going on.

Yes what's going on is someone forgot to take his meds.

[MJY1288]

What makes them so mad is this...... He doesn't respong to their baseless attacks, he allows the facts speak for themselves and doesn't lower himself to their level.

Bush has his share of faults and will never satisfy the so-called "True Conservatives" among us, but no electable candidate ever will. When push comes to shove, 90% of those of us on the right will vote to re-elect George W. Bush, and what will make this next election a landslide, will be the vast majority of the everyday middle of the road Americans who understand what we have gone through as a nation and appreciate GWB's strong leadership in taking on the terrorist.

The Bush haters will go on hating him and he will keep on ignoring them

[cartoonistx]

BINGO!!!

[Lancey Howard]

What Makes the Bush Haters So Mad?

Huh, that's an easy one - - their guy was a scandal-ridden scumbag who disgraced the office of the Presidency, and our guy is an American hero who has returned dignity to the White House. If I was a Democrat, I would be pissed, too.

But then, I work for a living and believe in God as well as traditional America and its families, and so I could never be a Democrat.

[Swiss]

One day at work I was in a very lazy mood, I figured out a devious underhanded way to have a coworker do my work. I was so proud of the plan I knew it couldn't fail.

But it did and I had to do the work I had avoided and I was mad as hell that day, not at doing the work but because he caused my plan to fail.

The Democrats had the perfect plan to steal an election, one that couldn't fail and when G.W. foiled their months of planning and scheming they never forgave him.

[Lancey Howard]

Bush has his share of faults and will never satisfy the so-called "True Conservatives" among us, but no electable candidate ever will.

I used to listen to the Ed Koch show on WABC in New York and I remember him saying, "If you agree with me on 10 out of 15 things, vote for me. If you agree with me on 15 out of 15 things, see a psychiatrist."

[CyberAnt]

More than that .. HE CAUGHT THEM CHEATING AND STOPPED IT!!

NO REPUBLICAN EVER HAD THE COURAGE TO CHALLENGE THEM BEFORE.

[Texas Eagle]

What Makes the Bush Haters So Mad?

Waking up every morning?

[PhiKapMom]

Love his writing -- he is syndicated in our paper here in OK every week!

The Clinton RATs are truly filled with hate -- don't think they can believe we have a President that actually says what he is going to do and does it! The spin has been replaced by facts -- that is an approach that the RATs hate because truth is normally not on the side of the Clinton DemocRATs!

[Jerez2]

BZZZZZT! "Neocon" alert. Do not read any more posts from Uno Animo. He has used the N-word. (also on this list: 'bourgeois,' 'progressive,' etc.) Sometimes I wish FR would put the poster's name on TOP of the post so I can more easily avoid those of the true buttholes.

[Jerez2]

Lancey, I think you're right -- their hatred for Bush is all wrapped up in the ignominy of Clinton's impeachment. They are determined to 'impeach' Bush -- to prove that 'everybody does it' -- that he's not as good as he seems -- that he's lying. I almost feel sorry for them. Then I remember the election of 2000... they had definitely 'paid for it' -- hell, they hired Mayor Daley of Chicago, how much more clearly could they telegraph it? Yet they still lost the prize. Ooooh, stamp stamp STAMP, they are maaad!

[ChocChipCookie]

Did any of you hear Sean Hannity's version of "Have You Forgotten?" He had inserted quotes from various demonrats, and to me, it sounded like blasphemy. The hatred was so intense you could feel it.

Other reasons the demons hate Bush (and I believe his genuine Christianity is a biggie) is because they know in their hearts he is everything they pretended Clinton was. Clinton's "leadership" was a facade. Bush is a real man who instinctively knows how to lead. He doesn't have to bite his lip and fake tears. He's genuine to the core, and you can feel it when he speaks. I'll never forget his posture and facial expression when he walked from his helicopter to the White House on 9/11. Every inch of him looked pissed, and you KNEW he was going to take care of things.

Also, President Bush is cool. Clinton THOUGHT he was, and his groupies pretended he was, but he was, and always will be, a con artist. Bush owns a real ranch. He drives around in a big ole Ford pickup. He always has his dawgs with him, and he genuinely cares about them. He looks great in jeans and work clothes. He's real. Clinton never was any of that. The Clintonoids hate Bush for all the reasons listed above my post here and will never forgive him for being the man "their" President never was.

[185JHP]

The innate decency of right-thinking people means that an effort is required to get into the mindset of leftists. They *exulted* in X42's saying and doing nasty things - allowing them to feel good about their own nasty selves. W=forced cold turkey.

[weegee]

Like the Reagan cuts, they will starve the government of revenue for years to come.

The improved economy brought in MORE tax dollars. And the media pundits wonder why we shout BIAS.