Accomplishments of the Bush Government

RockinInCanada

Okay I am being serious here, I want to hear about what George has done in the past six years for the USA. I want this to be serious and lets keep Iraq out of it, but I am lost as an outsider of what he has done domestically. For me I want to see if this guy has done anything valuable for HIS country, lets keep foreign policy aside.

This is what I know for sure that has been implemented under his government:

Patriot Act
Emminent Domain
Major tax cuts
Banned Stem Cell Research

I would like to hear what he has done domestically, help is appreciated.

RockinInCanada

chiefojibwa wrote:

well, he has managed, through fear and hate mostly, to get lower and middle class americans to vote republican even though the republican party is the party of the rich and elite. basically, he has gotten many working class people to vote against their own interests. i'd call that an accomplishment.

Okay I understand your opinion...but I want a list of actual items that were passed. I really want to see what he has accomplished. Actual bills or laws....okay I got another one

Banned Stem Cell Research

RainDog

Rockin'InCanada wrote:

Okay I understand your opinion...but I want a list of actual items that were passed. I really want to see what he has accomplished. Actual bills or laws....okay I got another one

Banned Stem Cell Research

Technically, Bush can't write any laws. That has to be done by Congress. He can veto them, though.

For example, Bush didn't ban stem cell research. Congress passed a bill that would have provided funding for stem cell research, but Bush - for the first time since he's taken office - vetoed the bill. As far as I understand it, stem cell research is still legal - provided you can get funding for it.

As far as laws are concerned, the president gets to appoint Supreme Court Justices. That can have a long lasting effect on how laws in our country are interpreted - or even their legality. Needless to say, I'm not too happy with his choices.

RockinInCanada

RainDog wrote:

Technically, Bush can't write any laws. That has to be done by Congress. He can veto them, though.

For example, Bush didn't ban stem cell research. Congress passed a bill that would have provided funding for stem cell research, but Bush - for the first time since he's taken office - vetoed the bill. As far as I understand it, stem cell research is still legal - provided you can get funding for it.

As far as laws are concerned, the president gets to appoint Supreme Court Justices. That can have a long lasting effect on how laws in our country are interpreted - or even their legality. Needless to say, I'm not too happy with his choices.

lol...get all technical on me....I MEAN what has been passed/done/vetoed under his campaign.....

surferdude

Rockin'InCanada wrote:

Okay I am being serious here, I want to hear about what George has done in the past six years for the USA. I want this to be serious and lets keep Iraq out of it, but I am lost as an outsider of what he has done domestically. For me I want to see if this guy has done anything valuable for HIS country, lets keep foreign policy aside.

This is what I know for sure that has been implemented under his government:

Patriot Act
Emminent Domain
Major tax cuts
Banned Stem Cell Research

I would like to hear what he has done domestically, help is appreciated.

I prefer to think about the things that haven't happened with Bush in power. There's been no additional attacks on US or Canadian soil.

Acheivements may include border security being addressed in a measured manner. The economy is still chugging along. He's brought to light what the abysmal failure that is the UN. Tax cuts for the poor. Banning the federal funding of stem-cell research while there are no ethical guidelines in place. Great selections to the Supreme Court.

Many issues were brought to light for discussion; social security, immigration, foreign policy. These are issues that Clinton and co. didn't have time to even address, too busy getting the fat intern to undress.

Bush had nothing to do with the Emminent Domain ruling. You should be smarter than that.

His biggest failures have not been addressing environmental issues and the failure to lessen the gap between the rich and poor. While I don't agree with the war on Iraq I'll hold out on judging the outcome of it.

blueandwhite

He's killed the American dollar (great for Canadians travelling south )!

Honestly, with Bush in power, our dollar has never looked so good (well, not for a long time anyways).

weenie

chiefojibwa wrote:

well, he has managed, through fear and hate mostly, to get lower and middle class americans to vote republican even though the republican party is the party of the rich and elite. basically, he has gotten many working class people to vote against their own interests. i'd call that an accomplishment.

Great observation and very pertinent point. All the tax laws that have passed under the Bush Admin benefit the higher income folks. All the environmental laws that have been passed during his admin benefit the big money corporations, in which he has a vested interest, particularly oil. Any civil liberties laws that have been passed benefit his agenda - to spread "fear" and persuade more of the middle and lower classes to vote for him in spite of the fact that he represents big money and big power. Because of the attitudes of him and his cronies, civil rights has been set back 20 years, for women and minorities. Bottom line is, as was said earlier, create a larger divide between the haves and have nots, and a larger divide between folks who's religious and political viewpoints differ. I could go on and on but it's my lunch time.....

The Illinoisemakers

weenie wrote:

Great observation and very pertinent point. All the tax laws that have passed under the Bush Admin benefit the higher income folks. All the environmental laws that have been passed during his admin benefit the big money corporations, in which he has a vested interest, particularly oil. Any civil liberties laws that have been passed benefit his agenda - to spread "fear" and persuade more of the middle and lower classes to vote for him in spite of the fact that he represents big money and big power. Because of the attitudes of him and his cronies, civil rights has been set back 20 years, for women and minorities. Bottom line is, as was said earlier, create a larger divide between the haves and have nots, and a larger divide between folks who's religious and political viewpoints differ. I could go on and on but it's my lunch time.....

How exactly have minority and women's rights been set back 20 years?

Bush setup our largest nature perserve, 100 miles wide and 1,400 miles long near the Hawaiian Islands. It's larger then 46 of the 50 states.

robbie

he has appointed 2 supreme court justices.........


i dont consider that so much what he has donr FOR the united states as much as what he has done TO the united states.......but it is something he has done while in office

Bu$chlager

1st, you really need to remove the "ban" of stem cell research from your opening list. As someone pointed out, he did nothing of the sort. He simply vetoed public funding for it, which, to be fair, a lot of the country agreed with.

Other than that;

We've gone unattacked since 9/11

Tax cuts have proven to stimulate the economy.

Border security has finally been looked at, albeit marginally. This isn't a huge win for the Bush camp, but at least a Prez finally looked at the issue and did SOMETHING.

Supreme Court Justices. (You can't say this is a failure because YOU don't personally agree with his choice.) Most Americans approved of his final selections, and they both received Senate approval. That is a victory for any President.

Reformed bankrupcy laws.

That's about all I got off the top of my head. Wish Social Security could be added, but in time hopefully. Iraq has bogged this administration down, understandably so.

Oh, and he threw a PERFECT strike at Yankee Stadium in the World Series with everyone chanting U-S-A right after 9/11. Like him or hate him, that was one bad-ass cool moment for a President.

- Dan

Milhouse VanHouten

surferdude wrote:

Many issues were brought to light for discussion; social security, immigration, foreign policy. These are issues that Clinton and co. didn't have time to even address, too busy getting the fat intern to undress.

Right...

Yeah, Clinton's extramarital affair took up so much of his valueable governing time. I'm sure that being pursued by the Republicans in a political witchhunt for a few years wasn't a distraction at all...

Bu$chlager

Milhouse VanHouten wrote:

Right...

Yeah, Clinton's extramarital affair took up so much of his valueable governing time. I'm sure that being pursued by the Republicans in a political witchhunt for a few years wasn't a distraction at all...

And who brought that on, pray tell?? :rolleyes:

Milhouse VanHouten

BUSH-lager wrote:

And who brought that on, pray tell?? :rolleyes:

If I recall correctly, the Republicans were trying to hang him with Whitewater, and they couldn't find any real evidence against him, so they used the Lewinsky thing instead. Nothing that was really anyone's business, but it was a sex scandal, so they knew that people would pay attention. Much easier to understand than SEC regulations.

Derrick

approved Sarbanes Oxley regulations.

blueandwhite

BUSH-lager wrote:

Tax cuts have proven to stimulate the economy.

Yet the American economy is doing poorly. You can't finance a war and cut taxes at the same time.

Reformed bankrupcy laws.

Now this I agree with.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is one of the most significant pieces of US legislation passed in the past ten years. After the BS that those bastards at Enron, Worldcom and Arthur Anderson pulled, its about time we see tighter controls when it comes to corporate accounting. Hopefully something as embarassing as Enron/Worldcom/Tyco won't happen any time soon.

Bu$chlager

Milhouse VanHouten wrote:

If I recall correctly, the Republicans were trying to hang him with Whitewater, and they couldn't find any real evidence against him, so they used the Lewinsky thing instead. Nothing that was really anyone's business, but it was a sex scandal, so they knew that people would pay attention. Much easier to understand than SEC regulations.

It's kind of the American public's business when their President lies to them.

- Dan

Bu$chlager

blueandwhite wrote:

Yet the American economy is doing poorly. You can't finance a war and cut taxes at the same time.

But he has. The economy is doing poorly when compared to Bill Clinton's booming era, but all things considered, I think it's doing remarkably well.

When you consider the DotCom burst, the CEO scandals of Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, etc. 9/11 and the recession that followed, the War on Terror, etc, etc.

I think it was a brilliant trickle down scheme, and it has worked. Liberals hate to admit it, but sometimes, Reaganomics a'int such a bad idea.

- Dan

DMBlover

The US economy is still very robust. Unemployment is low and consumers are still spending like crazy.

Some other Bush "successes" worth a mention:

1. A major education reform bill passed - No Child Left Behind. However, the program has been critized by teachers and administrators. It isn't being funded as it was written so I wouldn't count it as a success.
2. Prescription drugs are now covered under Medicare, the government subsidized health insurance for our seniors.

Milhouse VanHouten

BUSH-lager wrote:

It's kind of the American public's business when their President lies to them.

- Dan

It's also kind of pathetic when the opposition party has no real grounds to bring the president down, so they settle for forcing him to answer questions he shouldn't have been asked in the first place.

Uncle Leo

Milhouse VanHouten wrote:

It's also kind of pathetic when the opposition party has no real grounds to bring the president down, so they settle for forcing him to answer questions he shouldn't have been asked in the first place.

I don't agree that they should not have been asked. If he had extramarital affairs with random women, then I'd agree. But since it was an office intern (I know I'd be fired for that)...it is about the kind of office he conducts. Had he just told the truth, he'd have taken some heat--more heat that the relevance dictates--and moved on. Since he lied about a question related to the culture of HIS office and the abuse of HIS power, I think (and I know I am one of the few liberals that thinks this) that he should have been impeached and removed.

Uncle Leo

I notice a couple of people put "no terrorist attack since 9/11." Of course Presidents Washington through Clinton can all say "no terrorist attack."