NationStates Jolt Archive

I wish I were this stupid
February 5th, 2005


The common theme in Massachusetts during the presidential election was the need to replace the bumbling fool from Crawford, Texas with our own intellectual, worldly, French-speaking war hero from Massachusetts. Surely the country would see the difference between the two. After all, the differences were so stark. A dangerous unilateralist provoking conflict throughout the world, engaging in a Viet Nam-like quagmire while wasting human lives and the country's resources versus an international consensus builder who recognized the need to build bridges to our European and other global “allies”. Diplomacy would be the order of the day and we would be convincing our antagonists with words not bullets.

As we all know now, the country didn’t quite see it that way. After the shock began to wear off the new mantra was that Massachusetts would be vindicated by events:

- Palestine and Israel would continue in conflict.
- Afghanistan would be reduced to tribalism.
- Iraqi elections would be a dismal failure and would require more troops to quell an ever-growing domestic insurgency.
- As a nation we would become more and more isolated as a result of our cowboy style foreign policy.

In Massachusetts, both our junior and senior Senators seemed to not only expect such outcomes but were indeed cheering sections for it.

At home it would be more bungling:

- The economy would stagnate,
- Cabinet appointments would be far right God nuts.
- The third rail of social security would make Bush retreat and his judicial nominations would face virulent opposition.
- All of things were likely to result in a huge flow of emigrants from the U.S. into the friendlier confines of Canada.

Well, so far none of those things have happened. In fact, it would appear early on that President Bush has begun to gather even more momentum. His State of the Union address was both bold and specific in terms of goals he wishes to achieve in a second term. The economy continues to improve. Some sort of voluntary program for Social Security looks possible, as does tort reform. Healthcare, AIDS and education all figured prominently in his address.

The Iraqi elections have been universally lauded throughout the world (except by Senators Kennedy and Kerry). Israel’s Sharon predicts a bold breakthrough in relations with the Palestinians in the near future. Additionally, both Afghanistan and Iraq have enjoyed substantial increases in economic output, which apparently are outstripping pre-conflict levels.

Contrast this with current state of the president’s opponents. CBS and other big media have been humiliated. The UN has been exposed as corrupt and ineffective buffoons in the Oil for Food Program and the Asian tsunami event. The ever-fickle Hollywood crowd had no Oscar nomination for Michael Moore; and George Soros is back to trying to destroy various nations through currency speculation.

Lightweight Sen. Barbara Boxer has become a leading liberal voice in the Senate, and raging Howard Dean is likely to become the DNC national chairman. Coupled with this is Sen. Hillary Clinton’s swift move to the right on God and abortion.

Sen. Daschle was replaced by Harry Reid as Minority Leader and he, quite frankly, does not instill a good deal of confidence in anyone. The Senate Democrats were reduced to embarrassingly poor losers in opposition to Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State and Alberto Gonzalez as Attorney General. One can only wonder how the Hispanic and African American communities viewed the treatment of these two

It might be nice to find someone as stupid as Bush to lead us Democrats.

Phil Gallagher is a Massachusetts Democrat.

Nice non-inflammatory title as well. :rolleyes:

Yet more partisan hackery. Where is the source?

I wish I were this stupid
February 5th, 2005

The common theme in Massachusetts during the presidential election was the need to replace the bumbling fool from Crawford, Texas with our own intellectual, worldly, French-speaking war hero from Massachusetts.
Kerry wasn't an intellectual. With his red-state populism, Bush just made him look like one.

Yet more partisan hackery. Where is the source?

It was probably and editorial.

I wish I were this stupid
February 5th, 2005


The common theme in Massachusetts during the presidential election was the need to replace the bumbling fool from Crawford, Texas with our own intellectual, worldly, French-speaking war hero from Massachusetts. Surely the country would see the difference between the two. After all, the differences were so stark. A dangerous unilateralist provoking conflict throughout the world, engaging in a Viet Nam-like quagmire while wasting human lives and the country's resources versus an international consensus builder who recognized the need to build bridges to our European and other global “allies”. Diplomacy would be the order of the day and we would be convincing our antagonists with words not bullets.

As we all know now, the country didn’t quite see it that way. After the shock began to wear off the new mantra was that Massachusetts would be vindicated by events:

- Palestine and Israel would continue in conflict.
- Afghanistan would be reduced to tribalism.
- Iraqi elections would be a dismal failure and would require more troops to quell an ever-growing domestic insurgency.
- As a nation we would become more and more isolated as a result of our cowboy style foreign policy.

In Massachusetts, both our junior and senior Senators seemed to not only expect such outcomes but were indeed cheering sections for it.

At home it would be more bungling:

- The economy would stagnate,
- Cabinet appointments would be far right God nuts.
- The third rail of social security would make Bush retreat and his judicial nominations would face virulent opposition.
- All of things were likely to result in a huge flow of emigrants from the U.S. into the friendlier confines of Canada.

Well, so far none of those things have happened. In fact, it would appear early on that President Bush has begun to gather even more momentum. His State of the Union address was both bold and specific in terms of goals he wishes to achieve in a second term. The economy continues to improve. Some sort of voluntary program for Social Security looks possible, as does tort reform. Healthcare, AIDS and education all figured prominently in his address.

The Iraqi elections have been universally lauded throughout the world (except by Senators Kennedy and Kerry). Israel’s Sharon predicts a bold breakthrough in relations with the Palestinians in the near future. Additionally, both Afghanistan and Iraq have enjoyed substantial increases in economic output, which apparently are outstripping pre-conflict levels.

Contrast this with current state of the president’s opponents. CBS and other big media have been humiliated. The UN has been exposed as corrupt and ineffective buffoons in the Oil for Food Program and the Asian tsunami event. The ever-fickle Hollywood crowd had no Oscar nomination for Michael Moore; and George Soros is back to trying to destroy various nations through currency speculation.

Lightweight Sen. Barbara Boxer has become a leading liberal voice in the Senate, and raging Howard Dean is likely to become the DNC national chairman. Coupled with this is Sen. Hillary Clinton’s swift move to the right on God and abortion.

Sen. Daschle was replaced by Harry Reid as Minority Leader and he, quite frankly, does not instill a good deal of confidence in anyone. The Senate Democrats were reduced to embarrassingly poor losers in opposition to Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State and Alberto Gonzalez as Attorney General. One can only wonder how the Hispanic and African American communities viewed the treatment of these two

It might be nice to find someone as stupid as Bush to lead us Democrats.

Phil Gallagher is a Massachusetts Democrat.


Do you like doing this? Does it make you feel fuzzy? You said it yourself, the elections are over. Why press the issue?

Do you like doing this? Does it make you feel fuzzy? You said it yourself, the elections are over. Why press the issue?

I thought I was doing the more sane among Democrats a favor. If the Democrats don't soon stop relying on the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer, they're doomed. I don't like lopsided politics.

I thought I was doing the more sane among Democrats a favor. If the Democrats don't soon stop relying on the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer, they're doomed. I don't like lopsided politics.

But isn't this guy saying that as much as he hates Bush, he has to admit that things are going right?

I thought I was doing the more sane among Democrats a favor. If the Democrats don't soon stop relying on the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer, they're doomed. I don't like lopsided politics.
lopsided politics? i dare you to define that in such a manner i cant use it against you

Oh, man....oh, man....hold on....let me stop laughing.....

Alright. That was, rather.....PFFFFTTTT....hahahahahah....ahah...ahah...

Man. Democrats never cease to amaze me.

I wish I were this stupid


- The economy would stagnate,
- Cabinet appointments would be far right God nuts.
- The third rail of social security would make Bush retreat and his judicial nominations would face virulent opposition.
- All of things were likely to result in a huge flow of emigrants from the U.S. into the friendlier confines of Canada.


His Cabinet Appointments were far right wing...
Economy is'nt stagnating but not right meeting Trough. We are still declining/recession. We must hit trough before we can go up.


Lightweight Sen. Barbara Boxer has become a leading liberal voice in the Senate, and raging Howard Dean is likely to become the DNC national chairman. Coupled with this is Sen. Hillary Clinton’s swift move to the right on God and abortion.

Barbara was emailed by True Majority and me throughTRue Majority to figh the good fight. Howard Dean was not raging but charismatic. Clinton has always been right of center.

It might be nice to find someone as stupid as Bush to lead us Democrats.

Phil Gallagher is a Massachusetts Democrat.

Yes he admits Bush is stupid. He wishes they were because stupid people seem to win election faster.

I wish I were this stupid



Frankly, I think he IS that stupid!

As we all know now, the country didn’t quite see it that way. After the shock began to wear off the new mantra was that Massachusetts would be vindicated by events:

- Palestine and Israel would continue in conflict.
- Afghanistan would be reduced to tribalism.
- Iraqi elections would be a dismal failure and would require more troops to quell an ever-growing domestic insurgency.
- As a nation we would become more and more isolated as a result of our cowboy style foreign policy.

In Massachusetts, both our junior and senior Senators seemed to not only expect such outcomes but were indeed cheering sections for it.

At home it would be more bungling:

- The economy would stagnate,
- Cabinet appointments would be far right God nuts.
- The third rail of social security would make Bush retreat and his judicial nominations would face virulent opposition.
- All of things were likely to result in a huge flow of emigrants from the U.S. into the friendlier confines of Canada.

Well, so far none of those things have happened.



Really?

While PAlestine and Israel do seem to be making progress, that seems far more tied to the death of Arafat and the work of Abbas than anything the US could possibly take credit for.

Afghanistan has still not made great strides away from tribalism as warlords still control large feifdoms.

The success of the election as an indicator of an end to the insurgency is still an open question.

And I haven't seen a lot of countries lining up to join the coalition of the willing. Indeed, a few more are leaving it this year.

The economy has not made significant gains, the cabinet appointments have been a bunch of Bush yes-people (Condi IS after all, to the right of Powell, and finding anything further right than Ashcroft would have been nigh on impossible. Gonzales is about as close as you might find)

There have not yet been any judicial nominations of note besides Gonzales who DID receive a lot of opposition. And the threat of people leaving america for Canada was pure rhetoric. Anyone who believed otherwise was a stupid as this person is looking for.

In fact, it would appear early on that President Bush has begun to gather even more momentum. His State of the Union address was both bold and specific in terms of goals he wishes to achieve in a second term. The economy continues to improve. Some sort of voluntary program for Social Security looks possible, as does tort reform. Healthcare, AIDS and education all figured prominently in his address.


Yes, and his new budget is cutting the legs out from under most of that,

The Iraqi elections have been universally lauded throughout the world (except by Senators Kennedy and Kerry). Israel’s Sharon predicts a bold breakthrough in relations with the Palestinians in the near future. Additionally, both Afghanistan and Iraq have enjoyed substantial increases in economic output, which apparently are outstripping pre-conflict levels.


Outstripping growth when TRADE SANCTIONS were in place? What the hell is so suprising about that?

Contrast this with current state of the president’s opponents. CBS and other big media have been humiliated.

Really? All of them? Including Fox and Sinclair?

The ever-fickle Hollywood crowd had no Oscar nomination for Michael Moore;

Ummm, he withdrew his eligibility when he elected to have the movie televised before the election. Hollywood had nothing to do with that.

and George Soros is back to trying to destroy various nations through currency speculation.


Ah yes, the unsubstantiated personal attack... nice tactic.

Lightweight Sen. Barbara Boxer has become a leading liberal voice in the Senate, and raging Howard Dean is likely to become the DNC national chairman. Coupled with this is Sen. Hillary Clinton’s swift move to the right on God and abortion.


So, a supposed democrat is upset that democrats are speaking up? Odd.

Sen. Daschle was replaced by Harry Reid as Minority Leader and he, quite frankly, does not instill a good deal of confidence in anyone. The Senate Democrats were reduced to embarrassingly poor losers in opposition to Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State and Alberto Gonzalez as Attorney General. One can only wonder how the Hispanic and African American communities viewed the treatment of these two


So now the appointment of cabinet members is something to be rubber stamped and not questioned? When did that happen? There were valid resons to question both appointments, none of which had anything to do with ethnicity as you seem to be implying.


It might be nice to find someone as stupid as Bush to lead us Democrats.

Phil Gallagher is a Massachusetts Democrat.


Feel free to nominate yoursef Phil.

I think you qualify.

I thought I was doing the more sane among Democrats a favor. If the Democrats don't soon stop relying on the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer, they're doomed. I don't like lopsided politics.
They just seem to be doing the exact same thing as the Republicans while Clinton was president. (Remember Newt Gingrich?) Partisanship seemed to work out pretty well for them.

You make frequent pronouncements on this topic. You seem to think that all Democrats should become more like Zell Miller, who agres with Republicans on almost everything. If that happened, surely America would essentially be a one-party state?

Heck, the US is essensially a one party state. They are so massively similar it really makes no difference. They just put up the facade of democracy to keep the Proletariat content.

Heck, the US is essensially a one party state. They are so massively similar it really makes no difference. They just put up the facade of democracy to keep the Proletariat content.
What are talking about if they are so similar why are most republicans so demonizing of democrats. Case in point: Eutrusca.

lopsided politics? i dare you to define that in such a manner i cant use it against you

Ok at the start of election night, the Republicans had 51 seats, at the end of the night, they had 55 seats. The democrats had 48 seats plus the Independent Senator from some state giving them 49! At the end of it, they have 44 plus the same senator giving them 45!

In the House, additional house seats fall to the Republican party. They gained more seats in the House and Senate as well as winning the Presidency. The people are getting tired of the Democratic rheteric!

His Cabinet Appointments were far right wing...
Economy is'nt stagnating but not right meeting Trough. We are still declining/recession. We must hit trough before we can go up.
Actually, most economists would agree that we have been out of the recession since the 3rd quarter of '03.

Ok at the start of election night, the Republicans had 51 seats, at the end of the night, they had 55 seats. The democrats had 48 seats plus the Independent Senator from some state giving them 49! At the end of it, they have 44 plus the same senator giving them 45!

In the House, additional house seats fall to the Republican party. They gained more seats in the House and Senate as well as winning the Presidency. The people are getting tired of the Democratic rheteric!
who was talknig to you?
not me
who used the phrase "lopsided politics"?
not you

so please explain to me why you are responding

What are talking about if they are so similar why are most republicans so demonizing of democrats. Case in point: Eutrusca.

Um ... I'm not a "Republican," thank you.

Um ... I'm not a "Republican," thank you.
yeah you just repeatedly demonize democrats, hold up republicans as super human and better than democrats, demonize liberals, spout pro-republican propaganda and lies and do the things other republicans do

you are your usual hypocritical self

who was talknig to you?
not me
who used the phrase "lopsided politics"?
not you

so please explain to me why you are responding

You asked for an explanation. If the Democrats continue on the path they had this past election, they'll lose even more seats in the House and Senate. I wouldn't be surprised if the Republicans get a filibuster proof majority in the Senate.

Good one, Eutrusca

You asked for an explanation. If the Democrats continue on the path they had this past election, they'll lose even more seats in the House and Senate. I wouldn't be surprised if the Republicans get a filibuster proof majority in the Senate.
i was asking for an explanation.. from the person who made the statement. are you presuming you know what eutrusca meant and what he is thinking?

i was asking for an explanation.. from the person who made the statement. are you presuming you know what eutrusca meant and what he is thinking?

Nope but would you have taken what he said as an explanation or as something else? I know how partisan this board can be!

Um ... I'm not a "Republican," thank you.
Well, maybe you're not a Republican in the sense of being employed by them or holding public office in their name. But you almost never criticise them and very often criticise Democrats. If you stop being so partisan in favour of Republicans maybe people will stop thinking that you are one.

Pourquoi est-ce que c'est mainenant mauvais, parler français? :(

Vive la France! Un jour les américains ne m'importeront pas, parce que je serai un citoyen français.

And I'm really bad at French.