Quote:
Originally posted by ltl/fb
The tax changes that have been made since he took office (I am trying to avoid making it all him -- Congress was of course also involved) is not small if they are all made permanent. The costs just balloon after 2009. It was an underhanded thing -- it looks not that expensive on the surface, in the 5-year and (at the time) 10-year projections, but he knows (or his people know) that once a tax change is passed, no one wants it to sunset (which is the only way those tax changes could be presented as having a relatively small effect on revenue) so they extend it.
And he panders to the religious right, which I don't like. I think he oversees a pretty socially conservative administration -- most notably the FCC guy (yes, I know, now out) and Ashcroft (yes, I know, now also out). It will be interesting to see how this goes in his second term. By appointing people like this, he effectively pushes the country in a more socially conservative direction without having to take any direct action. Also kind of sneaky.
While his foreign policy may not be in the traditional conservative camp, I find his jingoism and cowboy attitude offensive and annoying.
I wouldn't say I see him as a right-wing fanatic, though, so I may not be the audience you are looking for answers from. I just don't like the direction he's taking the country in a fiscal sense (with the sneaky tax cuts and the expansion/addition of a (?) new entitlement program) or a social sense (Ashcroft, FCC, judges he's appointed or tried to appoint, stuff he says -- just by yapping about it, he's making some of the wacky social stuff seem more mainstream).
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I think your main objective is not based on ideology, but rather, party affiliation.
This is sure to get a fun response, but on the whole Bush may be more liberal than Clinton. Think about it:
1. Under Clinton we had surpluses; under Bush we have deficits.
2. Under Clinton, we had a reduction in an entitlement program (i.e., welfare). Under Bush we have an extremely expensive new entitlement program.
3. Under Clinton we had NAFTA and other free trade initiatives. Under Bush we have new tariffs.
4. Both Clinton and Bush subscribe to the "mend it don't end it" line on affirmative action.
5. Both Clinton and Bush were against gay marriage.
6. Bush has increased gross spending for, and has essentially federalized, education.
7. Under Bush we have extensive new regulation of the securities markets.
I could go on, but that should be enough to trigger the wave.
