How did bush govern like a king with at most a 1-2 Senator majority?

[samsingh]

I hope we win the Senate race today, but i'm perplexed that bush the idiot could govern like a king with a one to two senator majority (at most), while we're running scared with a majority of 18 Senators. Are we truly that disorganized and ineffective?

... and bush did this while there was tremendous evidence that both election 'victories' were manufactured (stolen)

... and bush turned his utter incompetance in allowing 911 to happen under his watch (recall the repugs ignored all warnings of the impending attack that Richard Clark kept trying to tell them about) into a repug strength in protecting America.

wtf?

[slackmaster]

1. His chief weapon was fear

Fear, and surprise.

[mac56]

33. And ruthless efficiency.

:rofl:

[samsingh]

57. bush - efficiency? efficient at being a moron.

[JHB]

75. Psst: they're quoting a Monty Python routine

Google "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition"

[lazarus]

80. and a fanatical devotion to the Catholic church

[mac56]

34. oops

edited a dupe!

[GreenPartyVoter]

36. Don't forget the nice red uniforms... Oh wait. I guess they didn't have those. Carry on.

[varelse]

78. Nice one

:rofl:

[SharonAnn]

91. And some Democratic senators voted with the GOP

[havocmom]

2. Ooooo

:popcorn:

This will be amusing.

[samsingh]

90. one less senator on our side - guess we'll have to win with the remaining

sizable majority.

[cliffordu]

3. Cause most of the Dems in congress become

gutless when bullied by the scumsucking sociopaths that are the R's.

[peace frog]

7. Gutless wonders, every one

:thumbsup:

[amborin]

81. agree! and overly "bi-partisan" where did all the genuflecting to rethugs get dems w/ the stimulus

bill? not 1 rethug vote, if i recall correctly

pathetic

[samsingh]

87. they enable the repug evil

[goclark]

4. remember that they stole the election in the first place

They controlled every aspect of our government and they still ontrol the Media, corporate America, CIA, Blackwater and that ability to steal any election they want to ~

[hlthe2b]

5. Those motivated overall by greed--stick together...

and aren't bothered by despicable tactics, including use of fear, lies, deadly wars, if it advances their greedy agenda.

[zanana1]

8. They stuck together. That was their weapon. nt

[katandmoon]

11. +1 and that continues to hold true, and it holds true for those in the exec branch as well

[napi21]

6. Most of his bills were budget items so they used reconciliation

almost all the time! Remember, tax cuts are budgetary items!!!

[regnaD kciN]

16. That's the point: dismantling government is a budgetary matter...

...and can be passed through reconciliation, but programs that regulate an industry aren't and can't. :-(

Another reason why it's easier to destroy than to build -- and the Republicans are masters at destruction.

[HughMoran]

9. War & fear, and using reconciliation for tax cuts

...something reconciliation IS good for as it's budget related.

[Turbineguy]

10. The same way

that a small group of terrorists can hold a large country hostage.

The terrorists can ignore the law.

[Motown_Johnny]

12. Rachel explained it best

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#34517432

[QC]

13. Bush was not mortally afraid of conflict. n/t

[bigtree]

14. a good chunk of our Democratic senators often vote with conservatives

There isn't anywhere near the same number of republicans there who will bend to advance and enact progressive legislation.

[Vincardog]

15. The Conservadems and he worked for the same interests.

[snot]

17. Most Dems are owned by the same oligarchs who own the Repubs,

(along with most of the media).

[HughBeaumont]

18. There are lots of strange questions that need to be answered, for sure.

Such as -

* Why was Family Matters ever popular?

* How is a doorknob like Sarah Palin even remotely qualified to be President when it's obvious she couldn't even run a Burger King successfully, let alone her own family?

* Why is at least 1/3 of this country still fighting the Cold War?

* Why does anyone making under $50,000 per year vote for a candidate who supports layoffs and job offshoring?

* Who thought Clear Pepsi would be a good idea?

* If we taxed no one or nothing, where would the money come from to run this country, short of turning America fascist?

And the #1 puzzler I need to have answered -

* Why are 150 million people so AFRAID of the 5,000 that run this country?

[elmerdem]

69. Why does Chief Justice Roberts

make $268,000 and Judge Judy make million$?

[FarCenter]

19. Most Democrat Senators and Representatives are globalists and imperialists

So foreign trade and foreign military adventures and homeland security always have supermajorities.

[Nye Bevan]

20. Kos had a good piece on this

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/10/14/793218/-Harry-Reid-abdicates-his-leadership-role

Bill Frist never had 60 votes. Bill Frist never cared. Republicans ran the Senate as if they owned the place, even when enjoying razor-thin majorities.

Yet when Democrats took the chamber, the first thing Harry Reid did was complain that he couldn't do anything because he didn't have 60 votes.

Then voters delivered 59 votes. And Harry Reid whined that he still couldn't do anything. In fact, nothing would ever get accomplished unless they had 60, and to do that, they had to bring turncoat Joe Lieberman back into the fold, even though he had spent the previous year making common cause with John McCain and Sarah Palin, even speaking at the Republican National Convention in Minnesota. You see, we were told, Joe Lieberman is with us on everything except the war! So we need him for 60, and when we have 60, everyone will get ponies! And if Lieberman strays, why, Evan Bayh said Senate Democrats could punish him!

.....

[Autumn]

21. A hell of a lot of the

"democrats" helped him. He was loved and respected by all.:sarcasm: (just the last sentence)

[conscious evolution]

22. way to many dino's

Far too many so called democrats are not really democrats but instead are bought and paid for whores for the conglomerates that really run our country.

[samsingh]

83. yes

[JamesA1102]

23. Because the Dems respected the constitution

And didn't abuse the filibuster system to block every piece of legislation.

[treestar]

31. bingo

Dems were not deliberate obstructionists against the good of the nation just for the sake of it.

And 911 helped make it harder to go against anything.

[no limit]

40. And that worked out great, didn't it?

[treestar]

24. I keep seeing this claim

But seem to recall things * wanted but did not get.

He did not rule like a king. He wanted to.

[NorthCarolina]

25. You forget that the DLC portion of the Democratic Party is essentially the GOP wing

of the Democratic Party. Therein lies the difference.

[jgraz]

35. BINGO. Bush had a far larger majority than just the Repukes.

And true Democrats have a far smaller majority than what the current numbers suggest. Which is why the 60 vote canard is such bullshit.

[NorthCarolina]

38. Exactly. eom

[leftstreet]

63. +1

[JetCityLiberal]

67. Yep. They run the show now.

[Individualist]

71. +1

[Nite Owl]

26. The dems were 'bipartisan'

All those dems who we have to cater to now voted with the GOP. the GOP also held together.

[samsingh]

76. we get kicked around by the repugs when we act civil.

[newspeak]

82. Chaffee was on TV and said that (I believe) before the swearing in

a meeting was convened with Cheney, who basically told the repuke congresscritters that there would be no compromises with the democrats. It was all going to be their way; after all, they had an agenda to complete. I believe that there are corporate democrats who voted with the repukes--but, when something was so greedy or against the people, I believe they used coercion and threats. It was a repuke senator who publicly stated on *'s screw the people pharma bill that he was threatened (I believe his son was going into politics and they would shut him out.)

Delay, Kenny Boy Lay, Abramoff--sweet deal partisan government contracts, money unaccounted for in Iraq, corrupt contractors-all *'s baby. Most of the repukes were complicit, but so were some of the democrats.

[robinlynne]

27. yep.

[still_one]

28. because we have Democrats who are conservative. For the most part, the republican party has

through the years sent the message that they will not tolerate any moderate, yet alone liberal republicans

[Ozymanithrax]

29. Because Democrats believed in governing. Republicans believe in shitting the Government down...

if they are not in control.

[andym]

30. Did they privatize SS? Did they do away with Medicare? etc

The Republican sacred dream of shrinking government did not happen during the Bush era.
If they even dreamed of trying, the democratic minority was large enough to filibuster anything too draconian.

[havocmom]

48. Insurance Mandate is about the same as SS Privatization: $ to Wall Street

Insurance companies do not put the money in coffee cans in the office; they play the casino that is The Street. Mandated insurance purchase = forcing workers/middle class to invest in stocks whether they can afford to play that casino or not. Just used the Insurance Companies as the money launderers.

[andym]

68. Then why are HCR stocks predicted to go up if HCR fails?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7486317

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x134800

Btw, I'm not for the current bill-- but something is weird. It seems the insurers and their investors prefer the status quo.

[havocmom]

77. Not talking about insurance company stocks.

Making note of the fact that insurance companies take some of the premiums we pay and invest in other stocks on the market. The mandate means they will have more money to tote over to Wall Street for more investments. It's Wall Street that gains.

We dodged the privatization of SS, and Wall Street really tumbled. They need an influx of cash. The private investor of moderate has pretty well lost any money for or stomach for investing after the ENRON mess then the economy tanking, putting so many out of work or on seriously restrained budgets. Wall Street needs new cash, always. They didn't get forced payments out of our checks when the scam to privatize SS failed. So, a mandate to buy a product that buys stocks is an end run around payroll deductions going directly to the Street.

Money junkies using the force of the US government to shake down the peasants is just not acceptable, but it is hidden via the Mandate. Result is same though.

[andym]

88. Interesting theory, but why would the entire market

go up today, even the bank and investment stocks, eg Goldman Sachs was up 1.65 to 166.96. Bank of America was up 0.06. Citibank was up 0.12 to 3.54. The banks and investment houses would suffer the most if your idea is correct.

Wouldn't the potential loss of funding weigh heavily on investors' minds, and them and the market sharply down?

[Bumblebee]

32. Because Dems are easily frightened while GOP always stick to their guns

Now there are just 40 of them and they still rule, in many ways.

[Tesha]

37. Because a significant number of "Democratic" senators actually support the Republican platform...

More than they support the Democratic platform.

Tesha

[Freddie Stubbs]

39. He didn't

That is why his tax cuts are set to expire. They used reconciliation to pass them.

[90-percent]

41. Because

Because our country is now a full blown corporate fascist state and our elected reps no longer feel compelled to represent voters. They only represent campaign contributers.

another term to describe our current state:

TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION

Enjoy it, folks. I don't see anything changing any time soon.

There's also lots of other good posts on the issue preceding this mediocre one.

Good insights, my fellow travelers.

-90% Jimmy

[Deep13]

42. Here's a picture of some of the Senate Democrats.

Hope that answers your question.

[jobycom]

43. The Republicans don't kill each other.

They are willing to make sacrifices to get something done. A lot of Democrats act as though anything that varies from their fondest wishes by a hair's breadth is a sellout and is worse than doing nothing.

Also, from a political standpoint, the Republicans have controlled statehouses long enough to have drawn the congressional districting map to their advantage. They have a lot of safe seats, whereas the Democrats are barely hanging on in a lot of areas, and have to be moderate to conservative to win in districts drawn for Republicans.

Also, the Republicans rarely try to achieve anything that requires change. People are afraid of change, and have to be sold on it. Bush didn't try to change anything, he just went along with what people are used to--wars, tax cuts, deficit spending without questioning, flags, apple pies, and whatever else inspired the masses.

Also, Bush actually fought for what he wanted. He made a case for war, for instance, directly to the American people, and then worked the Congress to shore up support. Clinton did that a lot, too, working swing votes on controversial legislation. That's how he was able to pass his works programs and his tax bill. He beat Gingrich when Gingrich kept passing his "roll back America to pre-FDR days" budgets. Clinton shut the government down rather than give in, and he got enough of his minority of Congress to support him to maintain his veto.

Obama has no executive experience. He's a legislator, and legislators get things done by compromising and finding common ground. He went from a local legislator to president in four years, and spent most of that time campaigning. He's essentially a local politician who became president, so he's still learning his job. Give him time, he might do some powerful things, but right now he's learning the job. People were willing to wait when they voted for him (it was said over and over that he wouldn't be ready from "day one"), but now they aren't having patience with him.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

44. Dems have a majority but it's much closer to parity than 60-40 due to "Blue Dogs".

[kristopher]

45. The same reason we are in the present pickle.

The DLC.

[Pryderi]

46. BECAUSE UNLIKE DEMOCRATS [LIKE MANY HERE], THE REPUGS UNDERSTAND PARTY LOYALTY!

[Kablooie]

47. Just like now, the Dems are very concerned with keeping the GOP happy.

[Name removed]

49. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Blue Owl]

53. exactly

And I'm starting to feel like the idiot in the audience who gets splashed by the squirting waterbottle stunt.

This joke isn't funny anymore.

[invictus]

50. D L C

[leeroysphitz]

51. Obama must not be as good a decider. n/t

[lsewpershad]

52. I was thinking

the same thing when I posted earlier. Anyway I could not have said it better.

[DoBotherMe]

54. With veiled threats,

Intimidation, criminal acts, agitprop ... Aka "the "culture of corruption". It was a nightmare and outrage everyday watching from the wings, I can't imagine what it was like on the stage. Dana ; )

[dionysus]

55. anthrax.

[Golden Raisin]

56. 1) Signing statements. Bush dictatorially

picked and chose which parts of laws he'd obey/enforce or not.
2) Republican Unity. They vote as a block and stay in lockstep when required.
3) Fear (Dick Cheney has everybody's FBI files).

[Sebastian Doyle]

58. Chimp didn't have a dozen RLC Democrats in Repuke clothing trying to undermine his party.

Actually, maybe there should BE an "RLC". I'd start one, but I couldn't stand to call myself a "Republican" even in name only. :puke:

[Doctor_J]

59. Big media reporting every one of his lies as fact

not just hate radio & Fox "News" - every last member of Big media was under his thumb.

[Ganja Ninja]

60. He got what he wanted for the same reason we aren't getting what we want.

We have at the very least a half dozen to a dozen Democrats in the Senate that are not real Democrats. They are DINO's and don't belong in the party. They are giving the impression that the Democrats are in control when they aren't. We would be better off as a party without them.

[uponit7771]

61. ****BUSH HAD TOM DELAY OBAMA HAS "...I DON'T WORK FOR HIM....." HARRY REID****

[uponit7771]

62. a lot of reconciliation votes....TONS of them!!!

[texasleo]

64. Because Texans get shit done!

I can accept many definitions of "shit."

[Bragi]

65. He had no illusions about bipartisanship

Instill enough political fear into opponents, and bipartisanship looks after itself.

[midnight armadillo]

79. Excellent point

Don't mind if I steal that for use around the office, do you?

[Bragi]

95. I hereby bequeath this talkiung point to you

Use it in good health!

- B

[branders seine]

66. it says a lot about the true nature of our two parties.

A lot more than some here want to hear.

[Warren DeMontague]

70. Because when they "win", or even come close to a tie, they win.

When we win, even big, they still win.

[WI_DEM]

72. He didn't propose massive overhauls like health care and got his tax cuts on reconciliation.

[Individualist]

73. Neocon enabling DLC members

[newtothegame]

74. I've never understood that...

That we can call Bush the biggest idiot in the world, yet talk about all the things he did and got away with in the same breath.

[HughBeaumont]

98. Bush WAS an idiot. The people that ran Bush, Inc. weren't idiots.

They knew exactly what they were doing all along. They were great accomplices.

[jillan]

84. He just made up his mind and got it done.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

85. Don't forget the anthrax mailed to Daschle and Leahy. And I've often wondered

precisely what when on during MONTHS of a $40-million EPA "cleanup" in the Senate Office Building during fall and winter 2001-2, and whether any Democrats' secret documents somehow made their way to the Bush White House during that period.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_anthrax_attacks .

[arthritisR_US]

86. reconciliation. n/t

[BlueStater]

89. Because Democrats are spineless wimps who cower to Republicans.

They had it all and they blew it. They really fucking blew it. I couldn't be more ashamed if I tried.

[samsingh]

92. i feel that way too

- the Presidency won by a huge margin
- 58 Senators + 2 independents
- huge majority in the house

high approval numbers
8 years of bush failures

and we still can't pass meaningful Healthcare.


makes you wonder what the true agendas really are.

[rcrush]

93. true

[mmonk]

94. Three letters:

DLC

[samsingh]

96. gop

[mmonk]

97. With such a slim margin in the Senate,

they could not have done it without help.