Quote:
Originally posted by Superbelt
You are right. I don't agree with you list.
Marginally the strategic oil reserves could count, but that is such a minor thing.
It would be ok that he tried to stop 527's. But it gets negated that he ignored the predominantly republican backing 501(c)'s.
501(c)'s include Nature conservancy, AARP, religious groups (such as the National Right to Life Committee), and the NRA.
These tax exempt groups are allowed to use their tax exempt donations to run political ads and Bush has a huge advantage on this front.
If it wasn't clear that fighting the 527's was just a political maneuver to give him an advantage I would applaud that action as well.
No it's not. The private companies that are going to provide the benefits have a horrible weapon on their side. Citizens must pick a card and stick with it for one full year. But the (HMO's) don't have to keep their benefits stable, only the membership costs. For example, An HMO could start off offering 60% off of a heart medication and then two months later drop that percentage to 15% and royally screw everyone who depends on that.
We backed off that and we are giving them aid again in exchange for not producing weapons.
I think that was one of our biggest problems. Bush focused on the impotent Saddam while Kim Jong and Osama etc were allowed to run around doing what they wanted.
|
This is precisely why I was hesitant to post a list. You've ignored a central point that I made about the simple fact that anyone who can only find one or two examples of good from a leader in four years isn't trying.
In response to your criticisms of my list:
There are 501cs on both sides of the fence and they differ in that they are not purely political organizations. They are typically geared towards a specific cause first and the political support is an offshoot of that cause. Groups like Move On stand for what cause exactly that isn't motivated purely by politics?
In terms of the Prescription Drug Benefit your arguments hold no water in relation to my point. You assume the HMOs will do this when it's the antithesis of what they need to do to make money. How many Seniors will renew or sign up for that card if they followed your business model? Seniors with high drug costs are better off with the card than without it. These cards force prices down because the prices are listed along with the card description. The companies administering these cards will only be profitable if they can convince people to sign up and renew. They can only do that by offering the best prices on the drugs the seniors in their geographic areas use. I work in the pharmaceutical industry and not a single person has ever said "oh boy this is a boon for us".
Osama has been allowed to run around doing whatever he wanted? I presume one of his biggest wants is to attack the US again. Haven't seen that happen since 9/11 though. The only reason we know about Kim Jong Il's nuclear program is because Bush cut him off. Otherwise we'd still be in the dark and been paying him off for the last several years.