Why Do 33% Of Americans Still Like Bush?, by Trebor Chram
Whenever I watch a TV news show on a conservative station like FOX, I hardly ever hear any positive attributes about George Bush. I do hear some on the side of religion, as he politically shows support for their major causes regarding abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research, etc. Also some say that his tax cuts (they don't say "to the wealthy") promote increase in business and employment.
However, most of the time when I read, watch or listen to these right wing pundits, they spend their time, 1, defending Bush from some recent catastrophe, or 2. attacking "unpatriotic" Democrats and Liberals who have spoken out against their leader. In most cases they will use degrading adjectives to describe their enemies. They will call them wimps, unpatriotic, and then some down and dirty words I don't like to use.
Hardly ever do I hear, read or watch them debate the problem at hand. In fact, it's as if there is no problem.
They act as if all is going well in Iraq, Bush had nothing to do with the Katrina/FEMA problems, Bush does not approve of torture, The U.S. does not send detainees to secret prisons to be tortured. It's ok to hold detainees for years without the benefit of judicial process since they are "enemy combatants" and not "prisoners of war". And the latest reason for this war is about regime change and democracy for Iraq - not WMDs.
If 33% of Americans believe President George W. Bush is doing a good job, the question I ask is. "Why do these Americans like him?"
In my opinion, the reasons are varied.
1. Many of these people must be hard-core Conservatives or Republicans, following their leader "right or wrong".
2. The ones who are conservatives and Republicans probably love him because the left hates him. They elected Bush. Bush is a Republican. Liberals and Democrats hate him. So, they support him. They don't make mistakes when electing their leader.
3. In this 33%, you have the very wealthy that may not even care if Bush is a Republican or a Democrat. All they care is that Bush gives them large tax cuts. These are people who believe in being rich no matter what and the more money they get from their president, the more they love him. As long as the war and his other agenda does not hit them negatively, they want him to remain in power. This is the same group throughout the world that always supported right wing dictatorships. These dictators were smart enough not to disrupt property and wealth of the upper classes, so they remained happy and never complained.
4. Even today, many in this 33% still believe the Bush Administration propaganda infused in them through the media before the war that Saddam and Iraq were directly involved in 9/11 and that Saddam was an imminent and direct threat to the United States. Bush defended them from this tyrannical dictator and now protects them during his war on terror. They see the Democrats as being weak in protecting this nation against the evil empires. They believe most of what the propaganda media of FOX News and other major conservative newspapers and radio pundits tell them. Many of these are the ones that see themselves back in the Wild West with a Texas Sheriff who single-handed hunts down criminals before they even commit any crimes. Since he is protecting them, these citizens don't mind if he tortures these possible criminals. if he holds them in his jail without telling anyone and without judicial protection.
5. Bush is known as a born-again-Christian and as such can do no wrong in the eyes of fundamental Christian groups in this country. Although we cringe when we hear Arab countries that want to follow the Islamic Sharia Law in their governments because of the pain and suffering and death it causes their citizenship, many Christians in this country would like to infuse Christianity and religion into government and laws of the US. Bush pleases this group by citing his religious beliefs by claiming to be against abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research, and by approving of government funding for religious charities. Just when he was loosing some of this support, prior to the coming November elections, he proposed a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages. He knew there was no wide support for approval of this amendment, but that was not his goal. His intention was to win back some of the religious support he may have lost by not doing more for Christian groups during his five years in office. It doesn't hurt whenever he mentions that he speaks to God and that God has guided him in his work.
6. There is a percentage of people in this country and part of this 33% that are basically ignorant. Not stupid, but just ignorant of what is going on around them politically. They would even support Bush if he were a Democrat. These are people who have generally good-paying jobs and feel secure. They have some leisure time. They don't have major money problems. They read mainly the headlines and don't dig any further into the news. They don't hear or believe that people suffer in this country from hunger or from lack of medical services. They don't hear or care about suffering around the world or those wounded or dead from wars, famines, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc. They have it good. They pay their taxes. The Patriot Act or the NSA wiretaps don't affect them as "they have nothing to hide". They don't break the laws in their towns. There are no gays in their immediate circle. Socially, most of them are a homogeneous group. None of their children are fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan. If it's not broken, don't fix it.
7. Finally, there is also a group that is very respectful of authority, no matter if good or bad. They are the ones I would categorize as stupid or brain-washed. These believe if someone is elected to be the President of the great nation of the United States, they can do no wrong. Anything this president does is only for the good of its citizens. This president is honest, able and has no personal gain in this job. He is only there for you. If he attacks, it's because he is right in attacking. If he tortures, it's because he is defending us. He would never hurt us. He, after all, works for us and he does our bidding. He loves us like a father.
Trebor Chram identifies himself as "a liberal Florida resident who 'woke up' when the Bush nightmare was unfolding." This article first appeared in Planet of the Chimps.
However, most of the time when I read, watch or listen to these right wing pundits, they spend their time, 1, defending Bush from some recent catastrophe, or 2. attacking "unpatriotic" Democrats and Liberals who have spoken out against their leader. In most cases they will use degrading adjectives to describe their enemies. They will call them wimps, unpatriotic, and then some down and dirty words I don't like to use.
Hardly ever do I hear, read or watch them debate the problem at hand. In fact, it's as if there is no problem.
They act as if all is going well in Iraq, Bush had nothing to do with the Katrina/FEMA problems, Bush does not approve of torture, The U.S. does not send detainees to secret prisons to be tortured. It's ok to hold detainees for years without the benefit of judicial process since they are "enemy combatants" and not "prisoners of war". And the latest reason for this war is about regime change and democracy for Iraq - not WMDs.
If 33% of Americans believe President George W. Bush is doing a good job, the question I ask is. "Why do these Americans like him?"
In my opinion, the reasons are varied.
1. Many of these people must be hard-core Conservatives or Republicans, following their leader "right or wrong".
2. The ones who are conservatives and Republicans probably love him because the left hates him. They elected Bush. Bush is a Republican. Liberals and Democrats hate him. So, they support him. They don't make mistakes when electing their leader.
3. In this 33%, you have the very wealthy that may not even care if Bush is a Republican or a Democrat. All they care is that Bush gives them large tax cuts. These are people who believe in being rich no matter what and the more money they get from their president, the more they love him. As long as the war and his other agenda does not hit them negatively, they want him to remain in power. This is the same group throughout the world that always supported right wing dictatorships. These dictators were smart enough not to disrupt property and wealth of the upper classes, so they remained happy and never complained.
4. Even today, many in this 33% still believe the Bush Administration propaganda infused in them through the media before the war that Saddam and Iraq were directly involved in 9/11 and that Saddam was an imminent and direct threat to the United States. Bush defended them from this tyrannical dictator and now protects them during his war on terror. They see the Democrats as being weak in protecting this nation against the evil empires. They believe most of what the propaganda media of FOX News and other major conservative newspapers and radio pundits tell them. Many of these are the ones that see themselves back in the Wild West with a Texas Sheriff who single-handed hunts down criminals before they even commit any crimes. Since he is protecting them, these citizens don't mind if he tortures these possible criminals. if he holds them in his jail without telling anyone and without judicial protection.
5. Bush is known as a born-again-Christian and as such can do no wrong in the eyes of fundamental Christian groups in this country. Although we cringe when we hear Arab countries that want to follow the Islamic Sharia Law in their governments because of the pain and suffering and death it causes their citizenship, many Christians in this country would like to infuse Christianity and religion into government and laws of the US. Bush pleases this group by citing his religious beliefs by claiming to be against abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research, and by approving of government funding for religious charities. Just when he was loosing some of this support, prior to the coming November elections, he proposed a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages. He knew there was no wide support for approval of this amendment, but that was not his goal. His intention was to win back some of the religious support he may have lost by not doing more for Christian groups during his five years in office. It doesn't hurt whenever he mentions that he speaks to God and that God has guided him in his work.
6. There is a percentage of people in this country and part of this 33% that are basically ignorant. Not stupid, but just ignorant of what is going on around them politically. They would even support Bush if he were a Democrat. These are people who have generally good-paying jobs and feel secure. They have some leisure time. They don't have major money problems. They read mainly the headlines and don't dig any further into the news. They don't hear or believe that people suffer in this country from hunger or from lack of medical services. They don't hear or care about suffering around the world or those wounded or dead from wars, famines, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc. They have it good. They pay their taxes. The Patriot Act or the NSA wiretaps don't affect them as "they have nothing to hide". They don't break the laws in their towns. There are no gays in their immediate circle. Socially, most of them are a homogeneous group. None of their children are fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan. If it's not broken, don't fix it.
7. Finally, there is also a group that is very respectful of authority, no matter if good or bad. They are the ones I would categorize as stupid or brain-washed. These believe if someone is elected to be the President of the great nation of the United States, they can do no wrong. Anything this president does is only for the good of its citizens. This president is honest, able and has no personal gain in this job. He is only there for you. If he attacks, it's because he is right in attacking. If he tortures, it's because he is defending us. He would never hurt us. He, after all, works for us and he does our bidding. He loves us like a father.
Trebor Chram identifies himself as "a liberal Florida resident who 'woke up' when the Bush nightmare was unfolding." This article first appeared in Planet of the Chimps.
posted by Lomstradamus at 6:17 PM
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