BOR: - George W. Bush

GOP Rep. Mike Conaway Very Pro-Spending When it Comes to George W. Bush's Childhood Home

Ben Sherman — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 18:24:35 GMT

ThinkProgress revealed yesterday just how much Rep. Mike Conaway of Midland loves government spending when it's for his friends. He's trying to get the Department of the Interior to fund the George W. Bush childhood home as part of the Park Service:

A ThinkProgress review of legislative correspondence with the U.S. Department of the Interior revealed that on September 11, 2012, Conaway wrote Secretary Ken Salazar to request a "reconnaissance Survey" of a potential new national park location. According to the log, Conaway's letter asked that the National Park Service "look at the possibility of adding the George W. Bush childhood home as a unit of the Park Service."

The Midland congressman was the chief financial officer of George W. Bush's Bush Exploration oil company that managed to fail in the thick of the 1980's Texas oil boom. Naturally, he was elected to Congress in 2004 on a platform of fiscal responsibility. Since then, he's been a rank and file Republican calling for lower government spending on everything except for corporate subsidies. In 2006, Rep. Conaway introduced the Fuel Consumption Education Act to "appropriate $10 million for U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to create a public-private partnership with industry and launch a TV, print and Internet advertising campaign" including "[a]utomotive, gas refining and oil companies".

In response to President Obama's State of the Union this month, Rep. Conaway said: "Halting the rise in borrowing isn't enough; we must learn to live within our means and break our dependence on deficit spending." Apparently to Rep. Conaway, the government starting to spending money every year on George W. Bush's childhood home would be "living within our means." It's not as though Park Service units are cheap; Josh Israel of ThinkProgress notes that the John F. Kennedy National Historical Site receives more than $500,000 every year and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site receives more than $4 million annually.

George W. Bush is one of America's least popular presidents in history, and his Midland home was never in the public eye. Bill Clinton, on the other hand, made his background in Hope, Arkansas a central part of his political story and his childhood home is now part of the Park Service. So what's the case for adding the George W. Bush childhood home to the Park Service? There isn't one.

New (George P.) Bush Money, Same As Old Bush Money

Joe Deshotel — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:20:33 GMT

George P. Bush has officially entered the field for statewide office and is giving the Texas Republican establishment a run for its money, literally. The fresh face has raised over $1.35 million from some less than fresh sources, 90% of which come from Texas and Florida. His biggest contributors include homebuilder Bob Perry, his uncle and former President George Bush, his father Jeb Bush and a host of oil and gas interests. At least 10 of his top donors were "Pioneer" fundraising bundlers for either of his uncle's Presidential campaigns and over 10% or $113,300 came directly from Bush family members.

Other than his obvious pedigree his political experience includes Co-founding the Hispanic Republicans of Texas and as National Co-Chair of Maverick PAC. His candidacy could upset the establishment's natural line of succession but it also has many looking at whether he can bring more Hispanic voters into the Republican fold. He has expressed that he is a "mainstream Republican" with Tea Party sympathies and told Wolf Blitzer in a 2012 interview that what he, "love[s] about the [Republican] Party is that its extremely diverse", and is an "advocate of the big tent theory". He has currently expressed interest in running for Texas Land Commissioner but has left the door open to a higher profile office (likely Attorney General or Governor) depending on what signal Rick Perry sends at the end of the session. He told the Texas Tribune this week that, "in the grand scheme of things, this session, in terms of state politics, is really going to dictate what the '14 election cycle looks like."

Hat tip to Texans for Public Justice for the research.

George Bush: The Leader of the New Texas GOP?

David Feigen — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:00:00 GMT

Texas Republicans have an answer to critics who charge they are ignoring demographic changes and are unwilling to evolve. They have an answer to those who claim that Republicans need a fresh start and a significant re-branding if they hope to survive. They have found the answer of who can be a leader of the Texas Republican Party through this difficult time. Their answer, is George Bush.

No, unfortunately I'm not talking about the "misunderestimated" former President in hiding, but his nephew, George Prescott Bush.

The Washington Post reported last week that George P. Bush had made the necessary campaign filings to run for office in Texas. For a few days speculation of what office that might be circulated around Texas political circles. Unfortunately, it appears, we will not see Bush challenge George Bush impersonator Governor Rick Perry, in what would be an enormously entertaining Republican Civil War. At least not yet.

Reports indicate that Bush is eyeing the job of Texas Land Commissioner, who authorizes exploration and exploitation of public lands. Generally, this includes leasing for gas and oil production, mining, grazing, and monitoring the environmental quality of public lands and waters.

The news was broken by Bush's father, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, in a fundraising letter . Governor Bush writes, "The office that George is considering running for is Land Commissioner which overseas the mineral rights, commercial real estate owned and sovereign submerged lands of the State of Texas as well as veterans affairs and historic archives." He goes on to praise George's accomplishments and record and pleads for a donation to his campaign.

The Bush family's reemergence into Texas politics through George P. Bush was inevitable. Bush has been building his brand through his work as the co-founder of Hispanic Republicans of Texas, a group that seeks to elect Hispanic candidates, and in his outreach to college students.

Even Texas Republicans are smart enough to understand that they have a big problem with the increasingly active and vocal Latino population, and this George Bush will play a pivotal role in their plan to compete. It would be wise to view this move by Bush as the start of much bigger plans. Fox News Latino (Yes this actually exists) even wrote that George P. Bush has begun his "road to the White House." This is premature of course, but Texas Democrats need to understand the potential significance and ramifications of the return of the Bush machine.

I would hope our nation is smart enough not to elect a third George Bush to the Presidency. As a wise President once said, "Fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again."

Texas Democrat and Former Statewide Officeholder Bob Gammage Passed Away

Todd Hill — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 20:50:16 GMT

It is with sadness that I report to all of you the loss of a real Texas political giant, and Yellow Dog Democrat, Bob Gammage. From KXAN:

Robert Gammage, a reform-minded Texas lawmaker who was part of the renouned "Dirty Thirty" in the early 1970s and then made an ill-fated run for governor in 2006, died Monday at age 74.
Gammage, who for several years operated a law firm in Austin, represented part of Harris County in the Texas House, the state Senate and in Congress. He also was a state appeals court judge and served on the Texas Supreme for four years in the 1990s.

I'll never forget July 7, 2003 sitting in a little coffee shop in Arlington, Texas near the University of Texas campus. It was at that coffee shop that I arrived not with an intent to learn about former Supreme Allied Commander General Wesley Clark, but convince all the people in attendance why he was the best choice for the Democratic ticket against George W. Bush in 2004. It didn't take much convincing for Bob Gammage to pledge his full support toward drafting General Clark to enter the Democratic primary that season, and subsequently stumping across the country on his behalf either. It was a tireless and selfless act of patriotism--quite rare these days in politics--and something I certainly had never seen before, yet was proud to be part of. Bob didn't hesitate to hand the reins of the Clark effort over to a wet behind the ears political student with a full-time job, full-time college schedule, and a part-time political organizing gig either. When I asked him later why he entrusted so much responsibility and leadership opportunity in me he said, "You got something kid that other kids don't have in being able to work in this field, motivate people, lead and to do it all for a purpose of good! So why not you!?"

I'm not so sure a better statement represents the level of integrity that was reflective of Bob. Mr. Gammage believed in mentoring, training and empowering up-and-coming leaders in the Texas Democratic Party. In fact his biggest passion wasn't politics it was education where he enjoyed being in front of the classroom and helping shape the minds of young Texans. When I asked him one time what he thought his biggest failure in life was he said, "I'm not sure I can think of my biggest failure, but I can name my greatest failure and hands down it is Patrick Swayze!" When I asked him why Patrick Swayze he said, "because he was my student and I asked him one day why he didn't come to class, why he wasn't interested in the subject matter, and what I could do to help him to get more interested in the subject matter. Patrick told me that he was interested in acting and had a passion for it. So I told him well then-- by God--go act!" Vintage Gammage advice.

He and his wife Linda opened so many doors, and blazed so many trails for so many young Texans just like me. I have no doubt in my mind that I'm a better man because I was blessed to be mentored by one of the "dirty 30 bastards!"

Original Cartoon: "Eastwooding"

bartholoviews — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 05:23:23 GMT

Clint Eastwood's empty Obama chair still beats the chair George W. Bush sat in.

Copyright © 2012 Richard Bartholomew, All Rights Reserved

See more cartoons from Richard Bartholomew at Bartholoviews.

Original Cartoon: "Blaming Obama"

bartholoviews — Sun, 27 May 2012 05:23:50 GMT

Barack Obama is blamed for George W. Bush's actions.

Copyright © 2012 Richard Bartholomew, All Rights Reserved

See more cartoons from Richard Bartholomew at Bartholoviews.

Senator John Cornyn is Dead Wrong on Torture

Libby Shaw — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:40:16 GMT

And just about everything else.

Cross posted on Texas Kaos.

Why is it that Texans get stuck with gawd awful lawmakers who are completely out of synch with the majority of sentiments and beliefs held by the American people? Why do they continue to serve as endless sources of shame, ignorance and embarrassment to those they supposedly represent? Why do they continue to bring the scorn of the rest of the nation into our living rooms on an almost daily basis? Tom Delay, Karl Rove, Alberto Gonzales and George W. Bush, Harriet Miers and Karen Hughes comprise the short list of Texas jackasses. It will take at least four Presidential Administrations to clean up after them. We will endure very hard times in the process, thanks to the brilliance of the Texas Brigade of Douche Nozzles.

W. & Co. may have left Washington but tragically we have other jackasses who are serving there. One of the biggest, John Cornyn, held up the nomination of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier this week. Of course he voted for Clinton when it was all said and done. Cornyn's intentions were merely a typical douche nozzle style political stunt. He and his right wing nutjob buddies are gunning for Hillary just like they went after Bill during his Presidency. While the right wing extremists railed against Clinton over inane silliness, Osama bin Laden busily plotted and schemed against us. Washington was too tied up in knots over Monica to notice.

Obstructing Clinton's confirmation did not satisfy Cornyn. No folks, he is doing another douche nozzle dance that brings us more scorn. The jackass became yet a bigger jackass by throwing a road block into the path of Attorney General Nominee Eric Holder, too. It seems that Cornyn doesn't have a problem with torture. Holder does. So do the majority of the American people.
According to an article written by Glenn Greenwald in Salon.com, a wide margin, 58-40%, Americans believe

torture should never be used, no matter the circumstances.

Did you read that Big John? Fifty-eight percent of us say NO, never, ever, no matter the circumstances.

One of the most common and most corrosive aspects of our political discourse is the endless assertions -- based on nothing -- about what "Americans believe." It is exceedingly conventional wisdom that Americans generally view the world through the prism of Jack Bauer and therefore want our government to torture, want Guantanamo kept opened, and do not want suspected Terrorists to be tried in civilian courts inside the U.S.
It is even more commonly asserted that Americans do not want, and even further, would never tolerate, criminal investigations into the various crimes of Bush officials.

Americans would not tolerate investigations into the various crimes of Bush officials? Only a right wing neonut or those who know they committed crimes would believe this.

A new poll by theThe Washington Post/ABC News negates all of those beliefs. Here was the question that was asked about torture -- note that it's phrased in the most pro-torture manner possible, because it is grounded in the ludicrous, 24-clichéd "ticking time bomb" excuse that is the most commonly used argument by torture advocates:

Cornyn belongs to the "24-cliched ticking time bomb" torture club.

Q. Obama has said that under his administration the United States will not use torture as part of the U.S. campaign against terrorism, no matter what the circumstance. Do you support this position not to use torture, or do you think there are cases in which the United States should consider torture against terrorism suspects?
By a wide margin -- 58-40% -- Americans say that torture should never be used, no matter the circumstances. Let's repeat that: "no matter the circumstance." That margin is enormous among Democrats (71-28%) and substantial among independents (56-43%). As usual these days, Republicans hold the minority view, but even among them there is substantial categorical opposition to torture (42-55%).

Most of us loath Gitmo, too.

Moreover, a majority of Americans (53-42%) favor the closing of Guantanamo, with large support among Democrats (68%) and independents (55%). Even more significantly, a very solid majority of those favoring the closing of Guantanamo recognize exactly what ought to be done with detainees who the government believes are guilty of terrorism-related crimes -- it's exactly what the ACLU and civil libertarians generally urge be done:
One reason for Obama's order on judicial proceedings is to figure out just how to handle those suspects, and among those in the new poll who want Gitmo closed, more than six in 10 said they should be put on trial in the regular U.S. court system. A third said they'd like them to face justice in their home countries.

The majority of the American people want the Bush Administration investigated for its potentially illegal practices.

Even more surprisingly for spouters of conventional wisdom, a majority of Americans (50-47%) believe that the Obama administration should investigate whether the Bush administration's treatment of detainees was illegal. When asked: "Do you think the Obama administration should or should not investigate whether any laws were broken in the way terrorism suspects were treated under the Bush administration?," Democrats overwhelmingly favor such investigations (69%), while Republicans oppose them by the same margin, and independents are slightly against.

Not surprisingly Republicans are not in favor of investigations, very likely because most would end up in prison themselves.

I think we should pay John Cornyn another social call over Holder's obstruction. I'll be more than happy to provide him with the poll results above.

Contact info.:

http://cornyn.senate.gov/publi...
fax (202-228-2856) or telephone (202-224-2934)

Life is hell in Texas when jackasses are elected.

Are we ready for campaign finance reform yet?

Take the Pledge: No More Republican Voodoo Economics

Libby Shaw — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 01:56:28 GMT

(Cross posted on Texas Kaos and Daily Kos.)

Ever again.

First step: Stop believing in the myths and the lies. Think of the zealots who embrace faith based free markets as the embodiment of the host of the Who Wants to be a Millionaire show in Slum Dog Millionaire - a complex film that covers the spectrums of fantasy, hope, love, renewal, abject poverty, cruelty, hate, murder, evil, greed, torture, lawlessness, corruption and suffering. Fast forward to the great gambling houses of Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, to name just two of many. Next visualize Sarah Palin who squandered 200K of other folk's money on her personal spending sprees. And the crowning jewel of free market insanity, Bernard Madoff, gets the prize for one of the worst spawned by the Republican voodoo economics ideologues.

Second Step: Stop being stupid.

In a New York Times editorial on Saturday entitled Stop Being Stupid, Bob Herbert reminds us of just how downright brainless and clueless we have become over the last several years.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12...
In his article Mr. Herbert refers in principle to the right wing policies and ideologies of the Bush Administration and those of the RNC. And yet at the same time Herbert reminds we-the-people that we too have played our own enabling role in the current financial debacle.

And so have the U.S. press and corporate media who have willfully signed on as stenographers if not outright propagandists for the Republican right wing agenda of the last decade.

Indeed, collectively as lawmakers, journalists, voters, borrowers and credit card users alike, we all drank from the same toxic well. Few if any of us asked about its toxicity levels before imbibing its poison.

Regulators and gatekeepers joined in the mix and together all of us held power hour after power hour of tossing back shots, one after another, of a very poisonous brew. We grew drunk, silly and stupid on perceptions of mythical make believe money and fairy tale wealth. The more we grew silly, dumb, dazed and confused, the richer and more empowered and emboldened Bush Co. grew.

It is time to stop self-destructing, folks.

Look around you. We have behaved in ways that were incredibly, astonishingly and embarrassingly stupid for much too long. We've wrecked the economy and mortgaged the future of generations yet unborn. We don't even know if we'll have an automobile industry in the coming years. It's time to stop the self-destruction.

Mr. Herbert urges the U.S. government to stop spending money on unnecessary wars overseas. Instead it would be far more helpful and productive to invest in the overall well being of Americans and the health of our economy at home.

Herbert also implores us to stop spending money that we simply do not have. He cites Bernard Madoff, The Swindler of all Swindling, who admitted to the FBI that he paid investors with money "that was not really there." How on earth Madoff could pay investors with nothing is beyond me, but he did it and he got away with it for decades. Had his sons not turned him in, Bernie Boy Made Off would still be in the business of paying investors with a mythical perception of money.

Go figure.

It is time to dispel the mythologies fabricated by the greed mongers, i.e. the Masters of the Universe on Wall Street, their right wing enablers in Washington and their complicit partners in the corporate media.

Somehow, over the past few decades, that has become the American way: to pay for things - from wars to Wall Street bonuses to flat-screen TVs to video games - with money that wasn't there.

Buying things with money that is not there will exact a heavy toll especially in the big leagues when there are no restraints placed on predatory sharks and drunken wild cowboy types on Wall St. and their partners in Washington.

Something for nothing became the order of the day. You want to invade Iraq? Convince yourself that oil revenues out of Baghdad will pay for it. (Meanwhile, carve out another deficit channel in the federal budget.) You want to pump up profits in the financial sector? End the oversight and let the lunatics in the asylum run wild.

The drive to keep up with the Joneses by using fairy tale home loans and credit cards corrupted by usury level interest rates and loan shark styled late fees may not have been such a good idea either.

For those who wanted a bigger house in a nicer neighborhood, there were mortgages with absurdly easy terms. Credit-card offers came in the mail like confetti, and we used them like there was no tomorrow. For students stunned by the skyrocketing cost of tuition, there were college loans that could last a lifetime.

Unfettered, unregulated capitalism on a global scale turned out to be yet another really dumb idea.

We were stupid in so many ways. We shipped American jobs overseas by the millions and came up with the fiction that this was a good deal for just about everybody. We could have and should have taken the time and made the effort to think globalization through, to be smarter about it and craft ways to cushion its more harmful effects and to share its benefits more equitably.

The fat cats in corporate America and their go-to pimps in Washington thought exclusively of the corporation's profit lines. An equitable sharing of the harmful benefits of a global economy never entered their greed-infested souls.

But the lunatics took full control of the financial levers and our impending financial doom when Washington threw open the asylum doors and swept in dramatic tax cuts while fighting two, yes, that would be two wars.

We bought into the dopey idea that you could radically cut taxes and still maintain critical government services - and fight two wars to boot!

OK so we're pumping billions upon billions of our tax dollars into a ginned up war with Iraq and yet here at home we are losing jobs, homes and a shameful number of us cannot afford health care insurance. Thank you, Bush Co., so very much. But Bush Co, has always been more about Halliburton than about us-the-people.

The lunatics also drove away any modicum of "adult supervision" of the predatory sharks and wild cowboy investors on Wall St.

We were living in a dream world. The general public, and to a great extent the press, closed its eyes to the increasingly complex and baffling machinations of the financial industry, which kept screaming that oversight would ruin everything.
We should have known better. It didn't require a genius (or even an economics degree) to understand a crucial point that popped up some years ago in a front-page article in The Wall Street Journal: "Markets are a great way to organize economic activity, but they need adult supervision."

Mr. Herbert concludes by urging us to stop being stupid. He implores our political leaders to get smart by investing in a 21th century U.S. infrastructure, affordable health care, quality and meaningful education and other means by which the American people can become more productive, healthy and competitive. We should care for our environment, if we want to continue to enjoy a shred of healthy living and it behooves us to do something serious about weaning our energy dependence from foreign oil.

Can we hear the forthcoming crescendos of protest in the forms of self-righteous screeching and histrionics from the right wing and Southern Republicans? If one can, simply insert earplugs and ignore them. Turn off the TV and radio when their water carriers in the media spew the lying points.

And, finally, we need to start living within our means and get past the nauseating idea that the essence of our culture and the be-all and end-all of the American economy is the limitless consumption of trashy consumer goods.

Whatever happened to the notion that "there is no such thing as a free lunch?" Deep inside us we know this to be true and yet somehow we bought into the fairy tale of a free five-star quality dinner, with very fine wine to boot, with no strings attached whatsoever.

I applaud and approve Bob Herbert's message. I take the pledge to stop being stupid. I never bought into the free market lunacy but I've been stupid enough at times to believe some of the economic pundits on the TV news.

Those who have voted for W. and sold their souls to the evils of the free market fables and mythical perceptions of money may wish to join a fairy tale addition recovery program while taking the pledge to stop being stupid.

John Cornyn Hearts George W. Bush

Vince Leibowitz — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:11:43 GMT

Once again, I find myself apologizing in advance if you have this catchy tune stuck in your head the rest of the day:

Yet another good reason to send Rick Noriega to the U.S. Senate.

Bush WH Deserves a Bum Steer Award

Benny — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 12:01:17 GMT

This chart from Ezra Klein tells us much:

As citizens, taxpayers, or voters (the latter doesn't matter as much to the GOP) country doesn't look so good after ~~seven~~ 4 more years of Bush and essentially, McCain economic policy. Granted, it's not quite the mess that Nixon and Ford left to Carter to fix, but it's still pretty awful.

McPalin was so bent in helping Main Street this week, even to suspend his campaign. Bush asked the bi-partisans to be our ~~captains~~ shepherds of ~~Wall Street~~ flock to lead the good sheep to greener pastures. And so they are trying, with visions of $700B in their arses.

Meantime, there are others in the bleeding land, but the White House's Office of Budget Management believes this is too much to help the foreclosed and unemployed Average Joe because it costs too much money.

Wow, what a revelation!

A 2nd stimulus package is proposed by the Dems and perhaps in the moment of the perception Dems caving in, the WH suddenly has gone back to regular programming after "McCain Faux Populist Interruptus".

From Think Progress:

Today, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a statement of administrative policy today recommending Bush veto a proposed second stimulus package. The $56.2 billion package, announced yesterday, would extend unemployment benefits for seven weeks, increase food stamp benefits by 10 percent, and provide $50 million for food banks, among other proposals. This afternoon, Senate conservatives successfully blocked the bill, as the motion to proceed won 52 votes, eight shy of the necessary 60.
In the press briefing today, just an hour before the Senate vote, Dana Perino said the White House opposed the measure, specifically citing its extension of unemployment and food stamp benefits as explanation:
PERINO: There's some elements of the package that have been put forward by Democrats that we do not think would be stimulative to the economy, such as unemployment insurance. The food stamps, we believe we have met the need.

Doesn't any of the Bush ~~ilk~~ administration observe or maybe think (difficult for Bush, I know) that perhaps if folks had an extension on unemployment benefits, they may be able to look for jobs longer and pay a bit back on mortgages?

No and hell no.

To quote a non-reality character, " Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" once the Dems signaled they could ~~cave~~ compromise with a bunch of partisans who don't give a damn about the rest of us but their campaign perks and coffers.

Food stamps are enough, if you do or don't qualify...right.

I don't get the connections. Or maybe I do.