Bush as Tanya Harding

As a liberal, as George Lakoff will tell you, I am a optimist.

I prefer to look at the Bush from a positive point of view. For those of us who read and remember history, much of the strife of the 20th Century was caused by the collision between the rise of Germany, starting in the 19th Century when it leapfrogged England in industrial technology. The rise of Germany which lead to the First World War, which lead to the rise of the Soviet Union and the Second World war, was paralleled by the rise of Japan. Both of them clashed with the United States and in its victory, it became the Superpower. I, and apparently Brad Delong, and I suspect many other smart people believe that China and perhaps India will become the dominant powers of this century.

Based on the history from the 20th Century, there was a real risk that the United States, in its arrogance and greed, would try to prevent this from happening. There was the serious risk of a major catastrophic clash between the superpowers. George Bush has saved us from that.

Item 1) Military
Starting from the beginning of his administration, his fiscal and foreign policies have ensured that the military that costs us more than the combined military of the rest of the world are now feared by no one.

1) Who will fear the strategic defense system that can't knock down a single missile carrying a fog horn, a beacon, clown shoes and having made an appointment in advance.
2) Who will fear the armed forces that have served multiple tours in Iraq but under the leadership of The Man Call Pretraeus, can't do more than dodge do it yourself explosives which chew up $100,000 humvees using off peak cell phone minutes.
3) Who will fear the 600 plus overseas military bases which apparently serve to provide housing for the hundreds of Generals needed to command the hundreds of bases.
4) Who will fear the navy that must stay clear of speedboats and the dreaded zodiac ship killers.

No, the realpolitik world leaders and staff will start making Gulliver outsourcing jokes.

Item 2 Economics
Bills come due eventually. If we ever threaten the Chinese, they can call in our debt. This would not have happened as quickly or a severely as it did without the tax cutting and war spending of Bush and the Republicans.

Item 3 Moral High Ground.
Ironically, the Republican's don't believe in the Moral High Ground just as they don't believe that Global Flooding will happen. So the fact that we have lost it is not important to them.

In conclusion, We, the people of the United States, pose less of a threat to the world than we did before Bush v. Gore. You can thank the Supreme Court for keeping the 21st Century as peaceful as it will be. Think of what a major war with China in 20 years would cost vs the relatively minor costs of under 10,000 American dead (including the non-combat deaths) and under 50,000 maimed Americans and possibly under 1,000,000 Iraqi dead and $3 trillion in cost.

We have given the world to the Chinese with small risk to the rest of the world. Bush and the Republicans have kneecapped us.

Perhaps that was the Neocon dream all along. Leo Strauss would be proud.

Schaffer: Nothing; Right; Extreme Right

The Denver Post's Schaffer Runs On Promises Made Good is a gift of a headline. What it means is that because he said he wouldn't stick around (term limits) and didn't, he fulfilled his promise. The fact that he did nothing for his constituency except posture doesn't come up until you get into the article.

The whole thing centers around giving him a pass for being an ineffective congressman with his term limits pledge being an acceptable excuse. Rather, accepting a term limits pledge is a symptom of him being ineffective, not the cause.

"I just don't remember him being terribly engaged in the [Resources] committee," Hefley said.

Schaffer just didn't even try at governing. Where he did throw all his energy was being a hyper-partisan. As a member of the "GOP Theme Team" his job was to get on the house floor every morning and engage in one-minute partisan rants. His other major accomplishment was voting for the Iraq war so that he could leave Congress the next year to work for an oil company in Iraq, reaping the spoils of that vote.

As a member of the House Resources Committee Schaffer could have made a real difference in reducing our dependence on foreign oil by expanding our use of renewables, increasing efficiency, and responsible extraction here at home. Instead, he worked to start a war of choice and then left Congress to profit from that war, all the while increasing our dependence on foreign oil.

He was such a lousy legislator that he was one of only 9 House members to vote against beefing up airline security after 9/11. We're talking basic things like x-raying every bag and strengthening cockpit doors. Who is Schaffer representing exactly?

So far his campaign has been to have surrogates chant "Boulder Librul". As his record and positions ("14th-most-conservative member of Congress in the past 70 years.") begin to emerge, he has neither accomplishments nor clear principles except do nothing and get out to a 6 figure oil industry job. As a Senator, we might as well elect a black hole.

Horse Gone, Schaffer wants to close Roan Plateau Barn door

Will Schaffer's supporters who have consistently written off the Roan
Plateau as "scrub land" not worth saving follow suit?

Now that the BLM has given away the Roan, why is Bob Schaffer endorsing Governor Ritter's plan to save most of the Roan Plateau from drilling. Will his Oil Lobbyist supporters admit that the Roan Plateau is worth saving?

We know Oil Man Bob Schaffer hasn't changed the tune he's been singing
since he left the Congress to work in the oil industry. He is just
pandering for votes on the Western Slope because he knows it's a hot-
button issue. It's also a cheap pander (as a commenter already noted),
because the BLM has made its decision, the governor is powerless, and
only an act of Congress signed by the President can change course.

Denver Post - Get me Rewrite

So Zappero does a real analysis of the Denver Post article saying that Bob Schaffer - 14th most Conservative since 1937 is the same as Mark Udall being in the middle of the main wing, right in the middle from far left to pure moderate, of the Democratic Party. Middle, MIDDLE. Of course it is critical for the Post to paint Mark as moving his positions to pander to the moderates. Facts? We don't need no stinking facts to show Mark is moving. We, The Media, just state it as in

both of whom are pitching themselves as moderate these days but have voting records that strongly refute that description.

Read Johne's update which refutes this as far as Mark goes but, but, but, he uses data. That's so bloggerish.

I would have not been as polite. Suggested Post Ledes are:

Although Bob Schaffer is the 14th most Conservative since 1937, it's the same extreme as Udall being 509th most liberal. Because.

Or

Bob Schaffer is the 14th most Conservative since 1937 which makes him a lot like Udall on the left wing, only right wing and not. Besides what's 6 standard deviations from the mean among friends.

Or

Bob Schaffer - the 14th most Conservative since 1937 is so conservative he would be a caveman, if he believed in cavemen, or dinosaurs, or anything before 5000 years ago. Mark Udall on the other hand ranks right in the middle from far left to pure moderate. Two peas in a pod.

Don't Pay Between the Bells

The background for the Bob Schaffer and Colorado taxpayers waste story by the way is the famous Schaffer proposal to dock teachers pay during class changes.

So you have Bob Schaffer, the Vice Chairman of the board, a supposed fiscal
conservative, sit idly by and allow the board to spend that kind of
taxpayer money. That's a fact that you don't need any expense reports
to verify. And we know that he was at these lavish dinners, they were
billed as official meetings of the state Board of Ed according to that
AP piece. He could have sounded the alarm, stomped his feet, called a
press conference, but he didn't.

Instead, he pitched a fit over teachers getting paid during passing
period and voted to overrule the Denver Public Schools' decision to close a failing charter school owned by one of his largest U.S. Senate
contributors (David Brennan).

Basically he's a fiscal conservative only if the tax money isn't going
to him or his patrons.

Schaffer Can Hide His Position But Not His Restaurant Tab

The Board of Ed has been in the news of late because the state legislature has cut their funding in response to their lavish spending.

Bob Schaffer and Colorado taxpayers waste

-Bob Schaffer doesn't stand up for the taxpayers of Colorado - he
approves of spending thousands of our taxpayer dollars on his meals at
restaurants that average Coloradans can't afford.

-As Vice Chair of the Colorado State Board of Education, Bob Schaffer
has been dining extravagantly at taxpayers expense

-Over the course of the last year, Schaffer and his colleagues on the
Board submitted reimbursement for over $60,000 for travel expenses
that included $60 valet parking, $200/night hotel rooms and even
snacks like Cheetos.

Schaffer Lack of Leadership

-Bob Schaffer stood idly by not worried about the taxpayers' hard
earned money while eating his prime rib. He showed absolutely zero
leadership. And he thinks he should be my Senator?

Now, you may read the articles and say, he spent the least but that's not the issue, for a fiscal conservative, so concerned about saving taxpayers' money, silence is agreement. He's silent on a lot of course.

-It may be reported that Schaffer requested the least amount in
reimbursements, but we do know that he was sitting down for the feasts
with his colleagues that one of them expensed.

-He knew it was going on, why didn't Schaffer take a stand and stop
this unnecessary lavish spending of our money?

Speech after long silence. It is pretty clear the media is in the tank for the Rethuglicans so this blog may be useful.

Annotated New York Times LedesI

Reports That Led to Terror Alert Were Years Old, Officials Say

By DOUGLAS JEHL and DAVID JOHNSTON


Published: August 3, 2004

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 -Much of the information that led the authorities
to raise the terror alert at several large financial institutions in
the New York City and Washington areas was three or four years old,
intelligence and law enforcement officials said on Monday. They
reported that although they had not yet found concrete evidence that a
terrorist plot or preparatory surveillance operations were still under
way, the success of the Democratic Convention and Senator Kerry's
overflow rally attendances on the campaign trail mandated the Sunday
warning. They reported that they had not yet found concrete evidence that a terrorist plot or preparatory surveillance operations were still under way but the warning provided an opportunity to slow campaign momentum and
entice Howard Dean into a critical comment.