Over the weekend, Bill Maher presented a worthwhile new rule about the Republican Party and its reluctance to acknowledge the most recent GOP president.
"Republicans don't have to accept evolution, economics, climatology, or human sexuality, but I just watched a week of their national convention, and I need them to admit the historical existence of George W. Bush," Maher explained. "If your party can run the nation for eight years and then have a national convention and not invite Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, Karl Rove, or Tom DeLay, you're not a political movement, you're the witness protection program."
To borrow a Homer Simpson line, it's funny because it's true. Bush is the only former president from either party in 40 years to stay away his first national convention after leaving office, and for the most part, Republicans pretended he doesn't exist.
But before the political world completely shifts its attention from Tampa to Charlotte, it's worth pausing to appreciate the fact that Bush and Cheney may be carefully hiding from public view, and the GOP may seem largely ashamed of them, but their influence hasn't faded at all.
Who did we hear from at the party's convention? Prime time slots went to Bush's Secretary of State, Bush's brother, and Romney's running mate -- who voted for Bush's tax cuts, Bush's wars, Bush's Medicare expansion, Bush's Patriot Act, Bush's No Child Left Behind law, and Bush's Wall Street bailout.
Politico ran a piece last week on who would likely join a Romney/Ryan cabinet, and according to campaign insiders, the vast majority of the choices would be Bush/Cheney veterans. Indeed, we don't even have to wait until after the election -- Karl Rove is pulling party strings behind the scenes, Dan Senor and John Bolton are top campaign officials, and loyal Bushies are helping run the campaign.
What's more, Matt Yglesias looked for meaningful policy differences between Romney's agenda and Bush's, and couldn't find anything. Even Republican National Committee spokespersons concede a Romney administration would effectively be the same thing as a Bush administration, "just updated."
We may not see Bush, and the party may now perceive Bush as the name that must not be spoken, but that doesn't mean he's gone.
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Of course George W. Bush is supporting Mitt Romney. The Romney agenda is the Bush agenda; a comprehensive plan to demolish the progress and necessary reforms enacted over the last three years and to return America to the dark days of the Bush presidency. Romney and the GOP have no original ideas. The party establishment is filled with Bush loyalists who want nothing more than to return to Washington and finish the job Dubya’s exile had stalled. Romney will be a third GW Bush term. Scary, huh? - principled progressive
RMoney will be a third GW Bush term on steroids.
I see this as a further indictment of the failure of the Obama DOJ to fully investigate and prosecute, as appropriate, the crimes (both internal and international) of the Bush administration.
I have long maintained that the failure of the Clinton administration to allow the continuation of the Iran-Contra crimes of the Reagan/Bush administrations allowed the condition where multiple persons who should have been prosecuted instead ended up in the Bush Lite administration.
I see the failures of the Obama DOJ as providing the probability that the criminals of the Little George administration will end up with us having those criminals deeply involved in the next republican administration. If RMoney wins, we know that will happen with certainty.
Yesterday Rev. Desmond TuTu has call for an investigation of Bush and Blair in the International Criminal Court for their actions in the Iraq war.
Wonder how much media attention this will get?
We will know this issue is closed when G.W. Bush takes a vacation in Europe.
Yes, I agree, Sad. And with each moral failure to prosecute, the crimes and moral costs to our country escalate.
Some hep cat Republicans heard that teh youngsters listen to someone called 'will.i.am'. Apparently, he is a "wrapper".
So they are creating a new persona and song for the campaign: 'amnesia.i.am.'
I'd tell you the name of the song, but I forget.
GW Bush is the Voldemort of the Republican Party: He Who Must Not Be Named. And everyone is in denial that he's back...but with Romney/Ryan and all the Bushies involved in their campaign, one thing is for sure: The Dark Lord has returned.
I suspect that in 2016 at the Democratic convention, Pres. Obama will not be mentioned and they will still be relying on Clinton to save the day. I also believe that as Pres. Carter was undoubtedly the worst president of the 20th century, Pres. Obama has staked a serious claim to that "honor" for the 21st century which will be a difficult act to follow.
And, so we have history as reported by Fox Noise.
In general, actual American Historians consistently rank Herbert Hoover as the worst of the 20th century.
There is one hell of a lot of 21st century to go. On what basis would Obama be ranked as worse than Little George?
While there is a point to be made by Bush's physical absence, it should also be noted he made a video appearance and both Bush Presidents have made it a practice to stay out of most politics after stepping down from office, especially in terms of letting the next President (Clinton and Obama) govern without their voices added to the mix.
This is true. I also see the ol'Hillary has got so much to do that she can't possibly make the convention this year. Seriously? the #2 contender for the 2008 nomination, and a likely contender for 2016? guess the wicked stepmother loaded her up with chores and nixed her trip to the ball......
Former Secretary of State Condi Rice said that it is not unusual for the Sec. of State (Sec. of Defense, Treasury) to not attend political conventions because their positions are much less political in nature. I don't see anything unusual about Sec. of State Clinton not attending.
There's probably more to speculate about regarding some Democrat Senators not attending the convention.
I want fush and heney before a war crimes tribunal. I disagree with Obama's decision to shield them. They should answer for criminal acts in violation of signed treaties.
Regarding Jeb, it was noteworthy that he referred to "his brother" but never "George W Bush".