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[Lemurnator]

I'm not one usually for political discussion because honestly I'm ignorant of many of the details. However I think I know enough to assume that the house is filled with a majority of people who are Bush supporters who don't see that the government is doing anything wrong. If Bush were taken out of office or when his term ends how much would it change? I've always wondered this about the U.S. government, how much power does the commander in chief really have? I thought the purpose of democracy was to stay away from having just one central person having power over everything so wouldn't that mean we'd follow the same road no matter who was president? Sorry for my being uneducated on the subject, I just wonder about that.

 

[Kabuki Waq]

alot less of the the rest of the world laughing at the USA and maybe with bush gone you guys will lose the "Dumbass redneck" image.

 

[MrPing1000]

alot less of the the rest of the world laughing the USA and maybe with bush gone you guys will lose the "Dumbass redneck" image.

yep.

 

[boutrosinit]

alot less of the the rest of the world laughing at the USA and maybe with bush gone you guys will lose the "Dumbass redneck" image.

Agreed.

Remove the cabinet too and we'll talk.

 

[Incognito]

Bush is a puppet. There needs to be major house cleaning as the above poster mentioned. With just Bush gone, we're left with Cheney in charge. Then Hassert...

:-/

 

[Kabuki Waq]

the thing is that Bush has a really horrible War mongering dumbass monkey image overseas. He as become a symbol in most places. Anyone that can speak more confidently and eloquently in public would make a huge diffrence interms of image atleast.

 

[ronito]

I don't care so much about our world perception, I'm much more concerned about how our country is run. And sadly, I don't think that would change one bit. In fact it might make the country even more divided and the houses more partisan.

 

[Incognito]

I don't care so much about our world perception, I'm much more concerned about how our country is run. And sadly, I don't think that would change one bit. In fact it might make the country even more divided and the houses more partisan.

Agreed.

 

[MrPing1000]

Although I'm not too particulary fond of my government here in the UK (Hell we in Northern Ireland can't even vote for them grr) but in general they aren't too bad, Blair is just such a brilliant public speaker. I like how he's working his ass off atm over issues such as the environment and suchlike. Then I look at the usa and its a cringeathon.

 

[-=DoAvl=-]

if bush goes... please take away howard as well. I have no idea who keeps voting for that fucker.

 

[pollo]

progressive taxation (which this being gaf im pretty sure everyone here is for) would prolly be more egalitarian in nature

heres Krugman's op-ed on how the US has gone down in terms of income since 1973. Economics is the subject of spinning numbers, and what the bush administration and much of the GOP has done is made sure, and egregiously, that anyone who is against them is against the principles of freedom. Im sure gaffers have noticed how their real incomes have gone down these past years - and im pretty sure none are too happy about that.

Oh and that gosh darn current account deficit we are currently facing. Oh and that good ole G-deficit too. How can we forget about that. It still does not make any sense to me why any president would not practice conservative fiscal policy (and when i say conservative i mean trying to balance the budget). And I guess I would see a reason for the deficit if it was used for its original purpose - which is to create jobs....but guess what...its not! Its spent on military defense projects which are marginal to employment at best and furthermore how you can sustain that without increasing taxes? Im not a good econ student, but i know enough to know you cant spend money that you dont have without facing consequences later on..tax increases..job market overhauls..etc.

Anyway with Bush out of office Im pretty sure we'd see more fiscal responsibility rather than dogmatic idealogy. And as much as I am for erasing debt (which is my number 1 issue concerning foreign issues), im pretty sure concern for the wavering middle class should supercede the former.

Whatever...with bush out youre prolly right. All good policy programs will prolly be tied up in partisan hackery...then we'd see a repeat of Clinton-era esque filibusters in both the house and senate.

 

[Zaptruder]

The question shouldn't be if Bush were taken out of office, but rather, if extreme right wing republicans were taken out of political office, what would change.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

progressive taxation (which this being gaf im pretty sure everyone here is for) would prolly be more egalitarian in nature

isnt progressive taxation the one where the rich and poor get taxed atthe same rate?
if so, im against that.

 

[pollo]

its the one where you get taxed according to your income bracket.
i think youre thinking of VATs

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

its the one where you get taxed according to your income bracket.
i think youre thinking of VATs

ok, yeah. im for that.

 

[Macam]

Incognito's right. Even with Bush gone, that still leaves the neocons (the far right wing Republicans) in control of the House and Senate, and with Cheney, Rove, and co. still remaining. If he were out of office by reaching the end of his term limit, that would add some obscurity to the picture, since while it would eradicate some of the higher administration officials (namely Cheney and new Cabinet members), it's hard to say whether voters will stick with the neocons in Congress. I think to see any real dramatic change, we would need a strong leading Democrat in office (I'd say someone off Hillary Clinton's nature), as while a moderate Republican may improve things overall, they've shown a real tendency to pander and bend over backwards to the far right -- as have just about all the Democrats.

On the topic of Blair and Bush's speaking abilities, well, here's a perfectly recent example of the differences: http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/06/08.html#a3343. They're both lying through their teeth, but I think it's painfully clear who's more convincing.

 

[scorcho]

it's akin to the finite difference between Pepsi and Coke. there is a change there, and it's one that many would welcome. however the sheer corporatism of both parties and the entire edifice of government itself won't allow so large a deviation of policies.

 

[maharg]

its the one where you get taxed according to your income bracket.
i think youre thinking of VATs

No, VAT is a sales tax, where you're taxed in proportion to your spending. It actually tends to turn out more regressive than flat.

Regressive = people with lower incomes pay higher percent of income. Supply-siders think this is a good idea because richer people contribute more investment into the economy.
Flat = people with any income pay a directly proportional amount of their income.
Progressive = people with lower incomes pay lower percent of income. Liberals like this because lower income people tend not to have as much room for taxes.

Other kinds of taxes are:
Sales tax = people pay taxes in proportion to their spending. Since richer people tend to save more, they spend a smaller portion of their income and so pay a smaller percentage of their income to taxes. Thus, it turns out regressive.
Poll tax = everyone pays the same amount of cash, no matter their income. Again, this turns out to be regressive because $500 out of $10,000 is a higher percentage than $500 out of $100,000.

 

[AB 101]

What would change?

Many here at GAF would stop having anxiety attacks, high blood pressure, stop drinking, etc.

The question shouldn't be if Bush were taken out of office, but rather, if extreme right wing republicans were taken out of political office, what would change.

Well, the extreme left would have to go too.

Both are fucked up.

Well, govt. is fucked up in general but hey.

 

[ge-man]

Cheney is the real president right now, so Bush being removed makes no damn difference. The issue of election reform also calls into question the possiblity of electing someone who might bring balanced budgeting and a strong middle class back into focus. And even if that gets resolved, many in the Democratic leadership share similar ties to businesses and their desires.

The whole government could use a make over IMO.

 

[human5892]

"Nothin' at all! Nothin' at all!"