Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Incompetence is simply a byproduct of something far more sinister

I don't think the Bush administration is incompetent, in the pure sense of the word, as so many pundits have claimed.  Everytime I read that charge, it doesn't sit right in my mind.


No, that's not the whole of it, I think.  Their particular brand of incompetence is an outgrowth of something else -- something far more sinister.  If those who populate this administration, along with their co-conspirators in Congress, were simply happy-go-lucky fools, the incompetence tag would hang on them like a too-big suit.  They'd wear incompetence like a pair of oversized clown shoes.


Osama's escape, the Iraq Debacle, Katrina, Medicare D... The list of incompetent actions and policies stretches on for miles, as far as the eye can see on a flat, blazing hot desert road.


But "incompetence" lets them off too easily.


Incompetence is an outgrowth -- or an end product -- of indifference.  Cold, callous, cold-hearted, criminal indifference:



* Indifference towards the troops they put in harm's way.  


* Indifference toward the elderly who must cope with the trainwreck that is Medicare D.


* Indifference toward the hundreds of thousands of Gulf states residents who lost everything in Katrina.


* Indifference toward future generations by giving away national forests and refusing to abide by environmental agreements.  



Indifference after indifference after indifference.



Incompetence?  Sure.  But only because, fundamentally, they do not give a flying fuck about America or its citizens.  (Nevermind how little they think of the citizens of the rest of the world.) They care only of themselves -- and money. Simple, really.


It is no accident that indifference is a synonym for selfishness.  And that selfishness can be synonymous with greed.



When Grover Norquist uttered his famous proclamation that his dream was to "drown the federal government in the bathtub," he was only giving the half of it.  


The likes of Rove and Cheney and Rumsfeld quickly figured out that the best way to accomplish Norquist's dream -- a dream they avidly shared -- was to not only govern indifferently (thus, underlining their assertion that government is an inefficent and ineffectual way of operating everything from wars to disaster relief), but that they also could enrich themselves and their corporate sponsors in the process, effectively looting the government as they "drown it in the tub."


"Two birds with one stone" and all that.


The deficit is no accident.  It is the ultimate manifestation of Norquist's dream.  Cheney and company (through their idiotic puppet and perfect foil, George Bush) paint the government as incompetent while bankrupting the federal treasury and lining the pockets of everyone from Halliburton to the religious right.


The Bush years have been nothing more than a criminal enterprise.  Organized crime.  Thievery on a scale never before witnessed in the history of humankind.  Billions upon billions of taxpayer dollars looted from the national treasury and delivered to the pockets of the well-connected.  (Tax relief?  For whom?)



The NSA spying program was never about ferreting out terrorist plots. We knew that. It was simply another tool to be used to stop any person or entity which sought to uncover their criminal cabal. And the Patriot Act is more of the same. This crew will stop at nothing to protect their criminal enterprise.



So I wish the Paul Krugmans of the world would stop letting Cheney et. al. off so easy with the "incompetent" tag.


Like Liberace, they are laughing all the way to the bank.

10 Comments:

At 5/16/2006 11:53 AM, Blogger maarmie said...

Anyone who thinks the current regime is incompetent is...incompetent. They know just what they're doing and they continue to do what they're doing despite the lowest approval ratings in history. In history. That means lower than Nixon. That...low. Crafty. Smart. Entitled. But not incompetent.

 
At 5/16/2006 12:37 PM, Blogger Bob Johnson said...

I hear the word "incompetence" tossed about all the time about Bush. Sure, he's an idiot. Of that there can be no doubt. But he is not running the show and we've known that for a long time. (In fact, I got a prominent Republican to admit as much recently. Most Republicans had steadfastly clung to their claim that Bush was actually a genius.)

So Bush, himself, is incompetent. He's fundamentally lazy. Always has been and always will be. That makes him the perfect foil for those doing the looting. He doesn't want to bothered with the details. Perfect.

They couldn't have found a better front man for their nefarious deeds...

 
At 5/16/2006 5:34 PM, Blogger maarmie said...

Exactly. I'm not talking about Bush at all. He's just the puppet that prefers to be in the dark - or on vacation. I'm talking about the actual regime - those who are really running the show. They're the ones to be afraid of. And we should be very, very afraid.

 
At 5/16/2006 7:14 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congrats on the cross post at Truthout.org, Bob.
I've been saying in response to anyone's claims of "incompetence" that Bush said what he was going to do back in 1999, and he has stayed the course ever since.
I had a friend who's wife drowned their child in a bathtub, but she had the excuse that she was smoking crack and screwing her pusher at the time...
Well, I guess that raping the constitution and robbing the treasury blind takes skills.

 
At 6/03/2006 3:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bob, why don't you try to contribute to the dialogue instead of providing comic relief at DKOS?

Seems you built your name on humor over there, but do you ever have anything of substance to say?

Between a little snark and a low UID number you pretty much can put a kick in to anyone and it gets you a laugh or two and a boat load of recommends. You are nothing but a bottomfeeder. Nothing like driving Democrats away.

Everyone knows that ridicule and contempt is the best way to gain new voters (snark).

 
At 6/05/2006 2:45 PM, Blogger Bob Johnson said...

Hey, I guess you don't like my brand of posting.

I'm hurt. Deeply hurt.

I'd debate it with you, of course, but you choose to post anonymously.

That's humorous, too.

 
At 6/06/2006 9:19 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Your reply appears to be another attempt at using your considerable wit and sarcastic abilities to show your contempt.

There is no doubt in my mind that, in addition to your wit, you also have the capacity to be thoughtful and substantive. Why you don't choose to use those abilities more often is puzzling to me, but for all I know your first choice in life was to be a comedian and it somehow fell through. If that is the case it certainly wasn't for lack of talent. Actually you've got a great sense of humor and I love it when your laser wit is directed at the enemy, it's just a shame you sometimes use it to ridicule fellow Democratic posters on DKOS.

It doesn't take much to figure out the difference between a troll or a Democratic poster who is having a bad day on DKOS, it's actually written into the FAQ's at DKOS that you should try to figure out the difference before you pile on.

I also find it sad that when someone posts a GBCW diary at DKOS you and your fellow progressives choose to pile on. Wouldn't it be more progressive to say "okay, good luck and don't forget to vote for the Democratic party." Otherwise, why not just leave the entire diary without a comment?

I don't think you appreciate the fact that with 89,000+ registered users at DKOS there are a lot of users there who couldn't go toe to toe intellectually with many of the highly educated posters over there. My point is even when they are right they couldn't hope to win. Unfortunately, in my particular case, I wasn't even right to begin with, but the point remains the same. You are going to need more than just the liberal elite to take down the GOP.

The barbarians are not at the gate Bob, we are right there inside with you, but we are Democratic voters that need to be encouraged and educated, not scorned and banned.

FYI it would be wrong for you to assume that I had posted a GBCW diary based on my comments, I have always said they would have to ban me to get rid of me there and apparently that is what they did, otherwise we would be debating this right now under my DKOS user name instead of anonymously. Additionally, I would have emailed you and I wouldn't have been anonymous, but there is no Email address posted for you on DKOS.

Sour grapes on my part? No doubt. Any truth in what I say about the way Democrats that step out of line on DKOS are piled on? No doubt about that either.

ps whatever you do don't mix alcohol with valiums and try blogging, that is what got me going off the deep end and banned, but I am still a Democrat until the day I die, just no longer a Kossack.

pss I am actually calming down as the days go by, but I totally lost it, I mean really lost it. I don't hate anyone, especially the people at DKOS that are changing the face of american politics. It was thrilling to be part of it if even only for a couple years. "You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by it." - I think I have finally learned that lesson.

Peace

 
At 6/07/2006 7:23 AM, Blogger Bob Johnson said...

I have no idea who you are. I am sorry for you pain.

I prefer to post satire and barbed criticism. And yet, ironically, the post in which you are now commenting is a straightforward critique of the Bush administration.

Go figure.

Sorry you were canned at dkos.

I am not the person who canned you. And I don't bother with troll rating folks.

As for GBCW diaries, there is a long tradition at dkos with those diaries stretching back years. They become a playground.

You will have to change far more than me if you want to end the practice of mocking GBCW posters.

The reason those diaries are mocked is because they are generally incredibly self-centered. Maybe it's just part of growing up and realizing the world doesn't revolve around you.

 
At 6/08/2006 12:26 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bob, you are very good at what you do. Thank you for you're sincere reply.

You're point is well taken. I know that I can't control dkos, or anyone but myself for that matter, but that is easy to say when I am clean and sober. Which, as a result of being canned at dkos, I finally am. Five days and counting, I really think I am going to make it this time. Dkos has done what so many have failed to do.

It's ironic, and a reminder to me that it is always possible for something good to come out of something bad.

It's hard for me to even understand why I attack the very people that would help ensure that people such as myself would get the help we need.

I'm sure that there are many Kossacks who are doing quite well financially and could just as easily vote Republican, but they don't because they actually have compassion and care about more than themselves and how much they pay in taxes. God bless you all. You are changing the face of american politics and, by virtue of that, you are changing the world.

"help me up my friend
dust me off.
feed me warmth.
you are comfort.
let me lean on you until I can stand alone.
I will then stand a little taller.
and you will be proud to have a friend
such as I."

ps Sorry for hijacking your thread, it won't happen anymore. Peace.

 
At 7/13/2006 2:36 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bob, why don't you try to contribute to the dialogue instead of providing comic relief at DKOS?

Seems you built your name on humor over there, but do you ever have anything of substance to say?

Between a little snark and a low UID number you pretty much can put a kick in to anyone and it gets you a laugh or two and a boat load of recommends. You are nothing but a bottomfeeder. Nothing like driving Democrats away.

Everyone knows that ridicule and contempt is the best way to gain new voters (snark).


this was worth repeating, as it reminds me of my litttle wars with you, where I wondered why i was forced to fight more vigorously against someone on my side, and someone who is obviously smart and pretty witty, than against some of the far right wing fanatics.

you're a talented dude. maybe a bit liberal, but people are entitled to their views. but lose the self righteousness. in politics, anyway, it's just hurting our party.

the right knows how to use this (but then they know how to spin a lot of bullshit, don't they) so don't do it. and please don't respond self righteously. f'k it. do what you want. but if you have the concerns you express, learn to think otuside of the demoratic "f'k ourselves in the ass while thinking we are clever" box.

 

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