Bush to Present His Agenda for a Second Term-Tout 'Ownership Society'

[papau]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54414-2004Sep1.html
Bush to Present His Agenda for a Second Term
President to Tout 'Ownership Society'

By Mike Allen and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, September 2, 2004; Page A29

NEW YORK, Sept. 1 -- President Bush, sensing political momentum for the first time in more than a year, flew here Wednesday night prepared to accept his party's nomination and to offer an agenda for a second term and a strong defense of his war on terrorism.

His speech will range from plans for restructuring the nation's intelligence services, to new ways to help the uninsured obtain health coverage, to a call for Congress to change labor laws to give workers more flexibility in using overtime hours at their family's convenience. Democrats call the flextime plan a way for employers to avoid paying overtime.

Bush's agenda consists almost entirely of expanded or repackaged ideas he has promoted before -- partly because the deficit precludes major new programs. Outside economists said campaign strategists argued this week that the political terrain has shifted dramatically in the president's favor and that specific proposals are unnecessary.

"The strategists are saying, 'Everything is breaking our way. It's looks like it's almost over,' " said one close adviser who demanded anonymity. In this climate, the political strategists believe they have no reason to offer plans that would give opponents new targets to attack.

"As long as he can win by talking about how great America is and blah, blah, blah, why take a chance?" said Bruce Bartlett, a conservative economist with the National Center for Policy Analysis. "All we're going to get is pabulum." <snip>

[nickinSTL]

1. ownership society

ok, first, wtf does that mean?

I mean, I'm sure in practice it means that we'll be owned by the corporations, but...what do they want us to BELIEVE it means?

:eyes:

[meti57b]

7. it means we own the deficit, the wealthy own everything else.

[Eurobabe]

13. it means 99% better own duct tape

[MrBenchley]

9. Drive it off the lot today, no money down!!!

"Step right up
step right up
step right up
Everyone's a winner, bargains galore
That's right, you too can be the proud owner
Of the quality goes in before the name goes on
One-tenth of a dollar
one-tenth of a dollar
we got service after sales
You need perfume? we got perfume
how 'bout an engagement ring?
...Act now, act now
and receive as our gift, our gift to you
They come in all colors, one size fits all
No muss, no fuss, no spills
you're tired of kitchen drudgery
Everything must go
going out of business
going out of business
Going out of business sale
Fifty percent off original retail price
skip the middle man
Don't settle for less
How do we do it?
how do we do it?
volume, volume, turn up the volume
That's right, it filets, it chops
It dices, slices, never stops
lasts a lifetime, mows your lawn
And it mows your lawn
and it picks up the kids from school
It gets rid of unwanted facial hair
it gets rid of embarrassing age spots
It delivers a pizza
and it lengthens, and it strengthens
And it finds that slipper that's been at large
under the chaise longe for several weeks
And it plays a mean Rhythm Master
It makes excuses for unwanted lipstick on your collar
And it's only a dollar, step right up
it's only a dollar, step right up

'Cause it forges your signature.
If not completely satisfied
mail back unused portion of product
For complete refund of price of purchase
Step right up
Please allow thirty days for delivery
don't be fooled by cheap imitations
You can live in it, live in it
laugh in it, love in it
Swim in it, sleep in it
Live in it, swim in it
laugh in it, love in it
Removes embarrassing stains from contour sheets
that's right
And it entertains visiting relatives
it turns a sandwich into a banquet
Tired of being the life of the party?
Change your shorts
change your life
change your life
Change into a nine-year-old Hindu boy
get rid of your wife...
It's a friend, and it's a companion
And it's the only product you will ever need
Follow these easy assembly instructions
it never needs ironing

never needs winding
Never needs winding
never needs winding
Gets rid of blackheads, the heartbreak of psoriasis
Christ, you don't know the meaning of heartbreak, buddy"

--Tom Waits

[BlueEyedSon]

2. IOW, the people who own the most stuff will run our society....

sounds great.

[aquart]

3. Uh, did the economists read today's paper?

One or two dozen things NOT going their way?

[Wednesdays]

14. They don't want to be seen as "girlie men."

:eyes:

[aquart]

4. Pablum? But ten year olds can chew solid food!

[ItsMyParty]

5. When I heard that "theme", I thought what an insult to so many

Americans. How about the people who have no jobs, the people his administration put into poverty, the new jobs that pay shit, the terrible cost of healthcare that's wiping families, out, etc. and he has the balls to talk "ownership". I saw some spew on it this a.m. and they talk about how our children have ownership and shit like that in America. Oh, they do alright. They own the goddamn debt of these slime and they own a ticket to the front line to die for these slime, but let them try to get an education, or a house, or anything else and watch how fast the rich bastards say "get out of here..you don't own that). How much of this fuck can Americans keep chowing down---are they stupid or something (sorry, guess we all know the answer to that).

[gratuitous]

6. Gee, no jobs, crappy economy . . .

Whose got the money to own anything?

Oh. The slaveholders, of course. Doggone it, I answer more of my own questions.

[2Design]

8. working in groups helps leverage better coverage for workers

1. health care leveraged as a group and backed by governments have had great success in other countries, like canada

2. Unions helped leverage workers and get 40hour work weeks, vacations, and holidays and most of the young do not understand these benefits were not available to anyone before unions.

3. Bush had never owned anything he has done

4. Corporatins have never own a social or civic responsiblity to communities, people or workers

5. Workers united around the world are the only way to bring back decent pay for all workers. Unionize the world

6. Capping ceo pay at 5 times the lowest worker could change the landscape of all people

7. Without coorperation and leverage of groups, their is no incentive for the government or corporations to help the people.

8. corporations need to be banded from giving money to further corporate interest and not people interests.

9. Christian religion must be banned from the government give aways. This is a nation of many religions. Having one religion try to take over this country is a dangerous as when Hilter used those same tactics.

[MrBenchley]

10. "sensing political momentum for the first time in more than a year"

Guess he's not watching his stinkbomb of a convention.....and they're afraid to tell him how it's going....

[ramapo]

11. It's almost over?

Over for whom?

If America reelects the man who has presided over the loss of jobs, healthcare, inaction on critical environmental and transportation problems, and so on through the laundry list that we are all too familiar with then all I can say is America (of which I will no longer consider myself a member of) deserves what it gets.

Yet I remain cautiously optimistic that come January we will have a new leader.

[soupkitchen]

12. the ownership society, "If you got yours, fuck everybody else"

[UTUSN]

15. Yip, Gutting Medicare and Going to Regressive Taxation

*********QUOTE*******
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2004/08/25/bush_second_term/index.html

And you thought his first term was a nightmare
What Bush has planned for America if he wins.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Charles Tiefer

Aug. 25, 2004 | .... Under Bush's slogan of an "ownership society," the Republicans intend a long-term effort, using changes in Medicare, Social Security and taxes to pit better-off and worse-off Democrats against each other, offering all-but-irresistible incentives for some to desert the others -- and any progressive national coalition. .... A second-term Bush agenda will constantly impale Democrats on the dilemma of abandoning their poorer, sicker, older and minority groups, or seeing their better-off, healthier and younger members lured off to the other party. If it sounds like a political nightmare for the Democrats, that's because that's what it is planned to be. ....

********UNQUOTE*******

[Supersedeas]

16. People commodities and other sloganeering

Where was this vision during the State of the Union address--guess it can be found in the same place the series of speeches addressing the Iraq turnover of power went....still in the circular file.

Now, suddenly, two months before the election and three plus years of domestic policy failure, our President has a domestic agenda for the future.