2001: Committees of Correspondence assessment of Bush Administration

]> 04/05/01 01:21PM >>> Statement on the Bush Presidency (Issued by National Executive Committee, CCDS - 4/2/01) Introduction Many assumptions * and hopes * regarding a possible Bush presidency that were voiced during the presidential campaign and in the interim when the election hung in the balance have turned out to be wrong. Gridlock, stalemate and some form of sterile bipartisanship to cushion the worst consequences of corporate-right wing control of ALL branches of government have not materialized. Widespread dismay at the illegitimacy of the Supreme Court's selection of Bush along with a 50-50 split in the Senate have not forced caution upon the Bush forces who are moving forward with the most reactionary agenda in recent memory. While corporate-right control is thin and tenuous, it is nevertheless cemented in part by Republican discipline and near-disintegration of any clear alternative stand by Democrats. With a handful of Senate Democrats voting with the Republicans and about 30 "Blue Dog" Democrats in the House doing the same, the Bush forces have for the time being bolstered their thin majority. The corporate-right alliance grouped around Bush recognizes that it has a narrow window of opportunity to impose a devastating rebuff to the social safety net and to any hope for sane foreign policy. Thus it is determined to push through its political agenda in a disciplined, relentless and speedy manner. The disputed election which Bush lost has not inhibited those forces from an aggressive "winner take all" approach to pushing their policies. They estimate that with Bush in office, the symbols and trappings of the presidency (aided by a compliant media) will appear to be a validation of his tenure. Finally, the enormous weight of the accumulation of executive power by the presidency in the last 60 years is being pursued by the Bush forces for maximum right-wing gain. This power is augmented by increasing corporate-right control of the courts as well as the Congress. With those levers of power in hand, Bush and his cohorts have demonstrated that their "compassionate conservatism" and campaign "moderation" were fraudulent in the extreme. The Impact of Bush's Policies The principal stress of the new administration has been the corporate agenda. At its heart is abandonment of any sense, no matter how tepid, of obligation to working people. Most astonishing is the fierce, concentrated and well-planned attack on every aspect of a rational and humane social and political policy in every major area -- domestic, foreign, environmental, economic, social, educational, cultural. * While the main concern of unfolding Bush policy has been corporate, it has not forsaken the far right social agenda. In retrospect, Bush's appearance at the racist, sexist and anti-Semitic Bob Jones University was a portend of a vastly reactionary program. Placing women immediately under attack, its first act was to ban funding of overseas programs which offer family planning and abortion services. Undoubtedly, there will be another effort to push a ban on so-called "partial birth abortion" which Bush, unlike Clinton, will sign. This will probably further embolden the religious right and other antiabortion forces. The administration, after retreating from an attempt to shut down the offices on AIDS policy and race after protests (it gutted the AIDS office anyway), had already shut down the White House Office for Women's Initiatives and Outreach, signaling its contempt for issues affecting women. The Bush administration's primary campaign for a massive $1.6 trillion tax cut is an ill-disguised attempt to further restructure tax policies to favor the wealthy. (See the CCDS Statement "The Return of the Reagan Tax Cut" for a full analysis.) While economic pundits, including the Wall St. Journal, now speculate openly that the nation is on the brink of Depression, Bush and his cohorts press their cuts for the rich as an elixir to combat the escalating economic slump. Tax cuts, especially geared to the wealthiest, have never done anything to spark economic revival and will do nothing other than bring about deeper cuts in social programs affecting the working poor and unemployed. * Social policy. The Bush budget priorities include privatization of $1 trillion of Social Security, and introduction of a voucher system into Medicare aimed at curtailing medical services to elderly and further enriching the insurance industry. He has threatened to veto a mild Patients' Bill or Rights in order to protect his rich benefactors in the insurance industry against malpractice claims. The so-called faith-based charity program is a fraudulent attempt to undermine six decades of government social responsibility and make social programs subject to conservative religious agendas. *It is an egregious violation of the constitutional separation of church and state. No doubt, funds will be withheld from progressive religious organizations, the Nation of Islam, etc., while right-wing religious groups rooted in predominantly white suburban areas will receive largesse with which to pursue their reactionary interests. ** The Environment. In its first weeks in office, the administration has delayed regulations to reduce arsenic levels in drinking water, has rejected the Kyoto international global warming treaty, has repealed forest service regulations to preserve roadless areas, has pushed drilling for oil in the fragile Alaska Wildlife Refuge, and has broken its campaign promise to require mandatory reductions on carbon dioxide emissions -- all in the face of strenuous protests *by scientists, environmentalists, and wildlife specialists. Bush's environmental policies, with their bizarre reversion to alleged nationalistic economic interests, have provoked a global outcry, even among leaders of other industrial states. * Education. The administration has put forward a Draconian and racist and anti-working education agenda whose cornerstone is national examination policy rigged to punish schools which have been victimized by underfunding and neglect. There is no genuine, effective program to strengthen instruction and improve facilities. Students and schools that fail, will be cast aside, while the door will be pried open to a program of vouchers, constituting a massive attack on urban public education. The Legal System. A small army of lawyers from the right-wing Federalist Society is now working feverishly to exploit the window of opportunity to fill 94 vacant federal judgeships with right-wing appointees. The American Bar Association has been pushed out of its 48-year role of reviewing judicial appointees. That action was taken to remove all barriers, no matter how fragile, to politically motivated appointments of unqualified judges. This goes forward while the Bush forces scheme to undermine any meaningful campaign finance reform. In seeking to load the federal courts with right-wing judges, affirmative action will be targeted for further attack while those projected appointees will throw a protective curtain around current discriminatory, racist drug laws. ** Labor. In 10 weeks, the Bush administration has launched an attack virtually without precedent on labor and working families. Reversal of ergonomics regulations to curb repetitive motion injuries was quickly followed by use of an injunction to halt a major airlines strike, foretelling a repeat of Ronald Reagan's destruction in 1981 of PATCO, the air traffic controllers' union. The White House has opened government contracts to nonunion labor. At the behest of credit card companies, the Administration has pushed a sweeping "bankruptcy reform" aimed at working class families and individuals struggling to get out of debt. In addition, accelerating deregulation of communications, banking, travel, and other critical areas along with the continuing push for privatization all come at a staggering cost to labor and the country's working majority. ** Foreign policy. A rekindled cold war is being pushed by far rightists Cheney, Rumsfeld, Armitage, et. al., who thus far have the upper hand in controlling foreign policy. Expulsions of Russian diplomats, and escalating "human rights" pressures on China, and military provocation against China, accompany Bush's ominous refusal to respond to North Korean proffers of cooperation in curbing arms and missile development. Bush's foreign policy truculence was exemplified by air attacks on civilian areas in Iraq to demonstrate "who's boss" against upstarts who refuse to play assigned role in global economy. The administration's veto of an international force to stop the killing of civilians on the West Bank and Gaza, signifies a continuing disregard for Palestinian life and a refusal to support effective steps to Middle East peace. Large deliveries of armaments to Colombia, ostensibly to battle the drug cartels, is being used to attack guerrilla movements. In the Balkans, the administration continues its interference in the internal affairs of Yugoslavia in the interests of global capital. Bush's foreign affairs appointments are a threat an insult to civil foreign relations. John Bolton, the nominee for Undersecretary of State for International Security and Arms Control is a Jesse Helms protege and an avowed enemy of those objectives; Otto Juan Reich, the nominee for Undersecretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs is a rabid Cuba hater. In sum, the Bush foreign policy thus far has been marked by bluster, bullying and truculence with the aim of consolidating US domination of the global market and global polity. The actions in foreign policy of the controlling far right group increasingly undermine the position of Secretary of State Colin Powell. While a "team player" thus far, Powell is relatively moderate compared to the others. The Cheney group pulled the rug from under him on North Korea. More of the same may be anticipated. Powell's tenuous position underscores the fact that his appointment was aimed at cynically promoting the myth of racial inclusion while he is being undercut in a characteristically racist manner. * Military policy. A review of military policy under Defense Secretary Rumsfeld stresses high tech provocation and intervention with sophisticated surveillance, stealth, rapid deployment of armed forces and National Missile Defense. This reconfiguration of military forces reflect neoliberalism's drive enforce its interests in "unstable" areas. Minimal steps toward peace with North Korea in have been jettisoned in order to preserve a rationale to pursue National Missile Defense which will devastate the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and accelerate Pentagon efforts to militarily dominate space. * Global economic policy. The administration has signaled its hardball support of capital and "free trade" movement like FTAA and other efforts to undermine labor and *the environment, in the name of global "free trade." A Call to Act: It cannot be emphasized too strongly that the actions of the Bush administration thus far reflect weakness as much as firm command. The frenzy of the action outlined above signifies the fear of the Bush forces that they have a *limited time before the strength and potential of a progressive majority take hold to reverse theirs reactionary course and set the nation upon a constructive path. The very breadth of their right-wing program invites an unprecedented breadth of opposition. Bush's approval ratings, largely abetted by an accommodating media, are beginning to decline. Now is the time to fight back * ** * Defeat of Bush's tax program, and his opposition to a Patients' Bill of Rights are very possible and should be a starting point for resistance. Congress should be bombarded with messages and demonstrative action to convey public disapproval of those policies. The economic downturn will accelerate a cooling of support for Bush and his anti-labor injunction policy and should mobilize labor to turn back his effort to reenact the destruction of PATCO. Such actions can slow the corporate-right steamroller. Pressure must also be placed upon Democratic politicians who must no longer take progressives for granted. It should be made clear that Democratic support for the corporate agenda and its tepid resistance to the Bush onslaught will not be tolerated. * ** * We urge nationwide support and active participation in proposed "days of action" being launched by the Institute for Policy Studies, the Independent Politics Political Network, and the Center for Constitutional rights following the anticipated news media announcement of the real Florida results. Press conferences, rallies, email chain letters, petitions, letters to the editor, etc., should give voice to the demand for electoral reform to make every vote count. ** * We urge consultation among all progressive forces to lay the groundwork for a "noncooperation with an illegitimate government" campaign to declare "non-recognition" of every Bush policy. Such a campaign to be launched with the maturing of public discomfort with the administration should be a powerful foundation for a major effort to kick the Bush majority out of the Congress in 2001. Indeed, now is the time to act! _______________________________________________ CrashList website: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base