Do Bush supporters hate their country?

[chat_noir]

Sometimes the people who still fervently support George W. Bush seem just plain stupid, and other times it seems they must be dishonest and even malevolent, harboring a hatred for their country that allows them to support misguided ideas and private agendas over the public good. In more reasonable moods, I want to believe that the Bush supporters are just like me in simply wanting what is best for the country safety, security, fairness and a commitment to a government that observes the principles upon which our nation was founded. When I'm thinking that way, I assume we don't disagree on goals and objectives, just on the most effective way to achieve those goals and objectives.

It's hard to keep that thought, though, when the lies keep piling up higher and deeper, and when so much of the energy of Bush supporters goes into evading reality. Is it really possible for there to be an honest difference of opinion about the calamitous Bush decision to invade Iraq? No weapons of mass destruction there, as we were told there were. No link between al-Qaida and Saddam Hussein, as we were told there was, and as we continue to be urged to believe by deceptive administration rhetoric. Almost no likelihood that a stable democracy will be possible in an Iraq rent by ethnic feuds and anti-democratic traditions. Billions upon billions of dollars squandered in Iraq, and billions more stolen by corrupt U.S. contractors. Meanwhile, the Homeland Security entity Bush created has shown itself to be yet another huge government boondoggle, and utterly witless in responding to a national emergency.

Beyond that, we have the shameful spectacle of Americans who call themselves patriots urging a forfeiture of our rights and liberties as U.S. citizens the rights to due process and the protections devised by the founding fathers to guard against abuses of power.

And beyond that, we have breaches of national security in the outing of a CIA agent for no better reason than spite. We have the staffing of all kinds of highly paid and important government jobs with incompetent administration cronies and partners in crime. We have repeated and massive failures of imagination. No one could have imagined a) people flying planes into U.S. skyscrapers, b) a storm of the magnitude of Katrina, or c) a Palestinian militant group like Hamas winning elections in Palestine these being just a few of the things Condoleezza Rice has said the administration couldn't imagine.

http://www.paradisepost.com/columns/ci_3498492

[Warpy]

1. No, they just hate the people who live in it

unless they're rich white men.

[zanne]

2. No, they don't hate THEIR country...

They hate OUR country. Not only do they dismiss minorities, they dismiss half the population!

[Faygo Kid]

3. They hate aspects of the country, but mostly worship Bush

Some are brainwashed, some are cynical money grubbers, others crave power, still others seek total control over others. They all accept anything and everything Bush and his handlers have ever said or done. People I have known for years have dropped all skepticism when it comes to Bush (sadly, I have no choice now but to avoid them). I think his amen corner of talk show hosts and Faux News have made it clear that any dissent represents complete disloyalty.

[exlrrp]

4. A Question of Perception

The reason they perceive things differently is that the Bush Administration spends zillions to alter their perception of reality.
Although they look at these same events, they give them different meaning.
What this administration enjoys like no other in my lifetime is complete freedom from Congressinjal or media scrutiny. There's no oversight AT ALL! The issues are there and many more than you list but there has been an absolute refusal to look at the Bush administrations part in them by Congress AND the media.
Almost like all investigative activity ended when Bush was inaugurated.
Its unbelievable sometimes, especially when you think back to the Clinton Days when the media was falling all over itself to get the newest juicy detail--now theyre falling all over themselves to follow the Runaway Bride.
the first thing Bushco did was put the media in its place--right in their lap--where they could embed people in it and feed them the info they wanted. Libby has now said Cheney directed him to disclose classified info but its just an other hohum, not even film at 11:00
Theres more smoking guns in the Bush Administration than in any 6 John Wayne movies but the media refuses to look at them for more than one day and Congress--even "our" side--refuses to do anything about it.
Better start thinking revolution again

[pretzel4gore]

7. chicken come home to roost

reading jon krakauer's book on the mormons, i realized that the USA is living with the big lie right there in its midst....the mormons are a great and good people etc but none can deny the 'church' has a basic problem (joseph smith was once tarred and feathered, after nearly being castrated by a doc who turned out too decent to do the cut, all this due to some teenaged girl being violated!) the basic problem is so vast, so intractable (how do you set record straight when a vital and growing institution based upon it?) just referring to this one thing....columbus never 'discovered' nothing, and the usa has honoured him thanks to organised pressure from a rightwing racist 'family first' groups lobbying government when the school system was being built up (see 'lies my teacher told me') the mass transit system of the entire usa is based upon private cars thanks to behind the scenes dealings made by corporate moneymen, and the vast US railway transit system was replaced w/out the people even realizing it was happening! marajuwanna was declared illegal, as were all drugs, by pressure from drug co's, alcohol makers and (in marajuwanna's case) from the textile manufacturers who didn't want to compete with hemp! there are thousands of examples of the 'public interest' getting hijacked by selfish groups hardly different from the 'mafia' sneaking around in the dark (see 'chinatown') the worst mutation of all has been the media itself - if you go back to the titanic sinking for example, the pigmedia, cuz that's what it was, was saying the rich guys were heroes and the poor guys stuck in steerage were buncha creepy losers etc...the same news media went easy on hitler/mussilini etc, and demonised the union movement (chk out what the press say about the spanish civil war! jesus christ almighty!)...despite a lying press working hand in hand with a mafia type bizness community, the usa prospered but it meant a usa president could be murdered in broad daylight and another usa prez run outta office through a coup (nixon) and finally a grasping half wit who thinks he's jesus number two is claiming the white house cuz he's white, or something, and noone can deny it, so we let him!
like you, i'm thouroughly disgusted....

[calmblueocean]

5. That pretty much perfectly captures my own feelings.

My own belief is that most of Bush's supporters simply want revenge for 9/11, and Bush is the only one promising them that. They want the US killing Muslims, and I would bet that a significant percentage of them (30%? 45%) secretly wish Bush would nuke the whole Middle East into glass. Because of this irrational hate, and because most of them were and still are politically apathetic at heart, there is nothing Bush can do to lose their support, so long as he keeps feeding their hate and fear by keeping the US at war. To a Bush supporter, "war" just means "we're kicking their asses"; the idea that war might be making us less safe is inconceivable to them. They don't care about anything else but revenge for 9/11. And they never will. That's why discussing the subject with them is so aggravating -- it's not about logic, it's only about fear and revenge. I will never, ever understand them.

[Magginkat]

6. If they want revenge for 9-11...........

Then they should look toward the White House, it's occupant & it's co-conspirators. Either they revived and carried out Operation Northwoods or at the very least allowed 9-11 to happen.

I happen to think that they were involved in the whole thing.

[sellitman]

8. The author sums things up pretty good.

Thanks for posting!

[yurbud]

9. they just don't want to share or see anyone or hear anything different