Reg Clark is an eloquent and insightful writer. He is not sure where he got this, but he did want to share it. On many issues - rhetoric notwithstanding - put both following the same flawed policies.
As Glenn Greenwald said, "One of the worst myths Democratic partisans love to tell themselves - and everyone else - is that the GOP refuses to support President Obama no matter what he does. Like its close cousin - the massively deceitful inside-DC grievance that the two parties refuse to cooperate on anything - it's hard to overstate how false this Democratic myth is. When it comes to foreign policy, war, assassinations, drones, surveillance, secrecy, and civil liberties, President Obama's most stalwart, enthusiastic defenders are often found among the most radical precincts of the Republican Party."
Bush was a horrible president. His warmongering, disrespect for civil liberties, redistribution of wealth from the poor and middle class to the super-elite, and obsession for secrecy were all abysmal.
But how does Obama stack up by objective measurements?
Let’s compare …
Favoring the Super-Elite the Expense of Everyone Else
Income inequality has increased more under Obama than under Bush. http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/.../growth-of-income...
Under Obama, the richest Americans have captured more than 100% of all income gains. http://www.elsa.berkeley.edu/.../saez-UStopincomes-2011.pdf
(and see this) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.../top-one-percent-income...).
Liberal Nobel prize economist Joseph Stiglitz said in 2009 that Obama’s toxic asset plan 'amounts to robbery of the American people'. http://www.cnbc.com/id/29848741
Bailing Out the Big Banks
While everyone knows about the $700 billion 'Tarp' bailout which started under Bush, a top banking analyst puts the current bailouts under Obama at more than $780 billion each year.
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../top-banking-analyst...
(Background here - http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../big-banks-continue-to...)
Protecting Financial Criminals
Obama has prosecuted fewer financial crimes than President Reagan, Clinton or either of the Bush presidents. http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../obama-prosecuting...
Obama’s chief law enforcement officer – the Attorney General of the United States – has publicly stated that he won’t go after big banks. http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../the-government-has-it...
Targeting Whistleblowers
Obama has prosecuted more whistleblowers than all other presidents combined. http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../obama-has-prosecuted...
Obama – even more than Bush – is protecting criminal activity by prosecuting and harassing whistleblowers. http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../government-protects...
Indeed, the Obama administration is are literally treating whistleblowers as terrorists. http://www.newrepublic.com/article/112554#
Using Government Secrecy
In March 2010, AP documented that – under Obama – 17 major agencies were 50 percent more likely to deny freedom of information requests than under Bush. http://articles.latimes.com/.../la-na-ticket21-2010mar21
An ACLU staff attorney puts it: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.../foia-request_n_2851980...
'In some ways, the Obama administration is actually even more aggressive on secrecy than the Bush administration.'
A new AP investigation published last week shows that the Obama administration has recently become more secretive than ever. http://www.boston.com/.../6JZjnMHyHyO1hfG30x6QiO/story.html
"Trampling Liberties and the Constitution
Liberals rightfully hate Bush for trampling liberties. Bush even called the Constitution a 'God Damn Piece of Paper'.
But Obama has gone much further than Bush ever did by:
(1) Declaring the right to assassinate Americans living on U.S. soil http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../attorney-general... (no … http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../the-department-of...
this was never disclaimed without any due process of law http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../did-the-department-of...)
(2) Declaring that he can indefinitely detain Americans on U.S. soil without any due process of law http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../constitutional-expert...
(3) Spying on Americans more widely than Bush http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../americans-the-most... (the former head of the National Security Agency’s global digital data gathering program – William Binney – says that he pervasiveness of spying under Obama has only 'gotten worse' http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../top-nsa-spying-chief...)
(4) Bush destroyed much of the separation of powers which made our country great. Under Obama, it’s gotten worse. For example, the agency which decides who should be killed by drone is the same agency which spies on all Americans. http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../the-same-secret...
(5) Otherwise shredding the Bill of Rights http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/02/constitution.html
(6) Starting Military Conflicts In New Countries
Liberals rightfully lambast Bush for getting us into the disastrous Iraq war.
But Obama has in fact launched wars in Libya, http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../why-do-progressive...
Syria, http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../u-s-approved-israeli...
Yemen, http://www.yemendrones.newamerica.net/
Pakistan … http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/cat.../projects/drones/
and up to 35 African nations (http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../the-war-on-terror...
and see this http://usnews.nbcnews.com/.../17057398-obama-deploys...).
Obama – citing a Nixon administration official’s justification for invading Cambodia – has claimed his power extends into every country in the world … well beyond those where we are engaged in hostilities. http://www.newyorker.com/.../the-release-of-a-doj-white...
Obama has dramatically escalated the use of drone assassinations, which are creating http://www.nytimes.com/.../how-drones-help-al-qaeda.html...
many more terrorists http://www.businessinsider.com/obamas-covert-drone-war-in...
than they are killing. http://www.cnn.com/.../bergen-brennan-drones/index.html
The former chief military prosecutor at Guantanamo says that Obama’s drone surge is as damaging to our country as Bush’s torture program. https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/02/01-5
I think he’s actually underestimating damage from the program, as drones have become the number 1 recruiting tool for Al Qaeda (especially since children are now being targeted for drone assassination). …http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../no-child-left-behind.html
Oh, and torture is still happening http://articles.washingtonpost.com/.../36323571_1_obama...
on Obama’s watch; http://www.buzzfeed.com/.../things-democrats-would-have...
background http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../can-nobel-prize-winner...).
And the Obama administration has probably supported even more terrorists – in Libya, Syria and elsewhere – than Bush. See this: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../al-qaeda-terrorists-u...
this: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../weve-always-been-at...
this: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../u-s-government-is...
this: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../is-america-the-worlds...
and this: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/.../sleeping-with-the....
References:
1-Why Barack Obama is the More Effective Evil
2-100 Ways Republicans Are Just Like Democrats
3-Obama Made Me Lose My Facebook Friends (Or 15 Questions)
4-The Silent Death of the American Left
(References 5 - 20 contain a total of over 7,000 additional references illustrating the point that - rhetoric notwithstanding - there is much agreement with democrats and republicans on basic policy.)
12-Healthcare
13-Our Crumbling Infrastructure
14-Labor
20-Widespread Police Misconduct and an Expanding Prison Population
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