In what will surely provoke another infuriating round of profoundly undeserved Bush nostalgia, headlines are blaring today that former president George W. Bush says there's evidence that Russia meddled in the 2016 election. Still benefiting mightily from the soft bigotry of low expectations, Bush is getting a big ol' public pat on the head for stating what is manifestly obvious.
But that's only half his quote. The full quote is: "There's pretty clear evidence that the Russians meddled. Whether they affected the outcome is another question."
A question the answer to which is equally as obvious — but Bush is still as Republican as they come, and there ain't no way that a Republican will admit that a Republican presidency is illegitimate, no less that a Republican simply can't reach the White House without some sort of cheating.
Which is why my primary response to this is: Call me when Bush says there's pretty clear evidence that the Supreme Court meddled in the 2000 election.
Because what's his position, exactly? That non-democratic processes are cool when they get him elected but not when they get Donald Trump elected?
Oh.
Like I keep saying: There would be no Trump presidency if there hadn't been a Bush presidency. And Bush's presidency started with a deeply undemocratic decision to halt a recount, at the Bush campaign's request, that two independent audits ultimately found would have delivered the state, and thus the presidency, to Al Gore.
Am I supposed to feel grateful to Bush that he stole an election without the assistance of a foreign adversary?
That doesn't make him a patriot. It makes him a key player in the Republican war on democracy.
Shakesville is run as a safe space. First-time commenters: Please read Shakesville's Commenting Policy and Feminism 101 Section before commenting. We also do lots of in-thread moderation, so we ask that everyone read the entirety of any thread before commenting, to ensure compliance with any in-thread moderation. Thank you.
blog comments powered by Disqus