Not Incompetent, Just Plain Evil

My pal Marty alerted me to a site called the Rockridge Institute, where I found an essay illuminating the difference between the common perception of the Bush maladministration's incompetence and the reality of its actually being quite competent in carrying out the conservative agenda. This was a real eye-opener for me, as I've been on record countless times in the past decrying the supposed ineptitude of the Bush cabal, when I should have been pointing out that many of the policies that they have put in place and subsequent failures of government to provide for the welfare of the American people are actually planned that way. They mean to do what they're doing -- which is jarring when you first think about it, but certainly makes more sense than just assuming that they're foolish and overmatched at governing. It also exposes them as more Machiavelli than Mayberry, which is pretty disconcerting in itself. Here is a brief excerpt from the essay, but I urge you to click on the link and read the entire piece for yourself:

Perhaps the biggest irony of the Bush-is-incompetent frame is that these “failures” — Iraq, Katrina and the budget deficit — have been successes in terms of advancing the conservative agenda.

One of the goals of Conservatives is to keep people from relying on the federal government. Under Bush, FEMA was reorganized to no longer be a first responder in major natural disasters, but to provide support for local agencies. This led to the disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina. Now citizens, as well as local and state governments, have become distrustful of the federal government’s capacity to help ordinary citizens. Though Bush’s popularity may have suffered, enhancing the perception of federal government as inept turned out to be a conservative victory.

Conservatives also strive to get rid of protective agencies and social programs. The deficit Bush created through irresponsible tax cuts and a costly war in Iraq will require drastic budget cuts to remedy. Those cuts, conservatives know, won’t come from military spending, particularly when they raise the constant specter of war. Instead, the cuts will be from what Conservatives have begun to call “non-military, discretionary spending;” that is, the programs that contribute to the common good like the FDA, EPA, FCC, FEMA, OSHA and the NLRB. Yet another success for the conservative agenda.

Both Iraq and Katrina have enriched the coffers of the conservative corporate elite, thus further advancing the conservative agenda. Halliburton, Lockheed Martin and US oil companies have enjoyed huge profit margins in the last six years. Taking Iraq’s oil production off-line in the face of rising international demand meant prices would rise, making the oil inventories of Exxon and other firms that much more valuable, leading to record profits. The destruction wrought by Katrina and Iraq meant billions in reconstruction contracts. The war in Iraq (and the war in Afghanistan) meant billions in military equipment contracts. Was there any doubt where those contracts would go? Chalk up another success for Bush’s conservative agenda.

Now this is not to say that Preznit Clueless Smirking Fuck himself is particularly gifted or able or competent, but that the people surrounding him are not all idiots and imbeciles (like he is). Not by a long shot -- they know what they want, and they have made huge strides in achieving their goals. Unfortunately, those goals have not been good for you and me and the average American, and as long as they remain in power, our situation will continue to get worse.