Bear Left!

The Surprise Party
Paul Corrigan

It is time for the Republican Party to change its name. I nominate "Surprise Party" as the new moniker. Americans walked over the bridge to the twenty-first century to a great big surprise. Peace and prosperity are lost. In their place are insecurity, economic recession, and eroding civil liberties, health, education, welfare, and environment. Is this what a minority of Americans voted for last November?

If my memory serves me correct, the Bush-Cheney campaign slogan was not "No Pain, No Gain." Bush-Cheney told us that they were more experienced, that Gore was a liar, and that Clinton was a fraud. Bush-Cheney promised to run the country like a corporation. Instead, they are running the country like a Texas high school football program. It is our team against the bad guys. Rhetoric reigns supreme. Loyalty is our duty. America is draped in symbols. The coach is omnipresent on television, while he keeps one eye on the polls. The president should pay attention to the real score.

National Security

• Terrorist Attacks: The Bush Administration has shown itself ill prepared to prevent, respond to, and communicate openly the attacks our nation faces.
• Airport Security: The Republican Party and the administration have put politics ahead of security in supporting failed privatization over federalization.
• International Treaties: The administration cavalierly announced it would renege on or not sign anti-ballistic, germ warfare, and environmental treaties aimed at safeguarding the world population.

Americans are less secure than they were one year ago.

The Economy

• Recession: Our national economy has gone from high levels of growth to a recession. For the first time in most Americans' lives, the United States faces deflation.
• Unemployment: In October, joblessness increased by its largest margin in 21 years.
• Consumer/Investor Confidence: Consumers are not spending and investors are not investing in anywhere near the levels they did during the previous eight years.
• Budget: Budget surpluses have been turned into budget deficits.

Americans are less secure in their economic position than they were one year ago.

Health, Education, Welfare, and the Environment

• Social Spending: Rising security costs combined with economic contraction will decrease the resources available to provide for the health, education, and welfare of Americans and to protect the environment in which we live. Pressure will increase to relax existing environmental regulation.
• Anti-Trust and Corporate Crime: Landmark victories against corporations, including those against the tobacco companies and Microsoft, will be gutted by insider deals.

Americans are less secure about their healthcare, the education and welfare of their children and the quality of their environment than they were one year ago.

Freedom and Civil Liberty

• Censorship: The Bush administration has openly called on the media to censor themselves and the media have complied. The head of CNN has told his reporters that they should include in their war reporting that America's response is justified by the events of 11 September.
• Civil Liberties: Civil liberties are being eroded. These losses are sanitized with terminology like the "USA Patriot Act." Racial profiling is now deemed an acceptable police practice. Our leaders are contemplating employing torture as part of interrogation.

Americans have less freedom and less liberty than they did one year ago.

Like his father, this president Bush is in for his own surprise. Coaches are held responsible for the record of their teams. Polls go up and polls go down. In politics, like football, we keep score.