by J.R. McKinney
Daily Lobo Guest Columnist
I recall a much younger and more idealistic Bill Clinton than we see today.
When he ran against Pat Buchanan and Bush Sr., his platform enticed many of us with the promise of universal healthcare and, oh yes, protecting our industries from cheap imported goods by way of his opposition to NAFTA. This was a wise play by a savvy politician as he appealed to unions and a largely untapped group of young voters. Appearing twice on MTV, he motivated young, apathetic Americans to get out and vote. Monica Lewinsky is not the only person he "did not have sex with." Clinton screwed us all by passing NAFTA and abandoning universal healthcare.
But, Clinton balanced the budget and he kept our enemies at bay with diplomacy and a seemingly endless supply of cruise missiles. North Korea feared Clinton due to that he used his authority as commander-in-chief without any one else's approval or opinion.
He gets little credit for being decisive. He likewise gets little blame for his 180-degree turn on NAFTA. I believe that after 10 years of NAFTA, our economy has finally found its watermark. That is to say, remember the good old days because they won't ever come completely back - they cannot.
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Our country doesn't have the industrial infrastructure it did in the past, it's gone. We gave it away to the third world and Mexico, under NAFTA. Jimmy Hoffa is rolling over in his grave in the end zone at Giant stadium.
Well, here we are spring of 2003 and we have a Republican in office spending money as if there is no tomorrow. His platform had included tax cuts, which arguably equate to more T-bills for the most wealthy and little more than a steak dinner for the large majority of us. This country was hit by rogue terrorists playing on the good nature and lack of knowledge of the deadly mission that the hijackers had in mind. This has been the excuse for the suspension of the Bill of Rights under the Patriot Act. The name is ironic as it infers that one would be less than patriotic to oppose it.
With mandatory sentencing, privatized prisons and the Patriot Act, there really is no need for courtrooms or a judicial branch at all. The United States has been elevated to an Orwellian society as depicted in his novel 1984. We should be ashamed that we have become the thing we most feared and despised for 200 years: socialists.
Oh, by the way, the economy is still in the tank and your proposed suspension of the tax on dividends, tax cuts and record deficit spending is crippling our country.
Prince George is no Ronald Reagan. He grades no higher than a "C" as a president, "B" for the "war on terror" and an "F" for his domestic agenda. He is beatable in 2004. Bush, while attempting to take the moral high ground and fight the good fight, has forgotten about the business of running this economy. His lack of real economic administrative experience is his glaring weakness. Those people who have claimed that he never held a job until he was 40 and that everything he accomplished was given to him due to his daddy's position(s) have a recurrent point.
I am concerned that no matter how convinced the president is that he is doing the right things, he may truly not know what he is doing. My vote is up for grabs in 2004. I may vote for Bush again, I may not vote at all.
While I am in support of the war in Iraq, I feel like that alone is the only thing Bush has done right. I am starting to believe that George W. may be just another River Oaks, trust-fund ninny and yet, I voted for him. An additional $74.7 billion to "pay for the war" is just unfathomable considering that we are only seven days into the campaign to free Iraq.
The president's accountants seem to be using the same crystal ball that Arthur Anderson used for Enron.
I hope I am not unpatriotic for criticizing the president during wartime; however, I did vote for him and I do support the war. I just don't think I can support this blatant fiscal mismanagement that promises to leave my children in debt. I think I will grow a ponytail, redefine my once-proud status as an apathetic non-voter and reside myself to the fact that politicians are greedy and self-interested.
Crooks are how my grandfather depicted them. He was right.
J.R. McKinney is a student at the UNM Los Alamos branch.
