When Kayne West said “George Bush doesn’t care about black people!” , he was partly right. George Bush doesn’t care about the majority of Americans or what they care about. From HRC’s “Back Story” blog:
It’s really sad, but apparently Bush never tires of catering to his base, despite the undeniable (and well publicized) loss of confidence in his judgment and leadership by the majority of Americans. It’s not that complicated. In May, Gallup released a poll that showed overwhelming support for adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the new hate crimes law. There was strong support across demographic lines. There were just 26% of Americans against the new law.
Apparently he doesn’t even care about his own party. With his poll numbers in the tank at 29%, he continues the war in Iraq against what the American people have repeatedly stated they want. If there is no change in his position by November 2008, Republicans will lose seats in both houses by a historic margin.
And why would he go against the majority of Americans that support hate crimes legislation? According to a statement in the Washington Times, the White House will veto the legislation because:
“The qualifications [in the bill] are so broad that virtually any crime involving a homosexual individual has potential to have hate crimes elements,” – White House spokesman Tony Fratto
This is the same type of false rhetoric that the religious right is throwing around. From the legislation, a hate crime is committed when one:
“willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability of any person“
George Bush (and Republicans in general) haven’t worked to invalidate 18 U.S.C. § 245 (b)(2), the hate crimes law that was passed in 1969, so I’m not sure why he’d veto this one.
I honestly can’t figure out why he’s doing this. The Republican Party has been on an upswing since 1994. Yet he seems to be oblivious to polling, to the what the American people want, or much of anything else that will keep his party from being destroyed in 2008.
And the thing that is most befuddling is that this legislation will pass. It’s simply a matter of when, not if. By putting up this roadblock he’s turning more voters against the Republican Party. In the end, he’s harming his own party and the American people.
I still ask myself, for what reason?
