Who's LEFT to be Right?

By NanceGreggs


The chant started from the moment one George W. Bush was installed in the presidency and, seven years later, it has continued unabated: Everyone else is wrong, and the Bush kid is right.

It doesn’t matter how many times the facts prove otherwise, any more than it matters how many contradictions clutter this mode of thinking, nor how often the consequences of such stubborn, ill-advised narrow-mindedness have resulted in disastrous results for our economy, our world standing, the goals of our nation and the betterment of the international community.

When economists stated that Bush’s tax-cuts to the wealthy, and his squandering of the surplus left by his predecessor, would eventually lead to disastrous results for the US economy and the middle-class, we were told THEY were wrong.

In the immediate aftermath of the attacks of 9-11, many commented on the fact that the unqualified support of our global neighbors offered an unprecedented opportunity to instill a sense of cooperation among all nations. We went to war instead, because we were told THEY were wrong.

In the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq, there was ample evidence proferred by the intelligence community to dispute the idea that Saddam Hussein was in any way connected to 9-11, Osama Bin Laden, or Al Qaeda. We were told THEY were wrong.

As Colin Powell stood before the UN and regurgitated the talking points espoused by George Tenet and others as per Iraq’s nuclear capabilities, experienced weapons inspectors disputed the veracity of Powell’s presentation. We were told THEY were wrong.

With the launch of Shock & Awe, as experienced military experts declared that more boots-on-the-ground would be needed to complete the task at hand, we were told THEY were wrong.

When Paul Wolfowitz told the nation that the Iraq War would pay for itself, and Rumsfeld announced that victory would be ours within a matter of months, many experienced military and economic analysts predicted a lengthy war that would cost the American taxpayers billions of dollars. We were told THEY were wrong.

As the Republican-controlled Senate and House reminded us that they were the party of fiscal responsibility who would safeguard our financial well-being, many warned that the nation was about to be plunged into unprecedented debt. We were told THEY were wrong.

When NIE reports surfaced confirming the rise in terrorist activity and the resultant recruitment of new adherents to its cause world-wide as being directly related to the invasion of Iraq, we were told THEY were wrong.

When international human rights organizations openly declared their beliefs that torture, rendition, and secret prisons were now part of the Bush administration’s modus operandi, we were told THEY were wrong.

When economists predicted the collapse of financial institutions as a result of the kind of corruption that led to sub-prime mortgage lending, along with the subsequent devaluation of the US dollar, we were told THEY were wrong.

When the level-headed among us predicted the dire consequences that could result from the appointment of inexperienced administration cronies to positions within organizations like FEMA and the FDA, we were told THEY were wrong.

When experienced corporations warned that awarding no-accountability, no-bid contracts to war-profiteers like Halliburton would lead to the rising costs of war, and the probability of financial abuses, we were told THEY were wrong.

In summary, according to the Bush administration and its supporters, the facts have all been wrong, while the predictions that have been proven wrong are still being upheld as having been inarguably RIGHT all along.

As we look at those who have now been discounted as being wrong, all facts to the contrary – the military, the economists, the intelligence professionals, the international community, the whistle-blowers, the truth-tellers, the investigative journalists, and finally the American people – it begs the question: If everyone is wrong, who is left to be right?

George W. Bush?

Right.


Posted in full with author's permission.

Originally posted at democraticunderground.com: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/NanceGreggs/314