February 10, 2021 Editor

On the Relative Vileness of George W. Bush and Donald Trump, Liz Cheney and Marjorie Taylor Greene

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photo above: via The Huffington Post

WN: One can imagine with the above photo Trump himself readily carrying out family separations at the border . . .

The writer of the article below however makes a compelling observation about U.S. leadership and comparative “vileness.” My only quibble is: he could have sweepingly indicted all past–and present–Presidents . . .

They all have sold out to Empire, about which this website is in part preoccupied, with a trilogy of greed, fear, and hatred its dominant/domination doctrine. American exceptionalism is only in that regard. For the United States since inception has been exceptionally successful in this kind of obscene vileness.

And as pointed out many times too on this website, we Westerners through our military/spy/economic/etc.  alliances are fully in lockstep.

excerpts:

When I think Donald Trump I think of the word: VILE. A combination of evil and repulsive. But when I think of George W. Bush I ALSO think “vile.”

Dick Cheney (as both the most powerful and the most secretive vice president ever) deployed a cabal of neocons to build the bogus case for war on Iraq—a country already tortured by U.S.-imposed sanctions for a decade—throughout 2002. An extremely evil, dishonest, cruel, racist thug, he arranged the appointment of his daughter Liz to a senior post at the State Department. She joined in the campaign of Big Lies that led to the Iraq War. She has never apologized for her role in that massive crime. That she of all people should be posited as model Republican by CNN and MSNBC should affect your stomach acids.

Question for discussion: Who is the MORE vile? Donald Trump—whose single worst crime seems to be the separation of families involving over 550 children losing contact with their parents whose whereabouts is unknown, or George W. Bush—who waged multiple imperialist wars, based on lies, killing hundreds of thousands? [Of course Trump did the same; and depending on definition, will be shown in court to have committed multiple crimes before and during his presidency.]

So choose your vileness: the ongoing if faltering Trumpian wannabe fascist movement, as represented in all its stupidity and incompetence by loony Greene; or the old-school neocon Republican establishment that wants regime change in Russia and China, and believes religiously that the U.S. must dominate the world, as represented by Cheney?

The media summation is that Greene won the day, stripped of her committee memberships but basking in the glowing love of her colleagues, some of whom gave her a standing ovation in the closed door Republican gathering. Cheney survived a party vote to censure her, but the Trumpists have if anything consolidated control temporarily. But if Trump’s star falls (and it could precipitously) and his fandom lose faith (as it probably will) Cheney (now number three Republican leader in the House) will likely emerge as key damage-controller. A vile woman in a time of vile choices.

That would be the normalcy of health care available only for capitalist profit, economic policy by and for the 1%, and systemic racism manifested most savagely by police murders. Humans can do much better but Joe Biden is no more inclined than Liz Cheney to challenge Wall Street and the military-industrial complex. They want to tinker in different ways with the system (capitalism) in deep decline, while maintaining the religious doctrines of U.S. “Exceptionalism,” “Free World” leadership, and the antagonism with a Russian “adversary” (that doesn’t go away—even when the USSR dissolves and ideological issues disappear—because the U.S. and Biden in particular want to continue to expand NATO, provoking the targeted country’s natural indignation).

Please click on: U.S. Leadership & Comparative Vileness

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Editor

Wayne Northey was Director of Man-to-Man/Woman-to-Woman – Restorative Christian Ministries (M2/W2) in British Columbia, Canada from 1998 to 2014, when he retired. He has been active in the criminal justice arena and a keen promoter of Restorative Justice since 1974. He has published widely on peacemaking and justice themes. You will find more about that on this website: a work in progress.

Always appreciate constructive feedback! Thanks.