President George W. Bush On Trump: "We've Seen Nationalism Distorted Into Nativism"

Speaking in New York City today, former President George W. Bush took a not-too-veiled slap at Donald Trump's extreme nationalist policy positions.

Just a few excerpts:

"Argument too easily turns into animosity. Disagreement escalates into dehumanization."

"We've seen nationalism distorted into nativism. We need to recall and recover our own identity."

“Bigotry seems emboldened. Our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication.”

“It means that bigotry and white supremacy in any form is blasphemy against the American creed, and it means the very identity of our nation depends on passing along civic ideals.”

“Bullying and prejudice in our public life … provides permission for cruelty and bigotry.”

“The only way to pass along civic values is to live up to them.”

There's a lot more packed into even just this one minute clip below.

President George W Bush in NYC: "We've seen nationalism distorted into nativism...we need to recall and recover our own identity" pic.twitter.com/dsiSkFzEVp

— Pat Ward (@WardDPatrick) October 19, 2017

Podcast: Tyson Beckford, Will & Grace, The Amazing Race And More

Who wants to hear me talk on this week’s headlines?

• NBC, having already given the green light to the Will & Grace reboot, wants even more
• I’ve got a favorite on this season’s The Amazing Race, and I bet you will, too
• New Mexico says “no” to so-called ex-gay therapy
• Nebraska finally scrubs it's anti-LGBT adoption stance
• International supermodel and actor Tyson Beckford talks with me about his residency in Las Vegas as the Celebrity Guest Host for the world famous Chippendales.

All that and more on this episode of The Randy Report. Hit the play button below :)

President George W. Bush Pens Public Appeal To Trump: Leave HIV/AIDS Program Budget Intact

President George W. Bush

President George W. Bush pens public appeal to the Trump administration to leave the budget for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) intact.

Last month, Trump proposed cutting $300 million from Bush’s extremely successful program that battles HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Here's just an excerpt from Bush's op-ed published by the Washington Post:

As the executive and legislative branches review the federal budget, they will have vigorous debates about how best to spend taxpayers’ money — and they should. Some will argue that we have enough problems at home and shouldn’t spend money overseas. I argue that we shouldn’t spend money on programs that don’t work, whether at home or abroad.

But they should fully fund programs that have proven to be efficient, effective and results-oriented. Saving nearly 12 million lives is proof that PEPFAR works, and I urge our government to fully fund it. We are on the verge of an AIDS-free generation, but the people of Africa still need our help. The American people deserve credit for this tremendous success and should keep going until the job is done.

President Bush On US Under Trump: I Don't Like The Racism And Name-Calling

During President Obama's years in the White House, former President George W. Bush refused (wisely) to criticize his successor saying he didn't want to make a difficult job that much harder.

A month into President Trump's administration, though, Bush has voiced some artfully phrased comments about the new Commander-In-Chief.

Via PEOPLE.com:

“I don’t like the racism and I don’t like the name-calling and I don’t like the people feeling alienated,” Bush, 70, tells PEOPLE in an interview for the new issue of the magazine on newsstands Friday.

“Nobody likes that.”

A spokesman for Bush previously told PEOPLE that neither he nor the former first lady voted for Trump – or for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton – in November. Both of the Bushes, who had campaigned for Bush’s younger brother Jeb in the 2016 Republican primaries, cast write-in votes on Election Day for a candidate they did not reveal.

President Bush On The Media: "I Consider The Media To Be Indispensable"

We haven't heard much from President George W. Bush since he left office in 2009.

Over the Obama years he kept pretty silent, choosing to stay out of politics. I thought that served him well. After the tumultuous economic conditions of his last year in office, it felt right that he chill for a while.

But this morning, during an interview with Today show host Matt Lauer, he was asked about a number of topics regarding the Trump administration.

Asked if he considered the media “the enemy of the people” as Donald Trump has described it, Bush praised the press for it's role in our democracy:

“I consider the media to be indispensable to democracy. That we need an independent media to hold people like me to account. I mean, power can be very addictive and it can be corrosive and it’s important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power, whether it be here or elsewhere.”

Regarding the idea of an investigation into the Trump/Russia connection, Bush said, “I think we all need answers.”

Photo Of The Day: President George W. Bush And First Lady Michelle Obama

From photographer David Kennerly on Facebook:

My favorite photo that I took today at a terrific event.

First Lady Michelle Obama gives former President George W. Bush a big hug at the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture today.

President Bush signed the bill authorizing the NMAAHC in 2003.

George W. Bush: Ted Cruz Is "Opportunistic" For "Sucking Up" To Donald Trump

Eyebrows were raised last night when former President George W. Bush unexpectedly ripped into several of his brother's opponents in the GOP primary season at a Denver fundraising event, with Sen. Ted Cruz particularly in his crosshairs.

Via Raw Story:

Bush’s dismissive tone toward the Tea Party lawmaker — who worked on his campaign as a domestic policy advisor in 1999 — came as a surprise for many of the 100 donors at the event. At one point, Bush reportedly said of Cruz, “I just don’t like the guy.”

While the former Texas governor expressed confidence in his brother’s ability to win the party’s nomination, attendees said, he was generally pleasant during his 35-minute speech, with the exception of his remarks on Cruz, who he reportedly accused of “hijacking” the GOP in both Texas and Washington.

“He said he found it ‘opportunistic’ that Cruz was sucking up to [Donald] Trump and just expecting all of his support to come to him in the end,” one attendee said, an allusion to Cruz’s somewhat warmer relationship with the current Republican front-runner.

Bush also reportedly criticized another candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), although not as harshly

“He’s a young, first-term senator; I’m not sure if that qualifies you to be president,” Bush said of Rubio, according to two attendees, before quipping that should Cruz win the Republican presidential nomination, “I’ll be back here next year telling you that doesn’t matter.”

George W. Bush Offered To Officiate A Same-Sex Wedding In 2013

According to the Washington Blade, former President George W. Bush offered to officiate a 2013 same-sex wedding in Kennebunkport, Maine, for lesbian couple Bonnie Clement and Helen Thorgalsen, according to a new article published in the Boston Globe.

As was widely reported before, the Boston Globe notes that former President George H.W. Bush made headlines when he attended their wedding in 2013.

According to reports at the time, George H.W. Bush served as a witness at the wedding.

But the article also reports something that has previously been undisclosed in the media: former President George W. Bush “offered to perform the ceremony but had a scheduling conflict.”

Some mornings, Bush drops into H.B. Provisions, a cozy general store owned by Bonnie Clement and her wife, Helen Thorgalsen (George H.W. Bush made international headlines when he attended their wedding in 2013; George W. Bush offered to perform the ceremony but had a scheduling conflict).

This would certainly be a big pivot for George W. considering during his presidency he supported a Federal Marriage Amendment to the US Constitution that would have outlawed same-sex marriage.

The Washington Blade reports reaching out to H.B. Provisions in Kennebunkport regarding the Boston Globe's assertion. Apparently, the person who answered the phone said, “There’s no story there. There’s nothing to tell. Please just leave me alone.”

I'll be curious to see if more confirmation comes along in the next few days.

Bill Maher On The Differences Between Presidents Bush And Obama

May 1, 2003 President George W. Bush landed on an aircraft carrier and announced "Mission Accomplished."

May 1, 2011 President Barack Obama ACTUALLY accomplished the mission of getting Osama bin Laden.

On Friday night's Real Time, Bill Maher reminded us of the Cheney Bush administration's failures while highlighting the successes of the Obama administration on the same issues.

The Last Time A Bush Was President

(source)

Do you think we were better off under President George W. Bush?

Jon Stewart on the Cognitive Dissonance of LatteSalute

On last night's The Daily Show, Jon Stewart addressed the hypocrisy (shocker!) of the right wing media's outrage over the recent "Latte Salute" incident involving President Obama and an inartful salute.

Among other things, Stewart points out that President Obama is not the first prez to have a sloppy salute moment. We've all seen the now-famous photo of President Bush saluting with his dog in his hands.  Nuff said...

And, Stewart contrasts Fox News pundit Eric Bollings' statements "These people put their lives on the line for us. Show the respect" with his later quip in the very show when he dissed a female pilot performing air strikes in the Middle East saying "Would that be considered "boobs on the ground" or no?"

Stewart suffers no fools easily here. Watch below:

The Daily Show
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Jobs report: 54 consecutive months of positive jobs growth

See those red lines?  That represents the last year of President George W. Bush's presidency.

Red is bad.

See all those blue lines above the zero mark?  All 54 of them?  54 consecutive months of positive private sector job growth. Those are after President Obama's policies took effect.

Blue is good.

Any questions?

Another right wing myth goes down: Obama's vacation days

It's a popular myth for the right wing to bellow about the "extreme" number of days that President Obama has taken.

Except...

The last couple of 2-term GOP Presidents took a WHOLE lot more vacation days than Obama.

I don't remember them complaining about that, do you?

Oh - and the stock market didn't double under them, either.

And we have never had 53 straight months of positive job growth until Obama.

Pesky, pesky facts...

Read full details at Politifact.

Vacations Days: President Bush vs President Obama

If you watch Fox News, you could be under the impression that President Obama vacations all the time.

And then there's the facts...

Folks, if you watch Fox News you have to know the edict from the top is "smear President Obama as much as possible."

It makes for good GOP politics, I guess...

Prez who takes responsibility versus one who doesn't?

Which do you prefer?  A President who takes responsibility or one who ducks it?

George W. Bush on gay marriage today

Former President George W. Bush gave an interview to ABC News and ducked the subject of same-sex marriage when asked if he'd "evolved" on the issue.

There did seem to be some softening in his position though, if you read between the lines. The former President did say, "It's very important for people not to be overly critical of someone else until you examine your own heart."

Here's a transcript:

JONATHAN KARL: I saw a journalist in Zambia asked you about gay marriage, and whether it is compatible with Christian values. And you had an interesting response. You said, “I shouldn’t be taking a speck out of someone else’s eye when I have a log in my own.”

GEORGE W. BUSH: I meant that I wasn’t going to answer the question then, and I’m not going to answer it now in terms of the political question. I just don’t want to wade back in the debate. I’m out of politics. But I meant it’s very important for people not to be overly critical of someone else until you’ve examined your own heart.

JONATHAN KARL: Have your views on this evolved at all?

GEORGE W. BUSH: Jonathan, you didn’t hear my answer. (LAUGH) I’m not gonna wade back into those kinds of issues. I’m out of politics. The only way I can really make news is either criticize the President, which I don’t want to do, criticize my own party, or wade in on a controversial issue.

You'll recall Bush won his second term by taking advantage of excitement about 2004 ballot measures to ban same sex marriage in Ohio recently hinted that his views may now be softening. Plus, during his presidency, Bush supported a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

In her 2010 memoir Spoken From The Heart, Laura Bush described how she urged her husband not to make gay marriage a significant issue in 2004.

(via Raw Story)

Ten years ago today: May 1, 2003

• 4,474 soldiers dead
• Nearly 32,000 wounded US soldiers
• Veteran suicide rate now at 22 per day
• At least 112, 000 Iraqi civilians dead
• Total direct death tol of at least 176,000
• Estimated excess death toll of more than 650,000 Iraqis
• $1.7 trillion spent by the USA
• Projected total expense of more that $6 trillion
• Still no WMDs

But remember - "Mission Accomplished..."

Barbara Bush: "We've had enough Bushes" for President

Former First Lady Barbara Bush took the other ladies of the Bush clan by surprise it seems when she stated on The Today Show today that "We've had enough Bushes" as President.

Check out the tweets that followed.

 

(via JMG)

George W. Bush: When asked about marriage equality "steps off the stage"

With the opening of his presidential library, former President George W. Bush has been on a media blitz. This morning he appeared on CBS This Morning and spoke to Charlie Rose, who asked him about his previous support for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Said Bush: "Well I'm not weighing in on these issues, as you know, because I've made the decision to get off the stage. And so I'm off the stage."

His decision to be "off the stage" does not apply to immigration or terror attacks, both of which he weighs in on in the same segment.

No surprise.

(via Towleroad)