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George W. Bush’s War for America: Conservatism on Trial

George W. Bush’s War for America: Conservatism on Trial. Lecture Plan. Culture Wars Continued: the “50:50 Nation” thesis George W. Bush’s Mission: the triumphs and trials of American conservatism. The 2000 Election. CONTEXT Era of divided government

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George W. Bush’s War for America: Conservatism on Trial

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  1. George W. Bush’s War for America: Conservatism on Trial

  2. Lecture Plan • Culture Wars Continued: the “50:50 Nation” thesis • George W. Bush’s Mission: the triumphs and trials of American conservatism

  3. The 2000 Election CONTEXT • Era of divided government • Culture Wars: the religious right and Clinton • Judicial politics

  4. Bush v Gore December 2000 Implications: • Impossibility of reforming the system • The “Cult of the Constitution” against the will of the people? • Partisan balance, but Republicans have better access to courts and media • Public and media sanguine

  5. The 50:50 Nation? Winning party’s percentage of the popular vote:

  6. The 50:50 Nation?

  7. The 50:50 Nation?

  8. The 50:50 Nation?

  9. The 50:50 Nation?

  10. The 50:50 Nation? • Political realignment since 1970s means that parties now reflect liberal-conservative divide • Does the two-party system exaggerate differences over “values” as a means of buttressing their support? (c.f. pre-1932 political system?)

  11. Bush and the Christian Right • Personal story: redemption • “Faith politics” • “God gave us this man” (Falwell)

  12. Bush Before 9/11 • “Compassionate conservatism”? • Bipartisanship?: Education Act, 2001 • Christian evangelicals: John Ashcroft as Attorney General • Economic conservatives: huge upper-income tax cuts • Nationalist: pulled out of Kyoto protocol, refused to sign up to International Criminal Court

  13. September 11, 2001

  14. This crusade will rid the world of evil-doers. We’ve never seen this kind of evil before, but the evil-doers have never seen the American people in action before either… This will be monumental struggle of good versus evil, but good will prevail. President Bush, September 16, 2001

  15. 9/11 as God’s Judgement “I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians, the ACLU, all of them who tried to secularise America I point the finger and say you made this happen. God will not be mocked.” Jerry Falwell, September 15, 2001

  16. Implications of 9/11 attacks • Challenge to states’ monopoly of power • Exposed Americans to issues of nature of US power in the world • Re-orientated American political agenda • Radically altered cost-benefit analysis in West’s struggle against Islamist terrorism • Creation of international consensus

  17. Bush’s Worldview

  18. Bush’s Worldview • The world is a dangerous place • Self-interested nation-states are the key actors in world politics • Power, especially military power, and the will to use it, is all that matters • Multilateral agreements and institutions are neither essential nor necessarily conducive to American interests • American exceptionalism: purity of motives; what America wants is good for everyone • ACTION is all that is respected

  19. End to Consensus: invasion of Iraq • Christian fundamentalism & Israel Lobby • Neo-cons: the “Bush doctrine” (pre-emptive war) • Oil interests: Cheney, Halliburton, corporate profits from Iraq • “Democratisation” and “modernisation” of Middle East

  20. Project for a New American Century, Letter to President Clinton, January 26, 1998 We urge you to articulate this aim, and to turn your Administration's attention to implementing a strategy for removing Saddam's regime from power… Although we are fully aware of the dangers and difficulties in implementing this policy, we believe the dangers of failing to do so are far greater…

  21. The road to the Iraq invasion • Link Saddam Hussain to Al Qaeda: Jan 2003: 44% of Americans thought Iraq was behind 9/11 attacks (Knight Ridder poll) • Creation of threat: “WMD”, exaggeration of intelligence • Stress need for immediate action: Discredit Hans Blix, UN process • Invention of Niger connection, smearing of Joe Wilson, revealed his wife as a CIA agent

  22. The Role of Oil • US support for Iraq in war against Iran • Decades of ties between Bushes, Saudis, Bin Ladens

  23. The “Home Front” • New language: “homeland” • Debate over civil liberties: the PATRIOT Act, Guantanamo Bay • Implications of American casualties, American “barbarism”: lost moral high ground? • Limit sacrifice: more tax cuts, no draft

  24. 2004 Election http://livingroomcandidate.movingimage.us/election/index.php?nav_action=election&nav_subaction=overview&campaign_id=178

  25. 2004 Election

  26. Bush’s Legacy • Limits of conservatism? • Limits of revolution? • Dangers of “America Alone” foreign policy and exceptionalist ideology on which it is based?

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