Bush 43 was/would be worse than a "normal" Republican even without 9/11

[darklordoftech]

- The stem-cell research ban. This blocked research that could save lives.

- No Child Left Behind. This incentivizes schools to do all kinds of crazy things, and what kid wants to take standardized tests?

- He appointed Mel Sembler to be Ambassador to Italy. Mel Sembler has a history that should horrify anyone.

- His VP was CEO of an oil-drilling company, a conflict of interest with the government's job. Cheney also had been encourage to run for President in 1996 by Mel Sembler.

[Some of My Best Friends Are Gay]

Any Republican would have pursued 95% of the same policies that Bush did, so no, not really.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Any Republican would have pursued 95% of the same policies that Bush did, so no, not really.

But would have been far more competent at their jobs which makes a huge difference

[Lechasseur]

Any Republican would have pursued 95% of the same policies that Bush did, so no, not really.

But would have been far more competent at their jobs which makes a huge difference

Tbh I think Bush's big issue was his lack of foreign policy experience, vis-à-vis other Republicans. I don't think his domestic policies would have faired better under another Republican. I think the issue was especially the party platform in general at the time, which I don't think would have worked well with anyone (had McCain won that primary and the GE in 2000, we'd be talking about how awful McCain was and asking what-ifs about Bush).

[Lechasseur]

Any Republican would have pursued 95% of the same policies that Bush did, so no, not really.

And yeah I agree, that was my point in my above post. I think the bad stuff Bush did would have been pursued by any other GOP president.

[darklordoftech]

Any Republican would have pursued 95% of the same policies that Bush did, so no, not really.

If you’re talking about tax cuts, you’d be correct, but the things I listed were unique to Bush.

[Some of My Best Friends Are Gay]

Any Republican would have pursued 95% of the same policies that Bush did, so no, not really.

If you’re talking about tax cuts, you’d be correct, but the things I listed were unique to Bush.

Any Republican other than McCain would have likely done the  first two things you mentioned too, and I bet McCain would have had a similarly hawkish reaction to 9/11 assuming he didn't somehow prevent it from happening.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Bush 43 giving Dick Cheney the Keys to the Kingdom happened before 9/11 (hell before his Presidency - read up on the Bush-Cheney transition team), for what it's worth.

9/11 and the response to it definitely made everything that was already there much worse though.

[darklordoftech]

Any Republican would have pursued 95% of the same policies that Bush did, so no, not really.

If you’re talking about tax cuts, you’d be correct, but the things I listed were unique to Bush.

Any Republican other than McCain would have likely done the  first two things you mentioned too, and I bet McCain would have had a similarly hawkish reaction to 9/11 assuming he didn't somehow prevent it from happening.

Mike Pence voted against No Child Left Behind, and Cheney and Nancy Reagan opposed the Stem-Cell Research Ban.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

Bush would have been worse than other Republicans in some ways but less bad in other ways; other Republicans might have pursued tax breaks for the rich even more aggressively (the lowest top tax bracket under Bush was still significantly higher than the lowest under Reagan), and/or accompanied them with austerity in ways that Bush didn't.

[darklordoftech]

NCLB is a confusing case in retrospect, as the country shifted from bipartisan support to bipartisan opposition. But again, this was a moderate alternative to conservative proposals such as eliminating the federal Department of Education. It's doubtful that another Republican president would have done anything that the Democrats of 2019 would like any better.

I actually think eliminating the Department of Education would be a good thing.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Bush would have been worse than other Republicans in some ways but less bad in other ways; other Republicans might have pursued tax breaks for the rich even more aggressively (the lowest top tax bracket under Bush was still significantly higher than the lowest under Reagan), and/or accompanied them with austerity in ways that Bush didn't.

Only for Income Rates, not for Capital Gains and Dividends(those were also 28% under Reagan while they were 15% under Bush)