THOMPSON: Giving George W. Bush credit for something he did 20 years ago

OPINION

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t rank George W. Bush anywhere near the top of modern-day U.S. presidents. Oh, sure he beats Donald J. Trump handily, but that’s a bar so low I couldn’t limbo under it.

Even so - and to be fair - I have to give “Dubya” considerable credit for what he did 20 years ago. No, I’m not talking about the war he fabricated killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, that’s something he owns and deserves the harshest criticism.

But that same year, President Bush was instrumental in stopping Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in its tracks…and saving more than 25 million people. So - and I’ve never said or written this about George W. Bush - “Congratulations, Dubya…well done!”

Bush pushed for and Congress passed the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR for short), and though there is little doubt it is the best thing any Republican ever did in my lifetime, the legislative authorization expired Sept. 30.

What irony that today’s Republicans fought and killed the reauthorization…maybe not that surprising given that Republicans more closely resembles a cult than a political party. The Conservative whack-jobs leading the Republican Cult started back in May with their usual strategy…lies…spread them loudly.

The Heritage Foundation - a noble enough sounding name camouflaging a less-than-noble mission - released a report warning that the Biden Administration used PEPFAR to promote a “radical social agenda”…including liberalized abortions. Of course, the Foundation offered no evidence…just an accusation. By the way, there is no evidence.

Oh, in case you missed the irony…it is that Republicans who always shout “pro-life” from the mountain tops attacked a program that actually saved real lives - humans actually born - on a scale like nothing America has ever done.

Unfortunately, the Conservatives bullying the Republican Cult keep a scorecard on things like abortion. A small amount of PEPFAR funds went to independent not-for-profits that separately funded some abortions…funding, for example, only when women’s lives were in danger.

But the hypocrisy and self-righteousness of Republican legislators is ever-present…because not having a perfect “pro-life” report card is just too scary for them. I’ve yet to understand how a fetus trumps the mother’s life. Oh, wait, I get it…she’s a woman.

The Heritage Foundation and Republicans - bless their organs that substitute for hearts - also argued that AIDS is primarily a “lifestyle disease” and so “should be suppressed through education, moral suasion and legal sanctions”…not cures from medical science…even if there is one.

I’m not saying Republican Representatives and Senators are crazier than an infestation of cockroaches…well, actually that’s exactly what I’m saying. How else can one explain their faulty logic…or the 2021 Public Religion Research Institute poll that found 23 percent of Republicans agreed that, “The government, media and financial worlds in the U.S. are controlled by a group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles who run a global child sex-trafficking operation.”

Unbelievable? Well, consider that today, 60 percent of Republicans believe the risks of COVID vaccines outweigh any benefits. Really, how is it then that the overwhelming majority of pandemic deaths occurred among those unvaccinated? In fact, vaccine effectiveness was 79 percent for recipients of two doses and 94 percent for recipients of three doses.

And, there’s this…how is that two-thirds of Republicans today don’t believe President Biden was legitimately elected? Yeah, maybe these folks simply are crazy...goofy…dare I say, un-American? Sadly, that craziness has even been imported into Canada…fuelling an already crazy group of Right Wing, anti-government, anti-vaccine folks.

At a time when America isn’t flush with friends around the world…Africa is the most pro-American continent on Earth. Why? Maybe because 25 million Africans are alive today because of George Bush’s Republicans. And all the Republicans that warn that China is beating America in winning the hearts and minds of people around the world…what could better serve Xi Jinping’s interest better than cancelling PEPFAR. Happy Birthday Xi Jinping.

Republicans haven’t governed in so long they might well have forgotten how. It is tragic…truly. George W. Bush - and even he would likely admit not being among the best U.S. presidents - is smart enough to cringe that today’s Republicans killed PEPFAR.

The United States is no longer edging toward an authoritarian form of government…it is racing headlong toward it. And, Dubya, I’m sorry today’s so-called Republicans took back one of the few great things you ever did.

Old-school Republicans like John McCain, Barry Goldwater, Nelson Rockefeller, Dwight Eisenhower and Theodore Roosevelt are all spinning in their respective graves. Abe Lincoln…oh, he’s been spinning so long he could easily pop out of the ground somewhere in China very soon.

— Don Thompson, an American awaiting Canadian citizenship, lives in Vernon and in Florida. In a career that spans more than 40 years, Don has been a working journalist, a speechwriter and the CEO of an advertising and public relations firm. A passionate and compassionate man, he loves the written word as much as fine dinners with great wines.

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