What was your initial reaction the first time you saw/heard of Bush?

[SeattleGirl]

I'm relatively new to this thread, so I realize others may have asked this question before. But since I didn't see it, I was just wondering what you all thought of Bush the first time you heard of him.

For me, I had an immediate, very negative, very visceral reaction to him. Or should I say, AGAINST him. I knew, and at a deep, gut, spiritual, and mental level that this man would be the worst thing that EVER happened to the US. EVER. And then I read "Shrub" by Molly Ivins, and my fears were confirmed.

I'm curious as to how you felt about/reacted to Bush.

[Why Syzygy]

1. I'm in Texas .

but was living in another state when he grabbed the governorship here. Before that he bought the Texas Rangers, the Dallas area baseball team. That's the first time I remember seeing him. He was just good ol' boy baseball guy. I now know he wouldn't know a baseball if it smacked him in the head. It was a ploy. In my younger days, I was much more concerned about national politics than local/state. I never had a civics class and no one ever taught me what political consciousness is about. My family was religious, I guess assuming that would take care of everything.

However, once he stole his first presidential election, I had creeps right away. I was a Gore gal, of course, and watched in dread and HORROR as the election was stolen right out from under Gore. Bad feelings.

Once he allowed 911 to go down, the creeps have never ended. He is evil. Those who support him are in some kind of trance. I don't really get down on them, because I have some understanding of how pure evil can trap people. Especially when they prefer to believe in a god junior and delude themselves that everything is black or white. Like, Bush - good . not Bush - bad. There are those.

When was the first time you heard of him?

[SeattleGirl]

9. The first time I remember hearing of him was when he announced

he was running for President. I don't recall anything about him when his dad was President.

I remember the night of the 2000 election, when everything went sideways. I decided to go for a walk, but had to drive to get to the place I like to walk. I had the news on, and Dan Rather was talking about how it looked like Gore was going to win. Parked the car, got out and did my walk, and when I got back to the car, here is Rather talking about how it appeared Florida had gone for Bush instead of Gore. I was stunned, and then I thought, he (Bush) did something. How could everything have been pointing toward Gore winning, and in the space of less than an hour, it all changed? At that moment, I knew that Bush was going to be the next President.

:cry:

[Why Syzygy]

30. That was a freaky night.

I just KNEW that we would not elect a redneck mofo. I was confident in Gore too!
It was a heartsinking moment when the newscast changed the map from blue to red. Even more so in the days since.

F911 . Michael Moore. Watch it and never forget.

[SeattleGirl]

42. I've watched F9/11 many times.

And I will never forget.....

[Why Syzygy]

49. me 2

and got as many other people to watch as I could. That day was horrific. Not only for the loss of life, that's enough, but for the loss of leadership we faced. No one home.

[bliss_eternal]

2. Hi SeattleGirl...

:hi:

I too had a visceral reaction to him. I couldn't really watch or look at him for any length of time (like 3 mins.) because seeing him made me feel so uneasy and upset. I felt kind of afraid, too. I've never liked him, and sensed that he was evil.

[SeattleGirl]

10. He IS evil.

He destroys everything he touches, and the most unfortunate thing about that is that he is destroying this country. It will take years and years for us to recover from what he has done.

[bliss_eternal]

21. So true, SeattleGirl...

Come election time, the usual groups start rallying to get people to vote. But when it was time to get people out in 2004, I saw real fear in people's eyes--particularly from the leaders that have worked in major movements--civil rights, women's rights, environmentalists.

You know when you see people that usually take no interest in politics get out there that something was very, very wrong and they were afraid.

[Why Syzygy]

31. I have never

been able to listen to one of his speeches full length. And I've tried. He is not a statesman. He is a goon in office. A disgrace. Goddess help us all.

[Why Syzygy]

45. We don't hear much

from those who used to say, I would love to have a beer with that guy.
Imagine. He would get all sweaty and get loud mouth and start waving his arms around.
Is that your idea of a drink date? I would be looking for the nearest exit. As we are now.

[LaurenG]

3. I was raised in Texas

There were many rumors about George H. bush (1st) and a little talk of W. I moved to Colorado about the time he(2) ran for gov so I missed first hand what he did to the state of Texas.

I first paid real attention to him during the run up to the 2000 elections. I couldn't abide him, I had a gut reaction that was so negative I couldn't believe it. I actually had premonitions and wrote about them in 2001 (I even pulled the tower (tarot) card on September 10, 2001 when I asked about the next day because I was so uneasy in my soul.

There were just too many extremely non-positive things that just about gave me heart disease because there was nothing I could do about it. I now have to hear from someone else what he's doing. I can't watch him and I change the channel when he comes on.


:hi:

[SeattleGirl]

11. Wow, you pulled the tower card?

OMG. I wasn't reading DU in 2001. What did you feel the next day?

[LaurenG]

28. Well pulling the Tower card is never a happy thing

so I was just thinking Oh hell no, I'm in for it. My husband who is a reader just told me not to get all upset over it but to go with the flow I'd come out all right. After the planes hit, he called me and said he knew what the card had been about now.

I almost always start to get anxious and upset before major life events.

My brothers fiance was murdered in the 70's and the night that it happened I started to get very, very upset, (she hadn't died when the feelings first started). I paced and felt terribly anxious until about 1:00 am. Then I finally went to sleep.

At about 3:00 am my dad called me with the news that she had been stabbed through the heart at 12:30 that night.

I also knew immediately who did it and told my family who it was, they didn't believe me. No one was ever charged but I know who it was.

So that's why I looked at the cards the night of the 10th because I had that same overwhelming feeling and I was hoping we could figure out what it was about. :(.

edit: spelling

[Why Syzygy]

33. The Tower is unescapable, ime

When I had a job challenge, I threw so many reads to try to avoid what I knew would be coming if I didn't change my state of mind. The Tower was there in every one. Over and over. Today I think I might have handled things better. But the Tower was there and made a shock wave that lasts until this day.

I'm sorry for your loss. I had a loved one murdered too. The guy who did it got out after a few months. I've wondered how he must feel, having stolen a life. But actually he probably feels nothing.

[SeattleGirl]

43. How sad for that young woman.

A former girlfriend of my youngest brother's was also murdered, and they have never found who did it. It's been over 20 years.

[LaurenG]

29. I also may as well confess now

I voted republican my whole life. Until the 2000 election. I refused to vote for bush. My "insides" were violently opposed to him.

There is something so familiar and frightening about this whole thing. I can't put my finger on it but it seems we've lived (or died) through his bs before.

[Why Syzygy]

34. wow

I voted some pubs. In fact since I first came of age in '72 to vote, I was right there on the winning ticket every election cycle. No I did not vote for Mondale. The best I ever felt about voting was when Bill Clinton served. I waffled because I thought Ross Perot might be a good choice. I watched all his commercials. But I was so terrified that Bush the first evil might get back in, I went for Clinton. I didn't really care for their display of victory dance and all. That song really got on my nerves. And I am not thrilled about some of the legislation he passed. I think the best thing he did was put Gore on the ticket. And we might have another chance for that one.

[LaurenG]

37. Well I refused to vote at all in the 90's

so I didn't vote for bush I or Clinton. I was busy in metaphysics that decade and didn't like any of the choices, lol.:hi:

[Why Syzygy]

32. I moved to Nevada

in 1992, when Ann Richards was just getting going full steam. By the time I got back, it was all lost. The bushboy was in charge. What a sad day for Texas. What a sad day for our planet.

[GardeningGal]

4. My initial impression of Bush was

that he couldn't be trusted and was a liar. My initial impression of Cheney was that he was evil.

[SeattleGirl]

12. And those impressions were, unfortunately, correct.

As were mine. And my heart breaks for us all, when I think about what those two have done to us.

[Love Bug]

5. I had the same reaction you did. Visceral dislike.

I could tell right away this guy was going to get us all in the 3rd chakra. A power thief.

[SeattleGirl]

13. I know so many people who, liike us, had that visceral reaction

to him. I can't bear to watch him, and can barely stand to listen to the sound bites that Keith Olbermann and the AAR hosts play. My reaction is so negative, strong, and violent, I hate what it does to me.

[Why Syzygy]

35. No WAY!

Not that. A heartbreak. But no way can anyone steal your power center.

[Love Bug]

38. Individually, no, but metaphorically he's doing that to the whole country

[Punkingal]

6. Believe it or not,

My first time of really paying any attention to him was when he was running the Texas Rangers, his father was President, and they showed him at a Ranger's game, and he was PICKING HIS NOSE!!!! I yelled for my husband to come see it, but he missed it. Needless to say, I thought that any adult caught on television picking their nose could never be seriously considered for any serious job, but then that was back when America was still America. Just imagine if we had a news media who played that clip over and over and over again like they do others....would he have been taken seriously?

[SeattleGirl]

14. One of the stories I remember reading in "Shrub" was of him

throwing a temper tantrum at a Rangers game, when someone was sitting in his seat. Last night, Keith Olbermann compared his reaction at the Rose Garden last week to that of a thwarted three year old. That story from "Shrub" immediately came to mind, because that is exactly how he reacted.

[Why Syzygy]

36. They built a new stadium.

And enforced public domain over a wide swath of homeowners who just didn't understand why their homes were being taken over so the boys could have a new room to play in. The Rangers suck, by the way. They have never ever shown any kind of success. Much like their prior owner/investor (vis a vis the oil).

[BlueIris]

7. I was 20 and still a clueless college student. It was incredulity, mixed

with, "Oh, they have got to be fucking kidding us. Man, that is desperate." Not the slightest tinge of worry, concern or suspicion, let alone sense of evil. Then again, that's because I was young (very young for twenty) and painfully stupid.

[SeattleGirl]

16. You know, even though many of us know that there are evil

people in the world, I think that for most of us (certainly for me), usually our first reaction is to give people the benefit of the doubt, to have a wait and see attitude. I was never able to do that with Bush. And unfortunately, my initial reaction to him was a true reaction to who he really is.

[DemExpat]

8. Another Texan here (expat) :-) Immediate, powerful visceral reaction here.

Unlike any I have had for any person before.

This could not have been anything other than an intuitive knowing that trouble was brewing, because living over here I had no idea what kind of person George was - until I saw and heard him on television.

:puke: :scared: :grr: :nuke: :puke:

Lots of feelings - all extremely negative - that have not been replaced or tempered in any way in the years since.

DemEx

[SeattleGirl]

17. My feelings toward him have changed in only one way:

they have gotten stronger and more negative. I did not think that was possible.

[Bluestar]

15. I was working in Austin during one of his governor inaugurations

I couldn't get a hotel room anywhere. Austin was so packed with fanatics for Bush that my company had to put me up way across town from my client's offices. I couldn't believe all the frenzy, but at that point I wasn't worried--just crazy Texans for Bush. I was comfortable, having enjoyed years of the Clinton presidency.

Later I saw him for the first time on TV when he was running for president. I thought, what a lightweight. When he won the Republican primary I couldn't believe it. Then I got this incredible dislike for him. His facial expressions reminded me of some country bumpkin. I could see living with McCain as president, but this boob?? How could all these fanatics support this idiot? My first impressions were correct. I guess this is when I first realized how the fundie religious fanatics had taken over. I wasn't politically aware until he stole the election from Al Gore.

[SeattleGirl]

18. What I don't get about the religious fanatics' adoration for him

is that HE is not a religious man. He is NOT a Christian. But I guess for some people, if you say something, it has to be true. Those who do not think, who do not look beyond the surface, are truly a danger to us.

[Why Syzygy]

46. Christians are getting fed up with his hypocrisy too.

A Christian radio station I can sometimes pick up coming out of Oklahoma is all over it.
Yeah, he sold that bill of goods. Now he can't deliver.

[SeattleGirl]

47. I should have been more specific; I meant the real right-wing

fundamentalist "Christians" who live by the Old Testament, and ignore everything in the New Testament except The Book of Revelations.

[Why Syzygy]

48. that's how I took your meaning..

because the real thing are very loving people.

[MorningGlow]

19. Revulsion toward him and Cheney

But I'm sorry to say I didn't pick up on the total evil element. I remember being INCENSED that the election was called for weenieboy--I was working at a local TV station at the time, and I remember watching the network feed on election night--Peter Jennings REFUSED to call it for Bush. And when he was bullied into doing so, around 2:30 in the morning, we just yelled "NOOOooooooooooooooooo" at the screen. I got the feeling Peter would have screamed the same thing if he could.

After the back-and-forth with the recount/no recount drama and everyone gave up and just gave it to the spoiled brat, I remember thinking (oh the shame of it) "Well, he's an idiot, but how much damage can he do in four years?"

HAH! :eyes:

[SeattleGirl]

20. Unfortunately, he has inflicted more damage than I ever thought

he could, regardless of my very VERY negative response to him.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

22. Visceral dislike...

of an incredible magnitude. I knew next to nothing about him, only that he was a Jr. and that he had been Gov. of Texas. When I started to pay attention to him in the lead-up to the GOP primary I was almost bowled over by the intense dislike and distrust I felt when I saw his face. I am not kidding when I say I wanted to put my foot through the TV every time he opened his mouth.

[SeattleGirl]

23. I want to put my foot through the TV too.

Instead, I either change the channel or leave the room. Don't have the money to replace a destroyed TV.

[wovenpaint]

24. He caught my attention as Gov. of Texas

First because he beat Ann Richards-which floored me at the time-but now I have a better idea of what probably happened there....
Then I was horrified by the amount of executions in that state while he was there. I sensed that he was really enjoying his power. I could feel the darkness even then.
Since he ("they") stole the 2000 elections, my eyes have really opened to basically everything that has happened during my lifetime.
I've had to reassess my perception of America, and my feelings of being an American.
Then came the stolen 2004 elections-I knew it when he appeared on TV on election night-talking to his dog! Jenna dangling green pumps-that didn't match what she was wearing....oh, I digress...

This is my mantra:


When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall - think of it, ALWAYS.

-Gandhi-

[SeattleGirl]

25. I agree, wovenpaint, that they always fall.

What I have often said to people is that it is against the laws of nature for things to stay the same. There are many people who dispair that those in power now will ALWAYS be in power, because of stolen elections, purged voter roll, etc. But I know that even those reprehensible actions will ultimately fail, and that THEY WILL FALL. I also believe it is starting to happen already.

[BuelahWitch]

26. I thought he had a mental handicap

because he sounded like an elementary student reciting in front of the class (reciting very badly, I may add). I heard one of my coworkers raving about him and so I took a look at him. I didn't see how he stood a chance against McCain, then Gore. Of course, I didn't count on a complicit, lying mainstream media and that Florida would be stolen. Or that so many Americans would be so dumb to vote for him so that it could be close enough to be stolen....

[SeattleGirl]

27. I did not think he had a chance either.

But when he "won", I was, unfortunately, not surprised.

[Ilsa]

39. "Wolf in sheep's clothing" was one thought I had. But when he

carried out the execution of Karla Faye Tucker I was deeply affected by his indifference to her. That was when I realized that for all of his profession of his faith, he was soul-less. When he was running the Texas Rangers, I figured he had higher aspirations. But first he had to ruin the Texas budget and environment before going out to do it on a national scale.

I'm in Texas and lived in Dallas while he was an owner of the Rangers.

[SeattleGirl]

41. Not to mention, the Rangers owners basically stole the

land they used to build the new ballpark. I'd have to find my copy of Shrub to get the details, but I believe the gerrymandered some sort of eminent domain scam to get it. And I think it was the Curtis Mathis family they scammed the land from.

And you are right about him and executions -- I truly think that he loves killing people. And the way he made fun of Karla Faye Tucker was absolutely disgusting.

[Ilsa]

50. Yeah, and then Arlington passed a sales tax increase

to pay for building the damn thing. The stadium should have belonged to the people, but Shrub took all the sales proceeds.

[Why Syzygy]

53. You mean ticket sales? n/t

[Ilsa]

54. No, I think there was a slight increase in local sales tax

collected on all taxable goods for a few years. W got his from the taxpayers, just like JEB and Neil got theirs. I rememebr thinking the people were fucking nuts to buy the millionaire a stadium, but they seemed to think it would help them all the way around in Arlington. Bozos.

Here's the details:
Public financing: $135 million, or 71 percent, from a one-half-cent sales tax increase in the city of Arlington over 12 to 15 years
http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/bpkarl.htm

Shit, a half cent. I thought maybe a quarter cent or less. They are fucking nuts.

Here's an editorial write-up:
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/vol16/issue42/pols.bushstadium.html

[Ilsa]

55. Oh yeah, and ticket prices went up to pay for the

ongoing expenses of running the new, larger ballpark. I heard alot of people complaining that they wouldn't be able to afford taking their kids as much anymore.

[Digit]

40. My hackles stood up the first time I saw him speak on TV

I realized right off the bat he was dangerous and I did not know why logically he should be.
I mean, yeah, he is not the most attractive man on the planet (far from it), but mere physical appearances don't sway me so much.

Back then (before the 2000 election), I was on the CNN or MSNBC forums...I think it was CNN, and I was warning people left and right. I was ridiculed and nobody believed me.

I even wrote to the webmaster at Jeff Rense's site complaining that they were giving Bush more positive coverage than Gore. I received a nasty message back. I would bet a few have changed their tune since.

[SeattleGirl]

44. I am amazed, and yet not amazed, that so many people

have also had such a negative reaction to him, even before they knew anything about him. Not surprised at the folks on this Forum, of course -- I think we tend to be more sensitive to energy than some people (or perhaps some people just don't recognize those kinds of feelings in themselves).

[Pathwalker]

51. "Yep. He's THEIR Anti-Christ".

Haven't changed my mind, either. He's playing that part for them.

[smirkymonkey]

52. I felt exactly the same way you did. - instant revulsion.

My hatred of him was almost irrational, since I was unaware at the time as to the extent of his pathology and utter lack of humanity.