I'm sorry, but did someone try to justify the Republican party by evoking Abe Lincoln? The Lincoln that CAUSED the Civil War? The one that abused his power more than (almost?) any other president? The man is a sham, his legend a farce, and the only good thing anyone can actually say about him is that he freed the slaves, but he never really wanted to do that in the first place. Hell, members of his own family in the South were slave owners. And to top it off, the values of the Republican party were actually quite differnt until that failure of a president came along.
Here's a small list of powers he took forhimself that weren't granted to any President before, and many are in fact criminal for him to take, as President:
During the Civil War, Lincoln appropriated powers no previous President had wielded: he used his war powers to proclaim a blockade, suspended the writ of habeas corpus, spent money without congressional authorization, and imprisoned 18,000 suspected Confederate sympathizers without trial. Nearly all of his actions, although vehemently denounced by the Copperheads, were subsequently upheld by Congress and the Courts.[citation needed]
I'm sure that Bush would love to be compared to Lincoln. Depite his many failures as a decent leader it's all boiled down to the one good thing he did, and if another person had become President we may never have had a civil war to begin with and it's quite likely the slaves would still have been freed in time, without creating as much racism, and without so much bloodshed. Hell, if a Southerner became President there's essentially no chance the Union would have even come close to breaking up.
Lincoln does not deserve to be admired or respected in any capacity.
That aside, there's still a ton of ridiculousness in this topic. Yes, Bush isn't as much to blame as some people think he is for his problems. He's far more to blame than the people defending him seem to think, though. He and his administrations have mismanaged eveything they've touched and have stolen billions from the American people. He is justifiably a war criminal, and he has made so many mistakes in his administration that he will be remembered as a poor President (though hardly the worst and certainly not the one to do the most illegal things). He doesn't deserve to run the nation, he deserves to sit behind bars for the next 20 years without the possibility of parole. Though his support of illegal torture and his economic/foreign policies are two entirely different matters.
Also, madskills, this is the United States of America. Declaring martial law is beyond polical suicide in these times, no matter what the reason is. To suggest it shows that you aren't in tune with American sentiments. Also, it would have been completely and totally illegal for martial law to be declared at the time outside of state government affairs (you know, from the state that is accused of not helping its people). Bush didn't get that power until over a year later, thuse proving once again that Americans are easily scared, controlled, and convinced to give up their rights.
You do not have the right to never be offended.
