Ownership of what?
The second paragraph says "[w]ithout offering many specifics".
Not unusual. Bush never offers specifics. You need to understand what you have to own in order to benefit from this "ownership society." Because we're not talking your hoopty. We're not even talking your house.
We're talking straight-up class warfare, with the wealthy taking the first shot.
President Bush's plans for a second term threaten a devastating series of far-reaching challenges to the viability of the Democratic Party itself. Under Bush's slogan of an "ownership society," the Republicans intend a long-term effort, using changes in Medicare, Social Security and taxes to pit better-off and worse-off Democrats against each other, offering all-but-irresistible incentives for some to desert the others -- and any progressive national coalition.
And don't think the war ends when Bush loses, either.
THIS IS THE SAME MODEL USED TO DIVIDE THE BLACK COMMUNITIES. White people will have more sell-outs to deal with than Black people ever did.
In Speech, Bush to Stress 'Ownership'
President will seek to draw distinctions with Kerry on healthcare and retirement, aides say.
By Ronald Brownstein
Times Staff Writer
August 30, 2004
NEW YORK CITY — President Bush plans to stress themes of "ownership" and government reform in his acceptance speech Thursday, positioning himself to reprise one of his most effective arguments against Democrat Al Gore in the 2000 campaign.
Without offering many specifics, Bush is likely to pledge to restructure Social Security, the tax code and the healthcare system with the common goal of shifting more control and ownership away from government toward individuals, according to sources familiar with the speech's preparation.
"The big label will be reform — Social Security reform, reform of our institutions of government, reform of healthcare, and the concept of ownership," said one senior GOP strategist who asked not to be named.
Bush strategists believe this agenda will allow them to frame the campaign's domestic debates as a choice between the president's push to empower individuals and proposals by Sen. John F. Kerry that they will portray as a return to big government.
[P6: Return?? When did it ever leave?]
Even some Democrats agree that in the 2000 campaign's final stages, Bush scored points against Gore by hammering at that same argument, declaring, "He trusts the government, I trust the people."
[P6: If Bush trusted the people, wouldn't he have given his real reasons for, say, invading Iraq? No matter what else has gone on, you have to admit that the reasons Bush gave at the beginning were different than those he now says motivated him all along.]
Democrats acknowledge that the themes of choice, ownership and individual control that Bush is expected to stress could have long-term appeal in a society where more Americans own homes and businesses and participate in the stock market. But Democrats also believe the president will have difficulty selling his agenda when so many Americans are feeling insecure about their jobs, the costs of healthcare and the security of their pensions following drops in stock prices and corporate scandals.
"There may be a moment for [Bush's] argument, but not after three years of decline," said Democratic strategist Stanley B. Greenberg, Gore's pollster in 2000.
