Ownership Society Indeed

Remember all that stuff Bush said in his acceptance speech about wanting to create an ownership society? It stems from the idea that the government should have less of a role in our lives; that things such as social security should be privatized so that we have more control and the government less. But clearly this idea of personal responsibility doesn't extend to George Bush personally since he can't seem to think of anything he's done wrong as president despite plenty of evidence to the contrary. And this whole limiting government's role in our lives thing is of course selective -- see Partial Birth Abortion Ban, Federal Marriage Amendment, Patriot Act...

Anyway, there's a hilarious Get Your War On cartoon on the subject. Script is as follows:

WOMAN: The coolest thing about another four years of Bush would be the unveiling of the "Ownership Society!" Doesn't that sound bad-ass? You get to be in charge of your own Social Security!

MAN: Are you kidding me? What the fuck would I want to be in charge of my Social Security for? That's not my job. I don't know how to do that shit! And in case Bush is wondering, I don't want to have to deliver my own mail, either.

WOMAN: But it's the "Ownership Society!" You will own part of society!

MAN: WHY DO I GOTTA OWN EVERYTHING ALL OF A SUDDEN???

WOMAN: In the "Ownership Society," you get to buy stocks and make up your own medical plans! You get to be, like, your own personal government. I'm gonna issue a coin with my face on it!

MAN: I will agree to participate in the Ownership Society if white collar crime becomes a capital offense. Like, if motherfuckers get hung.

WOMAN: It's funny -- when I first heard Bush mention the new Ownership Society, I thought he was talking about Iraq. I was like, "Dude, don't just come right out and say it!"

Taking this connection between the Ownership Society and Iraq to the next level, a user on blog dailyKos has come up with this great new strategy for Kerry:

I was just listening to the Al Franken show, and he touched on a point, but didn't make an interesting connection. Colin Powell told president Bush, "if you break it, you own it." And now president Bush is going around talking about having an "ownership society." That's a huge opening for Kerry:

"Mr. president, Colin Powell told you about this war that 'if you break it, you own it.' And now you're going around talking about an 'ownership society.' Well, Mr. President, let me tell you what you own. A million jobs lost. You own that. A thousand soldiers lost. You own that. 1.4 million new people living below the poverty line. You own that. 1.2 million less people covered by health insurance. You own that. A seventeen percent medicare increase. You own that. Health care costs skyrocketing. You own that. The tax burden increasing amongst the middle class. You own that. Mr. President, if you want to talk about an ownership society, let's talk about what you own."

The blogosphere is a lot cheaper than Carville and Begala. Hopefully the Kerry campaign is taking note.