# It's Official: GOP Claims 2004 Election was a 'Mandate" for Bush **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 2, 2005, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966 "2005-02-02T12:35:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/1 "2005-02-02T12:35:52Z")
In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=293150&highlight=bush+mandate), we had a number of Bush apologists defending Bush’s claim to “political capital” by saying he never meant that to be a claim of a “mandate” in the election. Well, there’s no hemming or hawing about it now, the Pubs have finally come right out and [claimed a mandate for Bush in the 2004 election](http://www.gop.com/news/read.aspx?ID=5082): > [@](#): > > 1. RESOLUTION CALLING ON CONGRESS TO ENACT PRESIDENT **BUSH’S MANDATE** FOR REFORM > > WHEREAS, President Bush made history by running a re-election campaign seeking a mandate for reform, including reforming our Social Security system, reforming our nation’s energy policy, reforming our legal system and reforming the tax code; > > WHEREAS, the American people granted President Bush a **mandate** for reform by giving him more votes than any presidential candidate in history and enabling him to become the first President since 1936 to be re-elected while gaining seats in the House and Senate; > > WHEREAS, this **mandate** for reform includes an energy policy that increases America’s energy independence; > > WHEREAS, this **mandate** for reform includes a Social Security system that is strengthened for tomorrow’s retirees, allowing young people the option of greater ownership of their retirement assets; > > WHEREAS, this **mandate** for reform includes stopping the frivolous lawsuits that cost American patients billions of dollars and making the liability system fairer, and more efficient and predictable; > > WHEREAS, this **mandate** for reform includes making our burdensome tax code simpler and fairer; and > > WHEREAS, this **mandate** will create an Ownership Society that includes helping all Americans own a home, receive a better education, and have access to broadband internet access by 2007; now therefore be it > > RESOLVED, that the Republican National Committee encourages Congress to represent the will of the American people in enacting **President Bush’s mandate** for reform and creating the Ownership Society. > > _As adopted by the Republican National Committee, January 19, 2005_. I see they trotted out that spurious notion that because he received more votes than any other candidate, his election constitutes a “mandate”. Apparently it escapes them that more people voted against Bush than they did against any candidate in history, he won by the smallest margin of any re-elected president, and has the lowest approval rating of any re-elected president. Once again we see them relying on the tactic of repeating a lie relentlessly, hoping it will be accepted as the truth. It will not. If the the Bush agenda must rely on such self-delusion to garner support and suppress dissent within their own party, it is clear that they don’t have much faith in his proposals on their merits alone. It will interesting to see if they deal with the growing conflict among Republicans on Social Security reform, immigration reform and deficit reduction with more lies and deception. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/2 "2005-02-02T12:42:51Z")
I am going to respond in a partisan and agressive manner to this thread, just as soon as I can figure out what the holy fuck the OP is going on about. ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/3 "2005-02-02T12:52:28Z")
Out of curiosity, what is ‘mandate’ taken to mean in the US? It doesn’t mean that he has to have an overall _majority_ of votes, to my mind. If Bush was elected, even by one vote more that another candidate, he thus has a legitimate mandate (from those who did vote for him). Is this not the case? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/4 "2005-02-02T12:58:02Z")
Oh my, a political party spinning something to make themselves look good? Say it isn’t so, Joe! Mandate is a completely meaningless statement to begin with, does the fact they claim a mandate change anyone’s opinion of anything in any way? Aside from the fact that when I keep saying that word I start thinking of two gay guys going out for a night on the town. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/5 "2005-02-02T13:02:35Z")
Even as someone who doesn’t like Bush, how can you argue that he DOESN’T have a mandate? Was I dreaming, or did he not win the election? ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/6 "2005-02-02T13:02:49Z")
Tighty Righties: “Bush had more people vote for him than anyone else in history!” Loonie Lefties: “Bush had more people vote against him than anyone else in history!” TR: “Bush has a mandate” LL: “Bush has no mandate” TR: “You suck” LL: “No, you suck” Lather, rinse, repeat endlessly. Whoopee. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/7 "2005-02-02T13:10:10Z")
I have to chime in… I think the Bush Regime is doing irreperable, or at the very least serious harm to America and our global standing. However, it’s pretty clear he’s got a mandate. That is, more than half of the voters told him to keep doing whatever it is that he’s been doing. [2. A command or an authorization given by a political electorate to its representative.](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=mandate) Then again this brings up a disturbing point, and essential relegates the democratic process to mob rule. If the other ‘side’ has more people than you, they’ve got a mandate and can do whatever they want. So yes, Bush has received authorization from more than half of the voting populace to continue with bussiness as usual. Whether or not this is a good thing, or if he should trample on the sentiments of half of the nation, that’s another matter. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/8 "2005-02-02T13:23:29Z")
It’s more like this: Tighty Righties: “Bush had more people vote for him than anyone else in history!” Loonie Lefties: “Bush had more people vote against him than anyone else in history!” Wierddave: I’m masturbating like a motherfuck! TR: “Bush has a mandate” LL: “Bush has no mandate” WD: I’m masturbating like a motherfuck! TR: “You suck” LL: “No, you suck” WD: I’m masturbating like a motherfuck! Lather, rinse, repeat endlessly. Whoopee. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/9 "2005-02-02T14:18:36Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > If the other ‘side’ has more people than you, they’ve got a mandate and can do whatever they want. Does Bush have any more power by getting 51% of the vote than he would if he had 49% of the vote? Assuming a 3rd party candidate got enough votes to ensure a Bush victory, of course. Do our legislators quiver at that additional 2%? ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/10 "2005-02-02T14:25:59Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Does Bush have any more power by getting 51% of the vote than he would if he had 49% of the vote? Assuming a 3rd party candidate got enough votes to ensure a Bush victory, of course. Then it becomes sticky, and to be honest, I’m not quite sure. It seems to me that one requires a majority of votes to claim a mandate. To me that means a majority of all votes cast. However, I think it’s only fair to point out that the definition of mandate is rather ephemeral and hard to pin down. Does that 51% really mean that everybody authorizes Bush to do whatever he wants? I don’t think so, but a case could be made. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/11 "2005-02-02T14:58:49Z")
> [@Desmostylus](#): > > WD: I’m masturbating like a motherfuck! For once, **Weirddave** owns the moral high ground! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/12 "2005-02-02T15:11:37Z")
[On this page,](http://www.time.com/time/newsfiles/billclinton/#) you can see the Time magazine cover from November 16th, 1992. It shows a large headshot of Bill Clinton with the headline “Mandate for Change.” Recall that in that election, a majority of people voted against Clinton. He won with a plurality in the popular vote of about 43%. Clinton was president for two terms, and had all the mandate he needed. Bush has a larger mandate, by the same measure. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/13 "2005-02-02T15:16:02Z")
> [@Desmostylus](#): > > It’s more like this: > > Tighty Righties: “Bush had more people vote for him than anyone else in history!” > Loonie Lefties: “Bush had more people vote against him than anyone else in history!” > Wierddave: I’m masturbating like a motherfuck! > > TR: “Bush has a mandate” > LL: “Bush has no mandate” > WD: I’m masturbating like a motherfuck! > > TR: “You suck” > LL: “No, you suck” > WD: I’m masturbating like a motherfuck! > > Lather, rinse, repeat endlessly. Whoopee. :dubious: Is this a joke or an insult? I wanna know weather to be amused or outraged. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/14 "2005-02-02T15:39:08Z")
Perhaps what they mean is that Bush has himself a [man date.](http://www.burtandkurt.com/capt.sge.scf63.020804195403.photo01.default-262x372_small.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/15 "2005-02-02T15:53:15Z")
Cease at once you scoundrel! While there is abundant evidence that the President is a liar, warmonger, and a bigot, there is no evidence at all that he is a homosexual! ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/16 "2005-02-02T15:57:50Z")
Well he _does_ have a very… interesting… relatinship with Prince Bandar. Is that oil dribbling down Bush’s chin? ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/17 "2005-02-02T16:00:24Z")
It’s a pity that Dubya doesn’t swing that way because I’d hit that. Hard. I’d have him melting like butter and begging for more. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/18 "2005-02-02T16:09:21Z")
I dunno **Gobear** , I’m pretty sure that if you offered to be part of the coalition of the willing, he’d make a deal. That way, at least, he wouldn’t have to bring up Poland. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/19 "2005-02-02T16:13:43Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > I dunno **Gobear** , I’m pretty sure that if you offered to be part of the coalition of the willing, he’d make a deal. That way, at least, he wouldn’t have to bring up Poland. But wouldn’t at least one of them have to bring up the Pole? Wheee! I’m a scoundrel! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966/20 "2005-02-02T16:16:31Z")
> [@Wile E](#): > > But wouldn’t at least one of them have to bring up the Pole? What about a Coalition of the Wilting? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-gop-claims-2004-election-was-a-mandate-for-bush/287966.md?page=2)