President Bush and AIDS

[Darth Wong]

As everyone knows, I am not a fan of GW Bush. In fact, I generally despise him and think he's an idiot. However, I have to give props to the guy for this $15 billion international AIDS package he's been trying to drum up since January, which runs against his own ideology by recognizing condom distribution and education as an essential component, along with the usual refrains of abstinence and marital fidelity.

Mind you, I suppose people could call it an obvious attempt to patch up bad international relations that he fucked up himself. And others may claim that the money is targeted at a curiously selective list of countries in which some of the hardest-hit get nothing while some of the more affluent get more. But the notion of a Republican government taking this action is very interesting to me nonetheless, and if it does good, then it doesn't really matter what the motives were.

So what's the chance it will actually pass?

[Sea Skimmer]

Not real high. It's going to get cut, probably by more then half if it passes at all.

Though personally I don't think any realistic amount of money will save sub Sahara Africa. Pouring money into the worst areas is a lost cause while its possibul a few better off countries might get things under control and not take huge population hits.

[Alex Moon]

Very little. The extreme fundie wing of the Republican party will kill the bill because they don't like anything that isn't strictly absinaince and could have even the hint of support to groups that support abortions in those countries, and the Democrates will help kill it so they can claim that Bush didn't keep his promise when the elections roll around.

[Darth Fanboy]

Bush is just doing it to appeal to the moderates for the 2004 Election, the bill will pass, and it will help voters look past his horrible international relations record while showing the other nations that we have enough money left over from bombing middle eastern nations to help stop the spread of AIDS.

Just an opinion.

[RedImperator]

The hard right won't be able to stop this because the Democrats will likely fall in with this unless they'd like "Senator X doesn't want to help African orphans with AIDS--he thinks they should all die" ads being run against them. You might say, "What about the fundie right-wingers who'll vote against it?", but they're already regularly accused of wanting to sell poor children to dog food companies and the like, and who do you think votes for fundie right wingers anyway besides other fundie right-wingers? The Democrats, on the other hand, have a hugs and cuddles constituency to please that won't be happy with someone who voted against $15 billion for AIDS in Africa.

I'm sure this is going to be trimmed down in Congress, and I'm sure this is partly a political move on Bush's part, and I know the money will be at best a stopgap in Sub-Saharan Africa--if some of the numbers Marina has been quoting hold up, the entire continent is due for a giant dieoff and all the money in the world can't stop it. But, this is one of those times where Bush's religious beliefs are having some kind of positive effect--I genuinely feel he thinks it's his duty as a devout Christian to try to help those people, and his obligation to God overrides financial and political concerns on Earth. Of course an athiest might say that humanist morality obligates him to do the same, but in this case, it's the same conclusion arrived at from two different paths. I'm also pleased to hear they're going to try a combination of pushing condoms and abstenence/fidelity on the prevention side, since that method has proven very effective in places like Uganda.

[Joe]

$15 billion dollars to combat AIDS in Africa is the equivalent of putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound to the heart. Sad but true.