Rising Hegemon
President Bush said on Wednesday he expects the new Congress to limit economy-damaging lawsuits by passing curbs on class action, asbestos injury and medical malpractice cases.
"I intend to take a legislative package to Congress which says, we expect the House and Senate to pass meaningful liability reform on asbestos, on class action, and medical liability," Bush told a White House economic conference.
The cost of litigation in America, Bush said, was making it more difficult to compete against other countries economically. Legal reform was a cornerstone of any good economic expansion program, he said.
"I am passionate on this subject," he said, adding that he would make it a "priority issue," starting with his State of the Union address to Congress early next year.
"If we can achieve legal reform in America, it will make it a better place for people to either start a business and, or find work," the Republican president said.
What Bush didn't say was that his wealthy friends (or "Pioneers" as they are otherwise known) need help from bad lawyers and their clients who sue them. How much money can someone possibly need from an asbestos company that has caused them to suffer agonizing lung disease, or physicians who maim (like the one who took both breasts off a woman after she was misdiagnosed with breast cancer). Or how about terrible class actions like the ones that correct years of systemic workplace discrimination.
All those things do is drag American bidness down. We need to protect wrongdoers and make victims take personal responsibility for putting themselves where they could get injured.
And as a final indignity, when asked about the woman who lost her breasts, Bush told reporters:
"I'm told that she had small breasts anyway and when you put your hands on 'em like this you could barely cop a good feel. In other words, she had small boobies."
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