A lot of President Bush’s policies are like dead bodies — stinky and nauseating. A lot of Bush supporters, on the other hand, are like flies buzzing around those policies — aimless and foolish.

Bush recently signed a bill titled “The Class-Action Fairness Act” into law. This new law, aimed at reducing class-action lawsuits, will have a negative effect on all consumers. It will have a negative effect on Democrats, as well as Republicans. But a lot of Bush supporters fail to see this. Being the good Samaritan that I am, I’ve written a column that I hope will save a lot of flies from following this corpse into the grave.

This new law shifts nearly all class-action lawsuits from state courts into the federal court. Federal courts are so weighed down, however, that plaintiffs will likely have to wait many years before their cases can be heard. Also, the federal court has rules that prohibit it from hearing cases that involve the application of laws from different states to the same case. This means that many legitimate class-action lawsuits will be turned down.

I am sure a lot of Bush supporters are thinking: “So, well … um … um … I support the troops … and my president too … So how does that affect me?”

To that I say, “Quit buzzing! I will tell you if you read on.”

Class-action lawsuits were established as a check-and-balance system between corporate power and consumer rights. While Bush supporters have buzzed aimlessly, consumer rights have been eroded. It is true that there have been some frivolous lawsuits in the past, but that is not an excuse to compromise a system that has helped this country in a lot of ways.

A good example of a beneficial class-action lawsuit is Brown v. Board of Education, which ended segregation in public schools. If Bush’s new laws were present in 1954, the fight against segregation in public schools would have been compromised.

And Bush supporters might add: “Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice … um … um … I can’t be fooled again.”

To that I say, “I am not trying to fool anyone. I am simply trying to offer evidence that this new law represents a radical change that will hurt a lot of people, including Bush supporters.”

I can’t understand why people can’t see that power is shifting surreptitiously from individuals to sleazy, money-centered corporations. To understand better what I am talking about, read the transcript of Elizabeth. J. Cabraser’s congressional testimony:

“The recent attacks mounted against class actions have come not because class actions are inherently abusive, or have been ‘abused’ by plaintiffs or practitioners, but because they have threatened to fulfill their intended purpose in reducing the ability of corporate defendants to insulate and immunize themselves from accountability to the public through exploitation of the benefits of concentration of capital, diffusion of personal responsibility, and perpetual existence,” Cabraser said as part of her testimony.

Cabraser is a California lawyer who has won several awards, including the Mathew O. Tobriner Public Service Award.

In response to Cabraser’s expert testimony, Bush supporters would probably reply: “She is a left-wing nut … um … um … And she is undermining the morale of our troops.”

To that I say, “This has nothing to do with troop morale or with her being left-wing. She is an expert, and when she speaks, people should pay attention.”

I don’t know if I have opened the eyes of anyone who blindly supports this law, but I know I tried.

It is very difficult to convince anyone (especially Bush supporters) to consider other ideas, but I am not daunted by the task. To those who I have been able to convince, I accept your thanks. Being wrong is sometimes part of growing up.

To the rest, I say, “Buzz on … um … um … buzz on.”