Mar 08 2008
Time To Assess Our Failed Conservatism
Want to know why conservatism is on the rocks? I claim it is the purity wars where some claim superiority over all others, and emphasize their ‘true conservatism’ by calling their so-called allies names like ‘traitor’ and ‘RINO’. This all stems form the inability to lose one’s case with honor and maturity in a democracy. For example, this kind of crap is not going to unite the conservative coalition, nor is it a way to demonstrate stability and respect for allies who should be aligned to protect this nation and oppose the insanity of liberalism and the progressives:
The failure of the Bush presidency is the dominant fact of American politics today. It has driven every facet of Democratic political strategy since early 2006, when Democrats settled on the campaign themes that brought them their takeover of the House and Senate in November 2006. Nothing–not even the success of the American troop surge in Iraq–has altered or will alter the centrality of George W. Bush and his failed presidency to Democratic planning in the remainder of 2008.
Bush has not failed if you look at his results. From tax cuts to protecting the unborn embryo from being a lab experiment Bush has progressed conservatism quite far. The failure has been those on the right who are too impatient and too obsessed with one subject to admit the country is much better off after Bush than it would have been under Gore or Kerry.
Dems always will oppose Bush so what does it mater if they oppose him now? When did the GOP bow to the opinions of the left? It was those in the conservative coalition who stabbed Bush in the back (and now don’t have the self confidence to admit maybe they over reacted) that keeps Bush from being seen as the success he is. If the historic GOP voters rallied around Bush and said “good job, given all the challenges and forces aligned against you here and abroad” Bush’s ratings would be back above 50%. Won’t happen – it means admitting the hyperbole of the past was misguided, and few folks have the wisdom to admit error.
The failure of the conservative movement is not Bush – it is those who decided they would split the coalition because Bush could not wave a magic wand in a time of war and national threat and (a) stop all abortions or (b) deport all illegals or (c) stop the GOP Congress from over spending. And it is one whopper of a failure since it has led to the real chance Clinton or Obama are being seriously considered to run this country into the ground.
If you start with Bush as a failure you have lost me – I don’t care if it comes from liberals obsessed with surrendering to al-Qaeda instead of standing by our President or from Conservatives in Exile obsessed with diverting our security forces to track down nannies and gardeners. If Bush is a failure because he did not bow down to someone’s demands then that someone is just going to go into another fit of frustration as the nation ignores their personal views under the next President. Reality will never conform to their wishes which means they will always be in a fit of anger – which makes that person too dodgy to ally with or to worry about. Which makes them the failure – not Bush who did change reality and make this country and world a better place.
Addendum: Just wanted to add one last point. If anyone thinks admitting the Dems were right and that Bush was failure will help McCain or any conservative win is seriously misguided. It is admitting Dems are right that gets Dems elected. Duh.
Rather than listen to what others are saying some of you choose to put words in others mouths and ramble off the last anti-conservative rant highlighted on CNN or MSNBC.
I am a conservative and I love President Bush! How do you like that? And most everyone I know that is a conservative loves him too? So now how does that fit into your little anti-conservative-purist nonsense?
When someone you admire because they have been such a good “compromiser” chooses to compromise on staying in Iraq and decides its best to pull out what are you going to do then? Praise them? No, you’d fight back. But when Hannity and Limbaugh or any other conservative disagrees with you, you scream “hypochondriac!!!” You want them to be silent when they disagree but you want the right to say whatever you think…
It’s not those within the party trying to destroy it…it’s those of you on the outside who refuse to join in working these issues out within the party that are trying to destroy it.
Gee Whippet1,
If you are a conservative who supports Bush then clearly you were not the subject of the post.
It’s actually worse than that, Whippet. By their own admission they are exiling the very strength of their party and thus rejecting the ideology that made the party great in the first place. The media couldn’t have played this any better. They’ve played on the greatest weakness the republicans always exhibit, lack of guts, fight, and easy willingness to make nice with the left. And now, the media has it perfect…a far left candidate against their own hand-picked republican hand puppet. It’s almost as if Reagan never existed. Hell, we’ve actually got an idiot in this forum trying to sell us that Reagan was NOT a conservative! Asinine.
Vince.
Chill out and stop with the juvenile rants or you will be outa here – first and last warning.
Is that the way it is, AJ? C’mon…it’s a hot kitchen…let the chefs cook.
Duh AJ,
I may not be the subject of the post but I will defend the right of those who are just as I will defend your right to your opinion.
Vince,
explain the difference between the 2nd term Bush and the 1st term Bush.
1st Term Bush = Bush Doctrine
2nd Term Bush = James Baker III Doctrine
I can elaborate if you want.
Vince:
I am a kiss ass? Really? In 2006 I went out and voted for John Hostettler here in Indiana. He was further to the right than I am, but I thought it was not the time for the Republicans to lose the House.
He was beat by a blue dog Democrat named Brad Ellsworth by a two to one margin.
Hostettler was critical of Bush and the war. He was a hard liner. In fact he was a real conservative, and he got beat soundly. Going to the right of Bush did not save him.
The fact that I support Bush does not make me kiss ass, however,the fact that so many conservatives bailed on him when they thought it was politically advantageous to do so, makes a great many of them disloyal and self serving.
What has Bush done since 2004 that earned him their hatred? Was he telling the world that every Muslim was the enemy back in 2000? I don’t think so and even today no one spouting that could win an election. That is why Tancredo is history. Most people think that statements about bombing Mecca are lunacy. Even most conservatives realize that the average American does not want to hear that the entire Muslim world is our enemy. That is political suicide.
Did Bush pretend that he did not support comprehensive immigration reform? No, but then again most people were not interested in his immigration policy until years later when he was already in his second term.
Did he pretend that he was going to ignore domestic issues like education? No, he was a supporter of No Child Left Behind before he even became president. Anyone who listened to him would have known that. He certainly did not promise to shut down the Department of Education, like Reagan did. Then of course Reagan did not actually shut it down after all did he?
Did Bush pretend he was not going to spend money on social issues? No, he was always a compassionate conservative. Only someone who was not paying attention would have missed that.
Bush has never wavered from his pro life stance. He has never backed off his pledge to promote tax cuts. He has never surrendered in Iraq or Afghanistan in spite of political pressure to do so.
For a man that is supposed to be a failure he has accomplished a great deal.
Today we spend too much time deciding if someone is a failure or a success based on popularity polls, but back when there was no such thing as a poll…people looked to history to make that determination. Maybe we need a little more of that distance today.
So what do conservatives want him to do now? Nationalize the oil companies and subsidize gas for consumers so that they will like Republicans more? After all, if it is all about popularity that is the kind of thing he would do.
Whippet:
I don’t think anyone is saying these people do not have a right to an opinion. The point is they are helping destroy their own party because they have decided to turn on Bush in the hopes they can save their little niche.
Vince:
That makes no sense. The Bush Doctrine is still part of the Bush foreign policy. If you are talking about Iran and North Korea, I did not notice Bush bombing either one of those countries in his first term of office. As far as that is concerned he never promised to send troops into the Occupied Territories either. What exactly was he supposed to do? Oh yeah, kill all the Muslims. Or something.
My God, there is a Democratic Congress to deal with now as well.
Terrye: is it too much to ask for for you to at least try to remember my reasons for things.. We’ve been through this before.
If anyone else wants me to go into details I will.. but with you I already have.
I’m not supposed to fight with you.. so that’s all for now from me.
Vince:
At least I did not call you an ass kissing whatever.
Do you think that calling people names makes them respect your opinion more? Do you think it makes people want to pull that lever with an R on it?
I’m not a (R) .. I’m an (A)merican..
“I don’t think anyone is saying these people do not have a right to an opinion. The point is they are helping destroy their own party because they have decided to turn on Bush in the hopes they can save their little niche. ”
Uh, no…they have decided to state their opinion which you (and the MSM)have decided was to turn on Bush. Disagreeing with Bush is their right as is yours (and mine)to defend him. So what you and AJ are trying to do is blame those who disagree with Bush as being the problem within the party. Sorry, Republicans have always cherished free speech rights and will continue to do so even if it isn’t always pretty.
Terrye, you certainly won’t earn any respect playing the victim card. That’s an old trick of the left and I’m pretty sure no one here will fall for it.
This is the cancer that Rice and Bush are demanding Israel give a state to within a year. Absolute craziness:
The Hamas commander, however, confirmed for the first time that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has been training its men in Tehran for more than two years and is currently honing the skills of 150 fighters.
The details he gave suggested that, if anything, Shin Bet has underestimated the extent of Iran’s influence on Hamas’s increasingly sophisticated tactics and weaponry.
Whippet:
I do not always agree with Bush. I never did. But I realize that our leaders are only human working within a certain political context, that means that it is not possible for them to do all the things their critics want them to do.
This has nothing to do with free speech. They have every right to say anything they want about anyone they want to say it about…my point is that the rest of America has the right to reject them..and right now, a great deal of it is.
Blaming that on Bush is just refusing to assume responsibility for their own mistakes.
Vince:
So the hell am I.