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Impostor:How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy
writersreps.com ^ | April 2006 | Bruce Bartlett

Posted on 10/11/2005 7:09:03 PM PDT by Conservative Firster

Though widely viewed as an arch conservative in the major media, Bruce Bartlett increasingly finds himself alienated from the president of his party. Bush's policies, he warns, have been anything but conservative.

Bartlett faults Bush for moving away from free trade, adopting Keynesian economic theories, increasing government regulation and doing an extremely poor job of developing and selling conservative initiatives, such as Social Security reform. As such, George W. Bush, he says, has been a disaster for conservatism. Criticism of Bush from the right has largely been confined to fringe elements outside the mainstream of the conservative movement. Bartlett is the first from within the conservative mainstream to make the case that Bush is not "one of us" and does not deserve conservatives' support. As the next presidential election looms, Bartlett warns, a new standard bearer must be found who will correct the many errors of this administration and get America's fiscal house in order.

After September 11, America declared war on Islamic militancy that required huge new expenditures on defense. In the face of this, it was folly, says Bartlett, to introduce the Medicare drug benefit, a middle class entitlement program that, according to its own actuaries, burdens the American taxpayer with a new $18.2 trillion debt, an amount much larger even than the (once-) dreaded Social Security crisis. To pay for this vast new expansion of the welfare state, Bartlett warns, taxes can only go up—way up. Getting sufficient revenue out of our current tax system will be futile, making something like a European-style value added tax a near-certainty. It is noteworthy that Governor Bush once appointed a Texas tax reform commission that recommended a VAT, which he then supported.

On top of the Medicare drug benefit, Bush has rammed through huge expansions of federal education and agriculture programs. He has done nothing to restrain Congress's pork barrel spending and is the first president since James Garfield not to veto a single bill.

The administration's massive increases in government spending, Bartlett says, makes a sharp increase in taxes inevitable. There are many reasons to believe that a financial crisis may be brewing as a result. The Federal Reserve, for instance, is raising interest rates, which will put pressure on the stock and bond markets, and eventually prick the housing bubble, just as Fed tightening ultimately popped the stock market bubble of the late 1990's. When this happens, Washington policymakers who have been ignoring the budget deficit for years will suddenly see deficit reduction as the only way of restoring confidence. At this point, Bush will have to reverse course on taxes and spending.


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: biggovernment; bookreview; brucebartlett; bush; bushbashers; imposter; letthegamesbegin; nutsanddolts; wnotreagan
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To: sinkspur

Duly noted. Reagan also nominated Kennedy to the SC.


41 posted on 10/11/2005 8:03:41 PM PDT by My2Cents (The political battles of our day are battles over morality, between the haves and the have nots.)
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To: Conservative Firster

Free trade is corporatist, not conservative.


42 posted on 10/11/2005 8:04:57 PM PDT by thoughtomator (Bush's judicial philosophy - Illegals should have more rights than you)
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To: fizziwig
I just love all the threads that start out with the news that Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Rich Lowry, ad infinitum have "jumped the shark" for opposing Miers. Mind you, I've not formed an opinion of her myself yet, but I do love seeing bushbots agitated. I expect they will try to get to the bottom of who ate all the strawberry ice cream next.

I'm not that sure the bushbots are doing their man a favor with their obsequious fawning. It is unwise to surround oneself with sycophants.
43 posted on 10/11/2005 8:06:12 PM PDT by fallujah-nuker (Open Borders: The RINOcracy waging class warfare against American wage earners)
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To: Dane
Enough of your twisting of history. You're constantly attacking the Reagan legacy with cheap shots. Yet you actually don't know what you're talking about. I explained this to you before. Listen up for once.

PresReagan floated the idea of privatizing SS more then once. As early as 1964 and again in 1976 and 1980. It went nowhere back then, just as it went nowhere today when PresBush sent up his trial balloon. It's obvious Bush got his idea for personal SS accounts from the idea originally offered up by Reagan.

Social Security was in deep trouble when Reagan took office. He appointed Alan Greenspan to head up a SS reform commission, to come up with a plan to make SS solvent again. The Greenspan commission advised Reagan that SS rates be raised, benefits be cut and the retirement age increased. Reagan endorsed the recommendations of the bipartistian commission. The idea of voluntary personal accounts was looked into by the Greenspan commission, but was never considered a viable solution since it was impossible to get enough political agreement at the time.

Fact. SS is the third rail of American politics and right now privatization is a dead idea.

As for amnesty. Reagan did sign the IRCA of 1986 and it was a mistake to do so. However, if the IRCA was enforced and employers were prosecuted and punished for hiring illegals, the one time amnesty deal would have been just that. A one time amnesty for illegals. But it wasn't enforced.

44 posted on 10/11/2005 8:12:43 PM PDT by Reagan Man (Secure our borders;punish employers who hire illegals;stop all welfare to illegals)
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To: My2Cents; BigSkyFreeper; Mo1; KingKongCobra; sinkspur; Howlin

BUMP TO THE TOP, M2C.

- - - - -

These "conservatives" are a pretty exclusive bunch, and a pretty exclusionary bunch as well. Their view of the world is fairly narrow; they are essentially pessimistic about everything; they are strident in their attitudes and obnoxious in their behavior. But, I guess, they think the glory days of conservatism were when conservatism was narrow, exclusive, strident and obnoxious.





You have it right. The small segment who continue to claim they're "the base" while they seek to destroy the good works and progress we have made.

Note please, that the most venomous and vociferous here are '04 sign-on's and then think back to the threats from DU and moveon.orgie to infiltrate.

Ms. Miers will get her hearing. She deserves that much. But all the clamor really isn't about her. It's about destroying GWB who they cannot control. And thank God for that.


45 posted on 10/11/2005 8:17:48 PM PDT by onyx ((Vicksburg, MS) North is a direction. South is a way of life.)
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To: onyx
It's about destroying GWB who they cannot control. And thank God for that

Agree ... and you know what ... come 08 when the next election comes around .. their pick still won't get elected and they will still itch and moan

They did it back when Reagan was President and they are still doing it now

It's a never ending cycle

46 posted on 10/11/2005 8:21:16 PM PDT by Mo1
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To: Reagan Man
"...As for amnesty. Reagan did sign the IRCA of 1986 and it was a mistake to do so..."

It should be recalled that the 1986 amnesty initiated in the congress as Simpson-Mazzoli, it was not proposed by President Reagan. It was a colossal failure, 3 million illegals have turned into 12 to 15 million today.

The amnesty President Bush proposed on January 7th, 2004 will make it 50 to 75 million illegal aliens.
47 posted on 10/11/2005 8:23:05 PM PDT by fallujah-nuker (Open Borders: The RINOcracy waging class warfare against American wage earners)
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To: My2Cents
Hi, M2C. Good to "see" you again. Thanks for pinging me to your #40. Excellent post. You made so many good points, but I think the core of the problem is what you said here: "The fact is, some people have a narrow definition of "conservatism" (their own)..."

I wouldn't want to say all, of course, but a great many of those who are always caterwauling about how GWB "betrayed" conservatives, or how he's really a Democrat lite, and so on, are not conservatives at all. Most are hard-right reactionaries from a strain that saw its peak in the 1930's. Pat Buchanan is, indeed, the most well-known among them.

(A few here on FR probably are really Dems pretending to be upset conservatives just to stir the pot and sow division.)

Many, if not all of the Right-wing punditocracy who have been screaming about this nomination are ticked because GWB didn't do what they expected -- even demanded. Ann Coulter is probably the most rabid of them, although Kristol is a smarmy, sly creep who has always been anti-Bush.

Coulter bitterly opposed Roberts, then had the gall to turn around and hold up Roberts as the standard Miers simply could not meet. Worse, she ranted that the President selected Miers because he was "vindictive." In her fevered imagination, GWB was annoyed because "conservatives" shot down Al Gonzalez for the court, so he turned around and picked a worse version of Gonzalez out of spite. That's so totally absurd that it makes me question Coulter's intelligence.

But you're right. This fight is not about Miers. It's about who gets to control the "conservative" agenda going forward.

48 posted on 10/11/2005 8:27:26 PM PDT by Wolfstar ("And an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm." GWB, 1/20/01)
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To: fallujah-nuker
The amnesty President Bush proposed on January 7th, 2004 will make it 50 to 75 million illegal aliens

First it isn't blanket amnesty and second hyperbole seems to be your strong suit.

49 posted on 10/11/2005 8:30:00 PM PDT by Dane ( anyone who believes hillary would do something to stop illegal immigration is believing gibberish)
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To: onyx
Conversation between Karl Rove and a bushbot.

Karl Rove: Now Bushbot, we appreciate your loyalty to the President, but could you please not be such an obsequious sycophant?

Bushbot: OK.

Bushbot pauses, muses for a moment.

Bushbot: Karl?

Karl Rove: What is it?

Bushbot: What kind of sycophant do you want me to be?
50 posted on 10/11/2005 8:30:08 PM PDT by fallujah-nuker (Open Borders: The RINOcracy waging class warfare against American wage earners)
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To: fallujah-nuker
Good points.

Actually, I don't think Bush`s proposal will see the light of day. The Prez doesn't want real immigration reform. Bush wants the Hispanic vote to go with the GOP in 2006 and he wants to keep appeasing the business contingent of the GOP by allowing an endless flow of cheap labor into the US illegally.

51 posted on 10/11/2005 8:31:25 PM PDT by Reagan Man (Secure our borders;punish employers who hire illegals;stop all welfare to illegals)
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To: Dane
It is amnesty, President Bush and the "Luvya Dubya" sycophants are flat out being dishonest about it.
52 posted on 10/11/2005 8:31:42 PM PDT by fallujah-nuker (Open Borders: The RINOcracy waging class warfare against American wage earners)
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To: Revolting cat!

That is probably one of the better posts I've seen this week..


53 posted on 10/11/2005 8:32:33 PM PDT by Experiment 6-2-6 (Admn Mods: tiny, malicious things that glare and gibber from dark corners.They have pins and dolls..)
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To: My2Cents
Reagan also signed a tax increase in his second term

Corporate tax. He didn't like it at all but was promised a 3 to 1 spending offset from the Dems if he went along with the tax. The Dems of course reneged and RR learned a lesson. So stop trying to paint RR as a tax hiker. He brought the individual tax down more than any past or present POTUS.

Reagan era facts:

Supply Tax Cuts and the Truth About the Reagan Economic Record

The Real Reagan Economic Record: Responsible and Successful Fiscal Policy

A point many nowadays forget. Reagan came into office wanting to disband the departments of energy and education. He wasn't successful. A Democrat house of reps, and for the most part, senate, seen to that.
GWB didn't/doesn't have that problem. Even with a GOP majority in both houses of congress. GWB, with the help of Teddy Kennedy, seen that the largest bill in history for education expenditures was passed. (I didn't know metal detectors were that expensive!)
GWB not only took his place in the Oval Office as one not interested in abolishing the federal, and unConstitutional, bureaucracy, he led the way in expanding it.

54 posted on 10/11/2005 8:33:12 PM PDT by jla (I support Aunt Harriet Miers)
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To: fallujah-nuker
It is amnesty, President Bush and the "Luvya Dubya" sycophants are flat out being dishonest about it.

Blah, blah, blah, same old distortion.

55 posted on 10/11/2005 8:33:13 PM PDT by Dane ( anyone who believes hillary would do something to stop illegal immigration is believing gibberish)
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To: fallujah-nuker; My2Cents; Wolfstar

Thank you for proving our point. It's really GWB you wish to damage, '04 sign-on.


56 posted on 10/11/2005 8:35:46 PM PDT by onyx ((Vicksburg, MS) North is a direction. South is a way of life.)
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To: jla
Even with a GOP majority in both houses of congress. GWB, with the help of Teddy Kennedy, seen that the largest bill in history for education expenditures was passed.

Then tell me why the NEA and ted kennedy now hate the NCLB act.

I can tell you why because it involves standards, and oh yeah BTW, GW Bush has proposed school vouchers for hurricane victims and no doubt the NEA will be against that.

57 posted on 10/11/2005 8:36:24 PM PDT by Dane ( anyone who believes hillary would do something to stop illegal immigration is believing gibberish)
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To: Dane; bayourod
"Blah, blah, blah, same old distortion."

Man, the open borders lobby is sure hurting for ideas with Bayourod in the penalty box! Hope he gets back soon.
58 posted on 10/11/2005 8:36:37 PM PDT by fallujah-nuker (Open Borders: The RINOcracy waging class warfare against American wage earners)
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To: sinkspur
"Ronald Reagan, who raised [taxes] them one year after lowering them."

Yeah, because he could do the math...

...unlike Dubya, who treats Federal expenditures and debts like he's Santa Claus.

59 posted on 10/11/2005 8:37:58 PM PDT by F16Fighter
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To: onyx
"Thank you for proving our point..."

You sound agitated, better have some Kool-Aid.
60 posted on 10/11/2005 8:38:45 PM PDT by fallujah-nuker (Open Borders: The RINOcracy waging class warfare against American wage earners)
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