So you think George W. Bush is not a conservative?

ED. NOTE: On Tuesday evening, January 20, 2004, the President of the United States gave one of the most conservative State of the Union addresses in at least a generation. For a SOTU speech, it had a remarkably short spending wish list. Instead, it had passages such as those excerpted below — none of which would have been spoken by a Democrat or liberal (i.e., Leftist), or even a "RINO." Check it out:

Our greatest responsibility is the active defense of the American people. Twenty-eight months have passed since September 11th, 2001 — over two years without an attack on American soil. And it is tempting to believe that the danger is behind us. That hope is understandable, comforting — and false.

The once all-powerful ruler of Iraq was found in a hole, and now sits in a prison cell. Of the top 55 officials of the former regime, we have captured or killed 45. Our forces are on the offensive, leading over 1,600 patrols a day and conducting an average of 180 raids a week. We are dealing with these thugs in Iraq, just as surely as we dealt with Saddam Hussein's evil regime.

Because of American leadership and resolve, the world is changing for the better. Last month, the leader of Libya voluntarily pledged to disclose and dismantle all of his regime's weapons of mass destruction programs, including a uranium enrichment project for nuclear weapons.

Nine months of intense negotiations involving the United States and Great Britain succeeded with Libya, while 12 years of diplomacy with Iraq did not. And one reason is clear: For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible, and no one can now doubt the word of America.

Many of our troops are listening tonight. And I want you and your families to know: America is proud of you. And my administration, and this Congress, will give you the resources you need to fight and win the war on terror.

I know that some people question if America is really in a war at all. They view terrorism more as a crime, a problem to be solved mainly with law enforcement and indictments. After the World Trade Center was first attacked in 1993, some of the guilty were indicted and tried and convicted, and sent to prison. But the matter was not settled. The terrorists were still training and plotting in other nations, and drawing up more ambitious plans. After the chaos and carnage of September the 11th, it is not enough to serve our enemies with legal papers. The terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States, and war is what they got.

Some critics have said our duties in Iraq must be internationalized. This particular criticism is hard to explain to our partners in Britain, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Italy, Spain, Poland, Denmark, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, the Netherlands — (applause) — Norway, El Salvador, and the 17 other countries that have committed troops to Iraq. As we debate at home, we must never ignore the vital contributions of our international partners, or dismiss their sacrifices.

From the beginning, America has sought international support for our operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and we have gained much support. There is a difference, however, between leading a coalition of many nations, and submitting to the objections of a few. America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country.

We also hear doubts that democracy is a realistic goal for the greater Middle East, where freedom is rare. Yet it is mistaken, and condescending, to assume that whole cultures and great religions are incompatible with liberty and self-government. I believe that God has planted in every human heart the desire to live in freedom. And even when that desire is crushed by tyranny for decades, it will rise again.

In the last three years, adversity has also revealed the fundamental strengths of the American economy. We have come through recession, and terrorist attack, and corporate scandals, and the uncertainties of war. And because you acted to stimulate our economy with tax relief, this economy is strong, and growing stronger.

You have doubled the child tax credit from $500 to $1,000, reduced the marriage penalty, begun to phase out the death tax, reduced taxes on capital gains and stock dividends, cut taxes on small businesses, and you have lowered taxes for every American who pays income taxes.

Americans took those dollars and put them to work, driving this economy forward. The pace of economic growth in the third quarter of 2003 was the fastest in nearly 20 years; new home construction, the highest in almost 20 years; home ownership rates, the highest ever. Manufacturing activity is increasing. Inflation is low. Interest rates are low. Exports are growing. Productivity is high, and jobs are on the rise.

These numbers confirm that the American people are using their money far better than government would have — and you were right to return it.

We're requiring higher standards [in schools]. We are regularly testing every child on the fundamentals. We are reporting results to parents, and making sure they have better options when schools are not performing.

We must continue to pursue an aggressive, pro-growth economic agenda. Congress has some unfinished business on the issue of taxes. The tax reductions you passed are set to expire. Unless you act — (applause) — unless you act — unless you act, the unfair tax on marriage will go back up. Unless you act, millions of families will be charged $300 more in federal taxes for every child. Unless you act, small businesses will pay higher taxes. Unless you act, the death tax will eventually come back to life. Unless you act, Americans face a tax increase. What Congress has given, the Congress should not take away. For the sake of job growth, the tax cuts you passed should be permanent.

Our agenda for jobs and growth must help small business owners and employees with relief from needless federal regulation, and protect them from junk and frivolous lawsuits.

Consumers and businesses need reliable supplies of energy to make our economy run — so I urge you to pass legislation to modernize our electricity system, promote conservation, and make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy.

My administration is promoting free and fair trade to open up new markets for America's entrepreneurs and manufacturers and farmers — to create jobs for American workers. Younger workers should have the opportunity to build a nest egg by saving part of their Social Security taxes in a personal retirement account. We should make the Social Security system a source of ownership for the American people.

In two weeks, I will send you a budget that funds the war, protects the homeland, and meets important domestic needs, while limiting the growth in discretionary spending to less than 4 percent. This will require that Congress focus on priorities, cut wasteful spending, and be wise with the people's money. By doing so, we can cut the deficit in half over the next five years.

Tonight, I also ask you to reform our immigration laws so they reflect our values and benefit our economy.

I oppose amnesty, because it would encourage further illegal immigration, and unfairly reward those who break our laws. My temporary worker program will preserve the citizenship path for those who respect the law, while bringing millions of hardworking men and women out from the shadows of American life.

[ED. NOTE: The precedent for guest worker programs goes back at least to the Eisenhower administration.]

In January of 2006, seniors can get prescription drug coverage under Medicare. For a monthly premium of about $35, most seniors who do not have that coverage today can expect to see their drug bills cut roughly in half. Under this reform, senior citizens will be able to keep their Medicare just as it is, or they can choose a Medicare plan that fits them best — just as you, as members of Congress, can choose an insurance plan that meets your needs. And starting this year, millions of Americans will be able to save money tax-free for their medical expenses in a health savings account.

On the critical issue of health care, our goal is to ensure that Americans can choose and afford private health care coverage that best fits their individual needs.

Small businesses should be able to band together and negotiate for lower insurance rates, so they can cover more workers with health insurance. I urge you to pass association health plans. I ask you to give lower-income Americans a refundable tax credit that would allow millions to buy their own basic health insurance.

To protect the doctor-patient relationship, and keep good doctors doing good work, we must eliminate wasteful and frivolous medical lawsuits. And tonight I propose that individuals who buy catastrophic health care coverage, as part of our new health savings accounts, be allowed to deduct 100 percent of the premiums from their taxes.

A government-run health care system is the wrong prescription. By keeping costs under control, expanding access, and helping more Americans afford coverage, we will preserve the system of private medicine that makes America's health care the best in the world.

One of the worst decisions our children can make is to gamble their lives and futures on drugs. Our government is helping parents confront this problem with aggressive education, treatment, and law enforcement. Drug use in high school has declined by 11 percent over the last two years. Four hundred thousand fewer young people are using illegal drugs than in the year 2001.

A strong America must also value the institution of marriage. I believe we should respect individuals as we take a principled stand for one of the most fundamental, enduring institutions of our civilization. Congress has already taken a stand on this issue by passing the Defense of Marriage Act, signed in 1996 by President Clinton. That statute protects marriage under federal law as a union of a man and a woman, and declares that one state may not redefine marriage for other states.

Activist judges, however, have begun redefining marriage by court order, without regard for the will of the people and their elected representatives. On an issue of such great consequence, the people's voice must be heard. If judges insist on forcing their arbitrary will upon the people, the only alternative left to the people would be the constitutional process. Our nation must defend the sanctity of marriage.

It's also important to strengthen our communities by unleashing the compassion of America's religious institutions. Religious charities of every creed are doing some of the most vital work in our country — mentoring children, feeding the hungry, taking the hand of the lonely. Yet government has often denied social service grants and contracts to these groups, just because they have a cross or a Star of David or a crescent on the wall. By executive order, I have opened billions of dollars in grant money to competition that includes faith-based charities. Tonight I ask you to codify this into law, so people of faith can know that the law will never discriminate against them again.

The momentum of freedom in our world is unmistakable — and it is not carried forward by our power alone. We can trust in that greater power who guides the unfolding of the years. And in all that is to come, we can know that His purposes are just and true.

"It was the gun-rights 'extremists' who elected the Republican House in '94."

Extremists, by their very nature, elect no one, the center elects people.

Proof in the pudding, let the extreme right wing leave the GOP and hold an election, the center's voters may win it. Let the center leave the GOP, hold an election, and there isn't a chance in hell that the GOP will win.

Not voting doesn't send any kind of powerful message to the parties. The message not voting sends is that most voters don't give a s**t no matter what the politicians do.

Wrong.

In the last 20-30 years, since the days of party-boss brokered conventions, both parties have ignored their own bases in favor of catering to swing voters.

However, strategists in both parties can point to elections where they believe they have lost because they alienated their own base, not because they failed to pander enough to some bunch of soccer moms or NASCAR dads or whoever has been nominated as the most idiotic bloc of voters in any particular election year.

There has been, in both parties, quite a bit of serious talk about how 2004 is the year to pay attention to your base voters. Of course, these same people were predicting Dean as the inevitable Dim nominee a week ago so their advice may not look so good right now.

After all, in 2000 the Greens could have elected Gore. And the three million evangelical Christians who stayed home could have turned out and made the difference for Bush and we would have avoided the Battle For Floriduh. I'm talking here about voters in both parties with strong known political opinions and voting history but who failed to turn out. And doing so in numbers too large to ignore if you're running a tight presidential race or trying to take the Senate or elect state officials.

It's not just the top of the ticket. It's the downstream candidates too.

So you may not get the 'message' that's imparted when party activists and the base refuse to vote. But don't assume the political strategists and pollsters hold that same opinion. The 2000 election rubbed their noses in it.

"You guys who threaten not to vote for Bush because he hasn't done enough for YOU need to start to think about the COUNTRY above your own egos!"

I'm not threatening anything. I didn't vote for him last election and I won't be voting for him this election either. I will be actively working to bring CONSERVATIVE voters to the CONSTITUTION PARTY. George Bush is a moderate socialist at best. He knowingly VIOLATED his oath of office by signing McCain/Fiengold's Campaign Finance Reform Bill, violating our 1st Amendment Freedoms. He has also indicated that he supports renewal of the un-Constitutional so-called "Assault Weapons" ban. Freedom of Speech and the Right to Keep and Bear Arms might not mean much to you.....but Bush will discover this upcoming election that it still means something to many Americans, myself included.

Nobody can come up with a solution to picking the crops w/o cheap Mexican labor. This is the heart of this discussion and the hole in the anti-Bush argument.

Actually, this is only one of many holes in the pro-amnesty argument.

It's called "technological innovation." It's how we we've been able to produce as much food as we do- even before the invading hordes of Mexicans decided to come to the USA illegally.

To say that there is no other solution, is to follow the liberal mentality.

My tagline explains this further.

You are piling on someone who hasn't done anything wrong.

Howlin and others tried to explain that the statement was not credible unless it could actually be sourced. Bikers4Bush kept repeating it as fact even after Howlin called the Senators offices and confirmed it was false information. He then tried to prove a point by posting a link that actually did not prove his point at all and is still spinning the inane notion that he is correct. And you think Howlin is piling on? I think Howlin is merely trying to keep Bikers4Bush from creating a riot on the forum, which would most certainly happen if his statement were even remotely true.

So yes, some solid conservative values are closer to the fringe than the center and if we want to change the nature of the two parties, we have to move the center toward our desired direction.

Or bolt. Believe me, if 10-15 million people bolted the GOP, they would either wake up or face the fate of the Whigs. The problem is that people feel locked into the 2-party system - that's what they want us to feel. But there are other choices. I don't see a mandatory 2-party system in the Constitution. GROUPTHINK is the problem - it has brainwashed people into thinking that they have no choice outside these 2 corrupt parties. I say, RUBBISH!

Lived in Yucaipa back in the 80's when the migrant workers from Mexico were kept from coming into Orange County to pick the strawberries. Employment wasn't all that great as a lot of people were complaining about not finding work. The growers put out ads, went to the empoyments offices, etc., looking for workers to pick the strawberries. A lot rotted because the Anglo's couldn't take the heat of the fields and quit right away.

I was born and raised in Ohio where we had migrant workers from Mexico all during the harvest for tomatoes, beans, etc. that had to be picked by hand. I didn't think anything about it -- they came for harvest and went back to Mexico after the harvest. Were they here illegally -- I have absolutely no idea but without them, the harvest would not have happened and the produce would have rotted.

Well YOU obviously still have free speech.........and LOTS of it, I might add.

And I assume you still have your gun? He hasn't come into your house and taken it from you yet, has he?

I said LONG ago on this thread, Vote for whomever you like. Just understand that a vote for your "Constitution" favorite is the same thing as a vote for a Democrat....

Only God can protect us...and that is why I pray for our President to be led.I pray for those who make decisions,knowing nothing but the grace of God will save me.

I am not afraid personally.I fear for others,like those in New York ,or Washington or our military in harms way.I pray we make wise decisions in God's will.I thank God for the accident of my birth in this great country and the courage of my ancestors who helped fight for it and build it.

Let me see if I understand all this ….

the democrat dwarfs have been in nonstop campaign mode for months bashing the President on everything they can find
The media has been following them and reporting their events, hosting their debates, etc.
The pollsters are running almost daily polls about them, who is leading, who is rising, who is falling
One caucus has been held with the results throwing everything upside down
President Bush issues a Guest Worker proposal and the entire base has suddenly headed for the hills
Some conservative pundits/media/organizations issue scathing assessments of his proposal(s)

All the above and much more has happened over the past few months. Yet we find the following at this juncture:

President Bush’s approval ratings are somewhere around 50% or better
The economy seems to be turning around
The Bush/Cheney campaign hasn’t held any campaign events, appearances with other candidates, media buys, rallies, etc.
The Bush/Cheney campaign has something over $100+ million in their war chest at this time
President Bush has no strong primary opponent

Now I’m to believe that the President is in a dire political position, will lose his Republican base, likely be defeated, etc. etc. etc. And he’s not even begun the campaign. I suspect that the President’s campaign will begin after it becomes evident who the Democrat opponent will be and then you’ll see the release of the $100+ millions to promote the President and contrast him positions/policies against his opponents.

I suggest that in July after his campaign has been up and running and if the President is in political problems regarding his re-election then there will be something to worry about….. Until them I see nothing but the yelling of fire from the ones opposed to him and they don’t intend to vote for him and most likely didn’t vote for him. The first salvo of the President’s campaign has yet to be fired….

GO BUSH GO

I understand and respect your position. I felt like you 3 years ago. But the liberal policies are simply inexplicable. Many of Mr. Bush's policies are decidedly un-Christian in their very nature....like rewarding illegal immigrants and making taxpayers pay FORCED CHARITY for their welfare, and his schmoozing with Log Cabin Republicans, appt. of gays, support for USSC quotas in MI, praising a gay church, absence of his support for constitutional ban on abortion and a marriage amendment, kowtowing to the Chinese at the expense of Taiwan's independence, and on and on. The man seems to be trying to please everyone or trying not to offend others. I don't understand these positions but they most definitely are not conservative in the classic sense.

As Popeye would say, "I've taken all I can stands and I can't takes anymore. hukukukukukuk"

In the last 20-30 years, since the days of party-boss brokered conventions

That's been going on since the inception of conventions. there's a great story on how Lincoln was nominated by the party bosses.

The rise of media has meant the decline of importance of conventions as candidates are selected by the popular vote through the media and not by by convention deals. The saying is that Lincoln would not have won nomination in today's politics but Clinton never would have been nominated by party bosses in convention.

So you may not get the 'message' that's imparted when party activists and the base refuse to vote.

The message remains the same. Those who stay home don't care or maybe are sulking with a "take my ball and go home" attitude.

Those who actually care and are responsible - if alienated - will go out and vote for another candidate. That's a message sent by someone who cares about the nation - not someone who stays home.

Calling people liars or racists is highly unproductive.

First of all, I never called anyone a racist. Secondly, I call 'em as I see 'em...what do YOU call someone who you catch in an outright lie not only once, but twice? Finally, letting them tell their lies is highly unproductive too, as I have to waste my time disputing the lies that naive people believe and post all over the forum rather than the simple process of ending the lie when it begins on one thread by posting facts that can be traced to a credible source. Don't lecture me.

To say that there is no other solution, is to follow the liberal mentality.

As a capitalist you must realize that the free market controls the prices of wages, goods and services. If there were a cheaper way to pick crops it would be invented. The free market is actually at work when Mexicans cross the border to pick our crops. Please send your suggestions of cheaper technology to the farmers of America. As it is they are losing marketshare to Chili and South America.

Calling me a liberal only proves that you have no answer to the question.

Pray for W and The Truth

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