Posted on 01/31/2004 4:55:14 AM PST by goldstategop
The most serious threat to President Bush's second term is not a Democrat; it is the growing mass of disenchanted Republicans who are accepting the proposition that there is little or no difference between the two major parties.
"Where are they going to go?" says a well-placed Bush operative. "You know they'll never vote for Dean or Kerry. And there's no Ross Perot on the horizon."
Where will they go? Nowhere. And that's the point. Republicans, especially the more conservative variety, are likely to stay home in droves. So far, the Republican strategists appear to be oblivious to this possibility.
Perhaps conservative Republicans expected too much too soon from a Republican administration. The Democrats had eight years to fill the agencies of government with activists from their special-interest groups. It is true that President Bush quickly dumped the most egregious of these types, whose positions are political plums. The underlings hired by the political appointees, however, are protected by civil-service regulations and cannot be fired, or even reassigned, without non-political justification.
The disappointment of conservatives goes much deeper and questions the fundamental philosophy which guides the administration. After eight years of watching the Clinton-Gore team march the United States directly into the jaws of a global socialist government, Bush supporters expected a screeching halt and a major course correction.
Conservatives cheered Bush's withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol – a screeching halt and a major course correction – while socialists abroad and Democrats at home condemned the president.
When Bush defied the U.N. Security Council, and created a multi-national coalition to eliminate Saddam Hussein, conservatives split, some cheering the action, some joining the Democrats at home and socialists abroad who condemned the action.
The Patriot Act, the prescription drug program, the "guest worker" program, the so-called "free trade" programs and a half-trillion dollar deficit have left conservatives reeling, wondering why a Republican administration and Congress have produced results that look so much like what they would expect from a Democrat administration and Congress.
Consequently, many, many Republicans have thrown up their hands and have decided to either join some doomed third-party movement or simply stay home.
While this reaction may be understandable, it is not only self-defeating, it violates the first law of true believers: Never, never, never, never give up!
It is true that Republican hold the White House and a razor-thin majority in Congress. It is also true that the nation is divided, almost down the middle, between people who want to continue the Clinton-Gore path toward global socialist government and those who want to abandon that path and move the United States toward more individual freedom, free markets and voluntary cooperation among sovereign nations.
Rather than give up and stay at home, a better strategy may be for conservatives to realize that the election of President Bush in 2000, and securing a slim majority in Congress in 2002, is just the first step in a long journey. Conservatives should realize that it takes 60 senators to prevail over the Democrats' filibuster.
Rather than throw in the towel, conservatives might throw their effort into the campaigns of conservative candidates for the House and Senate, and for the state legislatures and county commissions.
The global socialist agenda moved into high gear after the fall of the Berlin Wall, aided dramatically by the progressive Democrats in the United States. The Bush election in 2000 disrupted that agenda, and to them, nothing is more important than removing the Bush obstacle. Conservatives who decide to give up and stay at home will be aiding and abetting the enemies of freedom.
A return to progressive Democrat leadership in the United States is a return to the Kyoto Protocol and U.N. control over energy use in the United States. It is a return to subservience to the United Nations – as Howard Dean says, to get "permission" from the U.N. before defending our nation. It is a return to total government control over land use, education and every other facet of life.
In 2000, conservatives barely got a foothold on the bridge of the ship of state. In 2002, conservatives began to get a grip on the wheel. In 2004, conservatives have an opportunity to bring on more hands and to permanently discharge some of the progressive Democrats who continue to fight desperately for control.
Democrats alone cannot regain control. If conservatives give up, throw in the towel and fail to show up for the November battle, the Democrats will win by default. Conservatives who truly believe that freedom is better than socialism, those who want freedom for their children rather than a world socialist government, will never, never, never, never give up. They will show up in November.
Given the fact that 15% of my pay comes straight off the top for Social Security, Medicare, et al, it troubles me. And that doesn't even address income taxes.
Surely you realize there are folks out there who could better use this money to pay for their own expenses?
If you're still okay with these programs, have you considered what will happen as the baby boomer demographic becomes eligible for them?
I mean no disrespect, but on many domestic issues he's acting like a liberal. I'd say in the aggregate he's slightly left of center on domestic policy.
I certainly don't want to discount all the excellent work the administration has done in foreign policy, but if we look at domestic policy, the facts demonstrate that Bush is not a conservative.
Most of these elderly paid some of the highest tax rates this nation has ever seen on the promise that these programs would be there for them in there old age. It's not their fault the government wasted the money charged to provide them. Spent mostly on feel good programs the younger generation demanded.
It's been cold even here in Richmond for the last two weeks, although we did get into the 40s a couple days. I remember those long, cold winters...
As far as bad estimates of costs go, I think there's no problem being critical of Bush. But that also means giving consideration to whatever reasons he offers for the mis-estimate. But, for me, that's a far different question from whether or not I should vote for Bush. I have no doubts about that, given the alternatives.
Bush will receive my vote in November, assuming nothing major occurs between now and then. What the GOP won't be getting is my money or time. I think that's the serious risk regarding a demoralization of the base; a small percent will stay home but a much larger percent will not participate in activism. (The same activism which is credited with the 2002 successes.)
Strategery, my friends is what this is all about----think
1)Immigration - Bush's proposal is a modest worker program. However, it does scare the Dems into proposing full, blanket amnesty --- thereby alienating them from the public.
2) Presciption Drug - The program steals a huge issue from the Dems where Bush can claim progress versus the Dems lip-service. It contains an experiment for medical savings accounts --- an experiment that can be enacted if we keep a Republican majority.
3) Education - Bush allowed Kennedy to write the "No Child Left Behind Act" and has funded the money. The Dems will look like typical bigger-spenders in comparison.
The bottom line here is politics. If we want to change course, we need to be the majority party for years to come, not for 2 years (remember, we barely have the Senate for the last 2 years).
Bush can campaign on the fact that he increased spending, kept his promises, protected senior citizens, funded education. America can trust conservatives.
That will become the death knell for the Dems. They will move farther left aka Dean in the future and the Republicans will be able to enact their agenda with strong majorities.
False. It takes 102 testicles.
For a total of 104 in the Senate (don't forget to add Hillary's two).
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