Posted on 05/05/2005 9:13:01 AM PDT by metalmanx2j
A lot of thoughtful conservatives are having serious second thoughts about George W. Bush. His failure to act upon core values of fiscal conservatism and sovereignty is a growing concern.
Donations to conservative organizations and think tanks are in sharp decline. A lot of conservatives have decided to stop giving financial support because they are losing faith in the ability of these groups to have any effect on administration policies.
Bush has an engaging personality, but he’s not running for office anymore. He is already a very lame duck.
In concert with Republican party leaders in Congress, the White House has been unable to get its judicial appointments approved and the fight over John Bolton’s appointment as UN ambassador suggests the party lacks unity on Capitol Hill. Bolton has been confirmed four times for previous positions. Unless the GOP can unite to overcome the obstructionism of the Democrats, it bodes ill for the party.
If conservatives stay home for the 2006 elections, power can shift to the Democrats.
People are increasingly worried about the huge budget deficit created by a President and a Congress that have been on a spending binge. The national debt has increased by $2.16 billion every day since September 30, 2004. It is now a cliché that Bush has not vetoed a single spending bill while in office. New “entitlements” added to Medicare for prescriptions will add still more to the rising tide of national debt. It is not “if” the economy will reach a tipping point this accumulated debt cannot be paid, but when.
Compounding fears is the appearance of an increasingly shaky economy that includes rising inflation and major corporations like General Motors in trouble. Wall Street is experiencing early tremors that forecast a bear market.
An issue reaching critical mass are the illegal immigrants flowing across our southern border. The assertion that they are necessary to do the work that Americans will not is nonsense. With the exception of the agricultural sector that has always depended on migrant workers, there are many jobs American workers would take if they weren’t already being given to undocumented workers paid in cash. Illegal workers sent $20 billion dollars home to Mexico last year!
History will record that George W. Bush secured the liberation of the Iraqi people from one of the worst tyrants of modern times. Let us give him credit for that and for driving the Taliban out of Afghanistan. What rankles was the way the war was sold as an eminent threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction. I cannot think of a time this nation went to war on such poor intelligence. One gets the feeling, however, that the Bush administration has little faith in the intelligence of the American people.
Yet another distinctly un-conservative aspect of the Bush administration has been its approach to education. The “Leave No Child Behind” program has thrown billions at an already failed educational system. It is so awful that whole states are considering withdrawing from it. And the Bush administration is pushing for programs that would require all students to undergo mental health evaluations, thus opening the door to still more millions of them being required to take mind-altering drugs.
Many conservatives fear that homeland security is an excuse for circumscribing fundamental constitutional protections. Most certainly, the Patriot Act needs revision, but the administration does not support that. There is talk of installing chips in passports that will carry all kinds of personal information about you. More insidious is the effort to require Americans to carry a national ID card. This is more consistent with a police state than with conservative values.
As Americans confront rising gasoline prices, they are wondering if we have an energy policy. There’s scant evidence. It’s nice to know Alaska’s ANWR may be opened up to oil extraction, but this nation hasn’t seen a new refinery built since the 1970’s, down from 321 refineries in 1981 to 146 now. Current refineries are running at 95% capacity and, thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency, they have to produce 45 “regional blends” of gasoline. It will be years before any oil starts to flow from ANWR. Meanwhile, other reserves of oil and coal are ruled off-limits to extraction and use.
Finally, under the Bush administration, the federal government remains hell bent on acquiring more and more of the nation’s landmass. It’s in cahoots with environmental organizations, offering them millions in federal funds, to assist in this travesty. There’s even an “Invasive Species” bill floating around that would put the EPA in control of your front lawn. Why isn’t the Bush administration out front on killing this monstrosity?
Does any of this sound like conservative policy to you? Does it worry you that the threat of terrorism is the sole reason given for almost any policy put forth by the White House since 9-11? If the Democrats ever get their act together, you and I are going to be talking about President Clinton, but referring to Hillary.
That's basically what he's doing. He's criticizing Bush for liberal policies, so he's withdrawing unqualified support.
Bush will go down in history as perhaps the greatest president and greatest leader of all time and he is doing all he can to fight evil doers and save America and perhaps the world and here where he should have his biggest fan base all people that should know better can do is post liberal talking points. I will pray some here will gain a better understanding and I'm certain our leader would forgive your misunderstanding his actions. I just get so upset when I read people saying awful things about this great man.
I see we've moved on from Islamic apologetics to political red herrings.
While it is true that Bush is something of a centrist in domestic policy, putting emphasis on these issues at this time merely detracts from the matter of real import - confirming conservative judges of the Scalia ilk to the judiciary.
Whatever laws are passed, or whatever executive actions are taken, the real test is how they hold up under judicial scrutiny. No new law was passed in Roe v. Wade. Laws that were passed to save the life of Terri Schaivo were ignored. The environmental land grabs that are happening even now, occur only with the complicity of the courts.
The issue is the Imperial Judiciary. If it were not so important, the Dims wouldn't be screaming so loudly about the confirmation process.
Focus on what's important. The nominees will have a more far-reaching effect than any legislation passed by this, or the next administration.
He signed partial birth abortion ban. Never would have gotten that from a Democrat president. He deserves strong congratulations for that. And that's why I voted for him. But I'm not going to deny -- or be silent about -- his liberalism in some other areas.
I completely forgot to write what I started to right about. Bush a compassionate man and has strong principles. Conservatism is vital to saving this Republic. Where I differ strongly with Bush is that I cannot accept that anything we know at "acts of compassion" can truly come from government. Private charities and religious organizations and individual acts of compassion are truly that he should inspire. How is it compassion when you take money from people, cycle it through government bureaucracies and give it to still others? Wouldn't it be much more efficient to encourage donations and cut taxes? The day will come when Liberals will hold the seats of government and surely as the sun rises, they will take his programs and morph them into and insidious form of dependency. The left will NEVER stop trying to transform this country into a socialist hell.
Thus ensuring their failure to have an effect on the administration's policies.
President Bush is either asleep at the switch or willfully encouraging the expansion of illegal immigration to this country and will not raise a finger to secure our borders, which presents a great terrorist threat.
Hope I didn't upset you too much.
very good point, that should be realized by more Freepers.
One can dislike a particular policy or policies a particular President puts forth and still think he is a great guy and doing what he thinks is best for the country (even if you disagree).
President Bush makes Johnson look like a conservative. He is a socialist in my book. I respect him for his foreign policies, but certainly NOT for his domestic policies. IMOHO. (tin foil, Kevlar, and Nomex on)
Ever say that about Clinton? Carter?
Well, you know, this notion that ordinary people should become interested in the details of government is relatively new. For thousands of years, the role of most people in politics was limited to just following their local leader or chief. They never had occasion to question their leaders' decisions, to suggest alternatives or to even think about such things. There may just be something very natural and very human about just following leaders.
"Citizen participation" in government is still just an experiment and, for a lot of people, it may not be a comfortable experience.
Keep repeating. Everythings changed since 9/11. If you don't support the president, you don't support the troops.
There no alternative views allowed. That is all!
She is new. Just signed up today. I kept my opinions to myself for six months here before I let my views known.
While I'm sympathetic with your take, I'd ask you to consider the state of the union had Al Gore won the Presidency in 2000, or Kerry in the 2004. No tax cuts, probably large tax increases. More appeasement to terror, with probably several more terrorist attacks on America. No national missile defense in the face of North Korean and Iranian (and let's not forget Saddam's Iraq) weapon development. Full speed ahead for cultural degradation (abortion, stem cell research, "gay" marriage). More "Elian Gonzales" decisions. Economic malaise on a terrible scale after the collapse of stock market and 9/11. Adoption by executive order of the essence of the Kyoto protocol. Et cetera. Just things to consider.
Lastly, let's begin to work now to nominate and elect political candidates who more nearly reflect conservative principles in future elections.
...Maybe the worst result of the Bush administration is that it has turned conservatives, such as many at freerepublic, into defenders of liberal policies...
Nail struck squarely upon head.
Don't misunderstand. I did not want either of those to happen.
I'm just talking ~day to day life~. Is it really any different than it was 8 years ago?
Don't misunderstand. I did not want either of those to happen.
I'm just talking ~day to day life~. Is it really any different than it was 8 years ago?
I swear I only hit post once.
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