Agreed. I think GWB is a Truman-like figure. The war on terror has given him a legacy of greatness. Domestically however, his policies have been terrible. His "compassionate conservatism" has essentially strengthened federal control over education, made it harder for struggling families to file for bankruptcy, and his tax reforms actually took money from people in middle-class tax brackets.
I think it's a sad end to the Reagan Revolution, that when the Republicans finally won control of all the branches of government, they returned to their Rockefeller roots. The GOP's southern flank has hung with the party in hopes for the day when they'd have control of all three branches of gov't and what did we get?
Instead of reducing government's size, we got two new government departments/agencies out of the deal. We had a Department of Defense that couldn't defend the nation--they had to create an entirely new department called Homeland Security. Then we got the pathetic TSA, where they took a bunch of low-paid, unmotivated airline security screeners and gave them federal positions so they can never be fired. These TSA folks let Ahmed and Mohammed board the plane for fear of doing racial profiling and they grope granny's brassiere.
The GOP in the Senate went weak-kneed on every major issue that might roll back and disable liberalism (for the sake of collegiality). They fail to enforce the borders, even with two departments tasked to defend the homeland. They're so afraid of ruffling feathers of potential "illegal" voters, they're considering amnesty for them in the hopes they'll convert to being Republicans. They ran away from the Pres' constitutional amendment to define marriage as being between a man and a woman for fear of losing the "Log Cabin" Republicans.
The GOP has failed to take on the Dems over ANWR and realistically reduce foreign oil dependency. They should squarely take the blame for gas prices, because merely announcing that drilling will begin would push down the price per barrel on the international markets.
And finally, abortion: the GOP has essentially redefined its practical position to "its an area where intelligent people can disagree." This allows them to put in candidates who they think can win, like Giuliani.
What's the point in winning if have to become Democrats to do it? If I'm throwing away my vote to the Constitution Party, I'll do that from now on. It's obvious that a conservative who votes Republican throws his vote away.
I agree with everything but this.
"and his tax reforms actually took money from people in middle-class tax brackets".
I'm in the middle and owed for a long time, never changed my deductions and got 600$ back instead of owing 400. That's a 1000 dollar swing for me. And it's all been short-from.
"The GOP has failed to take on the Dems over ANWR and realistically reduce foreign oil dependency. They should squarely take the blame for gas prices, because merely announcing that drilling will begin would push down the price per barrel on the international markets."
I have said that many times. We have the "Americans Can't Do" party charge. Pathetic.
I agree with you about the failure of this Administration to pursue Conservative governance by reducing the size and scope of Federal government, consistent with security needs. But please do not take out your justifiable frustration on the TSA folks.
I travel - a lot. I have been personally searched at airports more times than most convicted felons, and I have found our security screeners to be uniformly professional, courteous, and thorough, even if they are unfairly denied by misguided political correctness the ability to "profile" those most likely to pose a threat to Americans. After an admittedly rough start after 9/11, our TSA workers, in my experince, do a damned good job, and we're fortunate to have them working for us. The larger problem is that we can't pursue the enemy as intently as we would like to, and on their ground.