Posted on 06/04/2007 6:14:33 AM PDT by theothercheek
In an interview aboard Air Force One last week with Ron Hutcheson of McClatchy Newspapers, President Bush said:
"I'm deeply concerned about America losing its soul. Immigration has been the lifeblood of a lot of our country's history. And I am worried that a backlash to newcomers would cause our country to lose its great capacity to assimilate newcomers. And I believe that a newly arrived adds to the vigor and the entrepreneurial spirit, and enhances the American Dream."
These sentiments, coupled with Bush’s suggestion that opponents of his compromised immigration compromise "don't want to do what's right for America," are driving conservatives to apoplexy. The Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan contends that Bush broke faith with conservatives, not the other way around:
Leading Democrats often think their base is slightly mad but at least their heart is in the right place. This White House thinks its base is stupid and that its heart is in the wrong place. …
You don't like endless gushing spending … Too bad! You don't like expanding governmental authority and power? Too bad. You think the war was wrong or is wrong? Too bad.
But on immigration it has changed from "Too bad" to "You're bad."
Noonan makes the case that it’s déjà vu all over again:
[T]he Bushes, father and son … are great wasters of political inheritance. They throw it away as if they'd earned it and could do with it what they liked. Bush senior inherited a vibrant country and a party at peace with itself. … Mr. Bush won in 1988 by saying he would govern as Reagan had. … [H]e raised taxes, sundered a hard-won coalition, and found himself shocked to lose his party the presidency, and for eight long and consequential years. ….
Bush the younger came forward, presented himself as a conservative, garnered all the frustrated hopes of his party, turned them into victory, and not nine months later was handed a historical trauma that left his country rallied around him, lifting him, and his party bonded to him. He was disciplined and often daring, but in time he sundered the party that rallied to him, and broke his coalition into pieces. …
There’s only one thing conservatives and Republicans can do now, says Noonan: “[W]in back their party.” She adds that “breaking from those who have already broken from [you]” and “letting go … will be painful, but it's time. It's more than time.”
The question is, how?
Deep down – maybe not so deep down – conservatives always knew Bush was a pretender, mouthing the right words and making the right gestures. But conservatives voted for him anyway, the first time to pre-empt a third Clinton term and the second time because the thought of Kerry as a post-9/11 Commander in Chief was nightmare-inducing.
This was a shot-gun wedding and after eight years of Bush, conservatives are understandably gun-shy. But holding out for an imaginary ideal of ideological purity is not the answer. And allowing Hillary Clinton to capture the White House by staying home on Election Day is not an option.
There may be a third way: A new conservative coalition that crosses party lines to include anyone who considers himself center-right. Such a coalition could as easily support a conservative Republican as a “Blue Dog” Democrat. Since neither party would be able to count on the bipartisan bloc’s vote, both will court these voters and neither will take them for granted. As an added benefit, the sheer size of this bipartisan bloc may be an equal and opposing force against the inexorable leftward pull the moonbats are exerting on the Dem party platform.
Of the 19 declared presidential candidates as of this writing, Rudy Giuliani is the most logical choice to forge this new coalition of conservatives. He is enough of a social liberal to attract Reagan Democrats, and tough enough on crime and terrorism – with the added bonus of being fiscally conservative – to attract conservatives who are putting social issue on the back burner this time around.
Over the next 18 months, several home-grown Muslim terror plots are likely to come to light - such as the thwarted plan to blow up aviation fuel tanks and feeder lines running underground from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport through surrounding residential neighborhoods in Queens. Each time, more social conservatives will conclude that preventing the aborting of the lives of those already born in acts of terrorism is at least as important as preventing the aborting of unborn babies.
True conservatives don’t have to be religious to realize the evil of killing little boys and girls. And the hypocritacal stance that the U.S. values life and liberty and justice all the while committing the most anti-life, anti-liberty and anti-justice act of all acts.
True conservatives don’t have to be religious to realize the evil of offering up the sanctity of Holy Matrimony to sexually deviant and the evil affects that will have on the future prosperity of a civilization.
True conservatives don’t have to be religious to realize the value of religious freedom.
I am not accusing you. You will admit that it has led people who have not read the original Noonan piece to the wrong conclusion about her intent.
And when candidate Rudy gets his butt handed to him by Hillary, many here will want to blame the very same conservative Rudy ignored.
Rudy started lying with his fancy schmancy abortion talk but then realized that just telling people where he stood on this and other issues was the only way to go. He often says stuff I disagree with, so I know he stopped lying. But I do think he can win the war in Iraq and beat back the forces of Islamofascism. And that does count for something with me, at least in 2008.
I think Rudy can win enough Dem votes to crush Hillary.
“We lost our ability to assimilate newcomers when we lost control over our border.”
Amen!
Oh, I agree with you about the money thing. My checkbook is closed. But beyond the money thing, we still have to do something on election day. Staying home will evaporate our clout, not enhance it. And there will be 8 years of Hillary. G-d only knows what will follow next ...
How?
Why would a Dem vote for a Repulican who promises him som of what he wants when the Democrats promise him everything he wants?
By the way, this isn't the first time this approach has be tried by the Republican party. The last time led to 50 years of congressional control by the Democrats.
‘Among the nine dwarves who are running, she will win the nomination.’
Thats the so called ‘conventional political wisdom’.
I doubt thats how it will play out.
‘She’s not electable nationwide.
Believe that at your own peril.
That thought could lead to a very unhappy shock one Wednesday morning in Nov. 2008.’
Uh huh, I know thats the big ‘boogey man’ for some.
Political history shows otherwise.
‘Oh really, nominate Rudy and she will be.’
I doubt Guiliani will gain the RNC nomination...but even if he did I don’t think Hillary Clinton can win the DNC primaries, let alone a general election cycle.
Your life and the lives of your already born children are as important as the life of an unborn child. You disagree with that? An innocent life is an innocent life and losing innocent life to terrorism is as bad as losing innocent life to abortion. Right now, we are need to worry about an unkowable number of Muslims living in the US (the recent Pew poll suggested at least 600,000) who think it’s OK to commit acts of terrorism against innocent civilians - that would be me, you and your family. Call me stupid, or a bad conservative, or whatever you want, but to me that is Issue Number One. And related issues like our porous borders and the Iraq war line up right behind. This election, social issues are further down on my list.
Duh Bush,
The millions you refer to aren’t assimilees. Wake up. Get a clue.
I think it’s his to lose. McCain is past it. A huge percentage of people either think Romney is a slick flip-flopper or won’t vote for a Mormon. If Fred Thompson and/or Newt Gingrich get into the race this all will probably change. There’s also a school of thought that says Thompson and Gingrich will force McCain and Romney to go at each other tooth and claw to survive as the other conservative in the top tier, leaving Rudy to float above the fray. You already saw a hint of this at the second Republican debate. The end result is they will bloody each other so much neither will be electable.
How do you think it will play out on the Dem side?
Wow. In that photo, the look in his eyes is downright evil looking. I’m shocked how much so.
See comment #122.
See comment #122.
Diogenesis wrote: El Presidente Bush waves GOODBYE to America's health and his base in the GOP.
How can you take President George W. Bush for granted, have you forgotten that President George W. Bush fought hard to save you from the man who gave mouth to mouth to a Hamster named Licorce and before that President George W. Bush for Gorebal. No wonder it is hard for good people to step forward to lead!
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