His statements on Freedom, support for soldiers, the value of Human Life, justices dedicated to the Constitution, tax cuts, vetos of pork spending all suggested to me rather strongly that he is a conservative.
I'm for supporting our soldiers (i.e. increasing funding to vets and such as he proposed doing). I'm for the value of human life (notice I didn't speak negatively about that part of his speech). I'm also for strict Constitutionalist judges (in one of my posts in this thread I actually applaud that as one of the actual good things Bush has done).
But I recognize as phony any talk of tax cuts and cutting of pork barrel when they are coupled with spending hikes which are in essence a built-in future tax hike to be paid for later on when he's no longer in office. THAT and his own abysmal record on bloated spending (see his boondoggle spending increases in the Medicare entitlement and in the Dept. of Education) are what make me call him a phony conservative and a liar. It's double talk to talk about cutting spending while proposing spending hikes at the same time.
I'm not a FAUX conservative. I'm an ACTUAL one. I don't give passes to big government politicians no matter who they are.
“I don’t give passes to big government politicians no matter who they are.”
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Amen. There are some things for which I am truly greatful to Bush, but his rhetoric tonight was often “spend this”, “provide that”, “increase funding here”, and “thank goodness for NCLB...we need more”. All of this is code for expanding the scope, size, and cost of the Federal government. This may be his business (and the business of many Republicans), but it is not the business of any Conservative.
There is no empirical basis for your claim.
There are no Conservative Presidents who have done the criteria you describe as necessary.
I am fed up with hypothetical conservatism that pretends there is a perfect conservative coming to power somewhere. Reagan was no such person, nor is Bush. This is just cantankerous personal attitudes parading as some sort of virtue.
I do not see it.