Bush a four-letter word at CPAC

The Politico ^

[Sub-Driver]

Bush a four-letter word at CPAC By: Andy Barr February 28, 2009 07:01 AM EST

Conservatives aren’t sure who’s the Republican presidential frontrunner in 2012. They disagree over how sharply to attack President Barack Obama and on the question of whether a back-to-basics approach is the path back to majority.

But if there’s one thing those attending the annual Conservative Political Action Conference this week agree on, it is this: They don’t want another George W. Bush.

Few come out right out and say it, but they don’t have to. There’s no nostalgia for the past eight years, no tributes to Bush and no sessions dedicated to exploring his presidency.

Indeed, for a president who publicly embraced conservative principles, there is little evidence that the movement returns the sentiment.

When the subject of the 43rd president has come up at CPAC—where he spoke each year of his presidency—it’s usually been in an unflattering context.

Conservative icon Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker, railed against the “Bush-Obama continuity in economic policy” and the “Bush-Obama big spending program” in a speech Friday.

"We had big spending under Bush and now we have big spending under Obama," Gingrich said. "And so now we have two failures."

He wasn’t the only high-profile conservative taking shots at the former president.

[birddog]

I like Bush and think he was a good president, but way too agreeable. He signed everything congress threw at him with very little fight. If he was really conservative he would have used the veto pen more often.

[MinuteGal]

Your tunnel vision is showing.

Conservatives are perfectly capable of patting their heads and rubbing their bellies at the same time.

Leni

[N. Theknow]

If only Dubya had been as strong against the Dems as he was Al Qaeda....

What good does it do to care for your neighbors' lawn when your yard is full of dog crap?

[TexasRedeye]

I won't excuse Bush for his out of control spending ...

Let's all remember the Rebublican congresscritters proposed and PASSED every one of the spending bills during Bush's first 6 years. He signed them into law. Had he not signed them, would they have been enacted anyway by a veto override? Probably!

This "spending" is a group problem that cannot be laid at the foot of the President alone.

[NELSON111]

Bush > Gore or Kerry.

That being said...I am tired of voting for the lesser of two evils. I want a conservative...not some moderate who occasionally tosses me a bone...but works with Kennedy when he wants to.

"I've abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system,"...and these words sum up Bush's conservatism. He was not a principled conservative.

[Kolokotronis]

“It’s time for Republicans to quit talking about the failures of the past and to come up with a NEW energizing agenda - something like a Contract With America, and then promote this positive message on every corner. The Democrats, through TV commercials, are already portraying the Republicans as the party of “No.””

BINGO!

[DManA]

He should be. C stands for something W doesn’t believe in.

[mimaw]

I don’t want to hear from Newt or the Huckster.

[kenth]

Huckabee always seemed to be clueless about real conservatism, and would try to hitch his wagon to any current event, conservative or not. His jumping on the Katrina bandwagon is proof, and as you said, completely off the mark in where the true blame lie.

[cake_crumb]

GINGRICH thinks the Bush tax cuts, which Obama is forcibly reversing all of and adding to, is continuity of economic policy? And if it’s deficit spending Newt is referring to, war is expensive and OBAMA makes President Bush look like a penny pincher. Obama DOUBLED the Bush administration deficit IN ONE DAY.

[MBB1984]

Bush's social spending is reminiscent of LBJ and not of any conservative. He never even vetoed a spending bill for his first six years in office. During most of his tenure, he refused to enforce our borders from an illegal invasion and then wanted to give the invaders amnesty. He muddled through the Iraq War without a competent strategy. His record of keeping America safe is no better than Clinton's. His second term agenda, including privatizing parts of social security, were terribly unsuccessful. He is at least partly responsible for this financial mess, for not foreseeing this problem and he promoted fewer credit requirements for homeowners. And, he never effectively communicated to the people. How often did he address the American people directly? He came across as arogant and incompetent. The Bush legacy is Obama.

[bboop]

I’d give my right arm to have President Bush in office again, warts and all. Was he perfect? No. But that man was a leader, and the thing I loved about him was that he was REAL.

The Repubs seem to be staggering around trying to figure out what it is people want, instead of speaking about what they believe. never works.

[Don Corleone]

Waiting for Rush’s speech.

[TADSLOS]

Pot meet kettle and the rest of the dirty dishes and laundry.

[SolidWood]

the GOP is now increasingly identified with the likes of a strident Limbaugh and the tin foil hat crowd more concerned with conspiracy theories about the last election and the “Marxist” “foreigner” in the White House

Obama is a Marxist. That's an obvious fact. As to "foreigner"... he may or may not be technically an American, but his loyalties lie clearly not with America.

Pointing this out is "tin foil" to you... figures.

[cake_crumb]

"It’s time for Republicans to quit talking about the failures of the past and to come up with a NEW energizing agenda - something like a Contract With America, and then promote this positive message on every corner. "

Hear, hear!!

[Kolokotronis]

“Pointing this out is “tin foil” to you... figures.”

And losing elections from here on out must be your solution to this?

[Moonman62]

Here's a hint for all those clueless conservatives.

[bitterohiogunclinger]

“Its not helping that the GOP is now increasingly identified with the likes of a strident Limbaugh and the tin foil hat crowd more concerned with conspiracy theories about the last election and the “Marxist” “foreigner” in the White House than with serious, thinking leaders with cogent, well thought out AND PRESENTED ideas for dealing with the economic collapse the Bush/Wall Street crowd left us. Huckabee is right. America has clearly lost confidence in the GOP and of late it seems that the party is only making matters worse.”

While I like some things about the Huckster, he's no more right about this than any other politician weighing in and floundering around right now. As for bashing Limbaugh and the tin foil hat conspiracy crowd, well, Limbaugh is one of the few voices out there challenging the left with any amount of courage at all. As for conspiracies, the Obama / MSM alliance is so full of behind the scenes conspiracies that simply pointing them out makes you seem like a “tin hat” wearing kook. The reality is that the DemonRATs have cooked the books to get into power again, and they are hustling like a starving prostitute to put in place every obstruction they can to ensure they will remain there forever.
If you can't look at the economic data for the entire Bush presidency and clearly see where the downturn coincides precisely with the takeover of Congress by the DemonRATs, then you will continue to be fooled by every other lie that they utter. And I'm using the term “you” rhetorically and not directing any particular comment to anyone personally.
The huge run-up of oil prices leading up to an all too conveniently timed banking collapse made a perfect storm for the DemonRATs. They are using that excuse to radically overhaul and remake every policy in their image, which is an entire communist / socialist / government controls everything image. There has been and will not be any “forensic investigation” into the cause of the collapse, because there are DemonRAT fingerprints all over it.
It's easy to place blame on Bush for everything that occurred during his 8 years in office, but I for one, enjoyed the economic prosperity and freedom during his terms. I'm really not optimistic at all now. Congress, not the President, controls the spending, something that is conveniently ignored by both sides in these discussions.

Meanwhile, the Pubbies are acting like a bunch of hand wringing eunuchs, afraid of sounding too shrill in their criticism of the “chosen one”?
“Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) added that “the American people walked away from us, so now we’re in the wilderness.”
Well Congressman, the American people didn’t walk away from Republicans, Republicans lost their way and the American people reminded them of it.

[niteowl77]

Truth is a bitter pill..... I too am reluctant to accept the new Newt, yet he is correct in what he says....and no one says it better.

Is Newt correct in what he says? Great. Wait an hour and then he'll be wrong... wait a little longer and he'll make sense again (repeat ad nauseam).

Sadly, Mr. Gingrich has become another Nora Desmond of "conservative" punditry, longing for another close-up.

Mr. niteowl77