GW was an open borders globalist led around by his liberal wife. He had already abandoned his conservative base by this time and the whole “compassionate conservativism” ruse was his gimmick to flood America with as many third worlders as possible.
What makes the Democrats successful?
The ability to of Gov’t to consistently spend well beyond its means via things such as robbing social security taxes to pay for present spending, and especially the FED money printing to cover $1 trillion deficits.
Promoting conservative values and winning elections will always be at a disadvantage to that. The disadvantage is sometimes big (2008), sometimes small or even winnable (2010) . BUT we will see the “welfare state” continue to grow while this situation is in place and that is always to the Dems advantage
Only when that present political economy of the USA changes, then you will see the politics of the USA change drastically as well.
Or is it better phrased, Was Bush 43 right?
I generally agree with his summation, especially with regard to the fact that it appears more and more people perceive themselves as vulnerable in the modern world. Give the opportunity, those people are going to vote for someone who at least promises to reduce their vulnerability.
Conservatives can recognize that fact and try to develop ideas for addressing their concerns. Or we can continue to focus on the “leave-me-alone” coalition as it (probably) continues to shrink in size and influence.
For instance, 40 years ago single women, especially with children, were a small part of the electorate. This year, they probably elected a president. Is a single woman with children vulnerable, especially at the lower end of the economic scale? You bet she is, and she will vote for those she thinks will help her.
Addressing these people’s legitimate concerns, BTW, does not necessarily mean increasing the size and power of government.
Kinder, gentler, compassionate, thousand points of light, love-that-dare-not-speak-its-name, occupy-the-world-in-perpetuity, Homeland Security, open borders, Margaret Sanger, welfare state, Religion of Peace, Urban Values hyphenated neoconservative.
There. That should do it. Now if only we can find a transgendered Scientologist Green for 2016. From a blue state of course.
No. Not then, and not now.
It was needlessly giving ground to the Left which needed NO such consideration and of course it cost Conservatives. Why give Liberals a stick to beat us with, when they already wholly own the schools AND the MSM!??
Compassionate Conservatism, so called, was one of the biggest political blunders of the Twentieth Century, and ushered in the benighted Age if Clinton.
Odd that now, just a handful of years later, the moral reprobate, political hack Clinton, who seized upon Bush’s mistake to get elected, would begin to look like both a genius and an exemplar of morally upright behavior when compared to our sitting Chief Executive.
In American politics, the bar just gets lower and lower.