Posted on 01/26/2016 12:42:40 PM PST by true believer forever
In his new book, Thank You, President Bush: Reflections on the War on Terror, Defense of the Family, and Revival of the Economy, author Rod D. Martin argues that Bush has not only made America safer and stronger, but that he will go down in history as one of our greatest presidents. At the same time Robert Bryce, author of Cronies: Oil, the Bushes, and the Rise of Texas, America's Superstate, looks at President Bush as an integral part of the Texas oil machine out to enrich both him and his "cronies."
The book gathers together the leading lights of conservatism, each speaking to their own area of best expertise, to address what they think George Bush has done right, what he's done wrong, what we think he will do in a second term, and why we think he deserves that chance.
Regarding Bush and Government Spending:
Although Cruz now criticizes Bush for spending too much money on domestic programs, in 2004 he pooh-poohed worries that Bush's opportunity conservatism flew in the face of a commitment to small government. "[S]ome fiscal conservatives have criticized President Bush because government spending has continued to grow over the past four years," he wrote. "But those concerns are often overstated."
Cruz on Bush's No Child Left Behind
"Some critics have objected to the increased federal money going to education," Cruz wrote, "but the bill also requires testing of every child in third and eighth grades and requires schools to provide parents with detailed report cards of the school's performance. . . . The focus is on accountability and results."
On Bush's Immigration Policy
In Thank You, President Bush, Cruz hailed the president for describing immigrants as "Americans by choice," a term Bush prominently employed when he announced his proposal for a new temporary worker program that never became law after Bush's conservative critics decried it as amnesty.
Which points to something important about the Texas Senator. Although he's viewed as an uncompromising ideologue, he's really an opportunist. That's not to say Cruz isn't conservative. He is and always has been. But his conservatism is malleable. Early in his career, he was an establishment conservative and cast his lot squarely with Bush. But after Cruz experienced his own flameout in Bush World when he didn't get the plum assignment he was hoping for in D.C. and eventually went back to Texas. After Bush's presidency cratered, Cruz recast himself as a Tea Partier.
By any objective measure, the George W. Bush administration was an utter disaster.
The interesting thing is that Ted Cruz, the Consistent Conservative, found a lot of positive things to say about until he didn't get the job he wanted from the administration and went back to Texas and became a Tea Partier.
Aren't Barf Alerts mandatory in titles these days?
Aren't Barf Alerts mandatory in titles these days?
If you read the point I made further down in my comment, Cruz made a lot of contributions to the book which were very glowing about Bush's policies. Until he didn't get the job he wanted from the Administration and went back to Texas and turned himself into a Tea Partier.
Possibly. But I myself would just say that it was extremely disappointing and a waste of opportunities.
One word legacy for Bush administration; Obama.
Looks like heaven to me compared with what we have today.
It's the reason we've suffered through 7 years of obama and it's the reason that the GOP is in the disastrous shape it is now.
Very valid point. One that can also be made about Trump with his past comments regarding Cruz, Hitlery, etc.
Bush is still one of our best presidents. I got to meet a few years ago, great man!
Early in his career, he was an establishment conservative and cast his lot squarely with Bush.
In 2004, I would have written the same thing about Bush.
I didn't mind money being spent on education since we are raising generations of illiterate children. Even worse is the huge numbers that know very little about the tyranny America rose up from or what the Constitution means in terms of keeping them free.
I do not HATE immigrants since I wouldn't be here if my family hadn't immigrated to America before 1800....but I'm fed up with the ILLEGAL ALIEN invasion and started resenting the fact that Bush, as a Texan, didn't understand how bad it had gotten.
By the end of Bush's term, there were a LOT of things I was mad about, but still realized Bush was better for America than a President Kerry or President Gore.
I guess that makes me a dirty opportunist also?
Three words for the Obama legacy: Trump, Cruz, Rubio.
Early in his career, he was an establishment conservative and cast his lot squarely with Bush.]
In 2004, I would have written the same thing about Bush.
I didn't mind money being spent on education since we are raising generations of illiterate children. Even worse is the huge numbers that know very little about the tyranny America rose up from or what the Constitution means in terms of keeping them free.
I do not HATE immigrants since I wouldn't be here if my family hadn't immigrated to America before 1800....but I'm fed up with the ILLEGAL ALIEN invasion and started resenting the fact that Bush, as a Texan, didn't understand how bad it had gotten.
By the end of Bush's term, there were a LOT of things I was mad about, but still realized Bush was better for America than a President Kerry or President Gore.
I guess that makes me a dirty opportunist also?
I guess that makes you someone who has one set of standards for conservative bona fides when it comes to Cruz, and another for Trump.
Actually, I wasn't talking about Cruz OR Trump. I was talking about what was written and how it didn't make sense to me.
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