AT What Price

Townhall.com | 08/05/2003 | Bruce Bartlett

[dts32041]

In recent weeks, George W. Bush has started to come in for the first meaningful criticism from mainstream conservatives during his presidency. While nascent, it could become the only real barrier to his re-election next year unless dealt with quickly.

To be sure, there are those on the right who have been critical of Bush since Day One. But at least since the World Trade Center attack, such criticism has been mostly confined to fringe publications and websites that do not represent the mainstream of conservative thought. Therefore, it is significant when people like Rush Limbaugh, George Will and William Safire all begin attacking Bush from the right and comparing him to Richard Nixon.

Although those on the left view Nixon as an archconservative, there is really precious little evidence for such an opinion. As president, he did almost nothing that was fundamentally inimical to the liberal agenda. Had Bill Clinton been president during those years, I believe that his policies would have been little different from Nixon's. They were classic "New Democrat" policies -- split the difference between right and left, and declare victory. But, since the left controlled the agenda, the result was always to move in a leftward direction.

I remember as a college student reading the most virulently anti-Nixon attacks not in left-wing publications, but in those on the far right. The John Birch Society, for example, just hated Nixon. And though it is mostly forgotten, Rep. John Schmitz, Republican of California and Nixon's own congressman (he represented San Clemente), ran against him in 1972 and got over 1 million votes in the general election. I doubt that many liberals were among the total, since Schmitz advertised proudly his John Birch Society membership.

Schmitz emphasized Nixon's liberal domestic policies -- he established more regulatory agencies of any president since FDR, raised taxes, busted the budget and spilled red ink, imposed price controls, and caved-in to Soviet demands for an anti-ballistic missile treaty, among other things. Substantively, there was absolutely no reason for any conservative to support Nixon in 1972 except that he was better than George McGovern -- the most left-wing Democratic nominee since William Jennings Bryan.

No doubt, that is the same reason why most conservatives supported William Howard Taft against Bryan in 1908. But the result was that Taft signed into law the federal income tax and created a national bank for the United States (the Federal Reserve), two cherished liberal ideals that Bryan never could have accomplished. Only a Republican president could have rammed these measures through a Republican Congress.

Conservative dismay over Taft's liberal agenda led directly to massive Democratic gains in Congress in 1910 and his own loss in 1912. The same dismay over Nixon's liberal agenda led to massive Democratic gains and his ouster from office in 1974.

I am sorry to say that I see Bush traveling the same path. He has concluded that the Democrats are very likely to nominate a candidate so far to the left as to be unelectable. Howard Dean's ascension to the head of the Democratic pack supports this conclusion. But ironically, rather than making Bush feel more comfortable pursuing a conservative agenda, he continues to move left on domestic issues -- especially the budget-busting prescription drug subsidy bill.

Bush has also signed into law a campaign finance reform bill that most conservatives view as blatantly unconstitutional, endorsed an education bill written by Ted Kennedy and initiated more trade protectionism by any president since Nixon. But against these, Bush continually plays his trump card: the war against terrorism. And just as Nixon played the anticommunist card in terms of the Vietnam War, it has been enough to keep most Republican voters under control -- so far.

The only substantive difference between Nixon and Bush, in terms of policy, is that the latter cut taxes while the former raised them. Of course, there are also important personal differences. Nixon was sleazy and dishonest, while I don't believe that such can be said about Bush. But if it turns out that there are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq -- the reason why most people who supported the war supported it -- then he is going to have a "credibility gap" as big as Nixon's to overcome.

Even so, I think Bush is a "lock" for re-election, regardless of whom the Democrats nominate. Yale economist Ray Fair predicts he will get 56.7 percent of the vote based on economic data already in hand. If the economy does better than expected, his vote total will only rise.

But conservatives still need to ask themselves: to what end? Do we want another Taft or Nixon, who imposed liberal policies no Democratic president could achieve as the price for keeping a Republican in the White House? It is a question worth asking.

Bruce Bartlett is a senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis, a TownHall.com member group.

[dts32041]

Food for thought

[MEG33]

I say vote for a Democrat or a Third party....that'll teach him!/s

[John Lenin]

As long as the tax cuts keep coming I will vote for him. Sooner or later he has to face up to the fact that his liberal programs have to be paid for with spending cuts.

[Moonman62]

To be sure, there are those on the right who have been critical of Bush since Day One. But at least since the World Trade Center attack, such criticism has been mostly confined to fringe publications and websites that do not represent the mainstream of conservative thought.

Some of us here on FR are way ahead of the curve. That's not what I'd call fringe.

[Moonman62]

Sooner or later he has to face up to the fact that his liberal programs have to be paid for with spending cuts.

HA! After the 2004 elections, some of the tax cuts will be repealed. With the "new tone in Washington," there is no such thing as spending cuts, or vetoes.

[Burkeman1]

Four billion a month in an Ivy league attempt to make a tribal barbarian society like Iraq a Democrcacy- an education bill that Ted Kennedy sponsered, a drug bill which is a precursor to national health care, a kudos to the recent affirmative action and pro gay sex decisions- yep we should all be behind BUSH!

And yeah- ban me.

[MEG33]

You have insider information?

[MEG33]

What's up with this "ban me" silliness?!I support Bush for President although I don't approve of all he does.You don't sopport Bush.The world will still turn!

[MEG33]

sopport..support

[Burkeman1]

It's not that I don't support Bush- what else can we vote for? It is that I criticize him that has the powers that be so upset. And if you can't criticize a sell out like Bush on a site like FR- then this site has long passed it's prime and is nothng like the site that I joined. In fact- Lucianne.com allows more debate than this site and that is really ironic.

[CWOJackson]

You're leaving these "I'll be banned" posts all over. So who do you have the bet with?

[Brad’s Gramma]

Burkeman, perhaps "the powers that be" as you say...can see further down the road.

In my NEVER so humble opinion, we're gonna lose it (America) BIG time if a Dem gets into office ever again. ESPECIALLY in the near future.

We've never been in such a precarious position with world events being what they are. There's a LOT of people who read this website, and the one thing we need to do is stand united behind President Bush. If we start chipping away at each other and his Presidency...we're going to lose. And it'll be far more than posting rights.

Think long and hard on it. This isn't a put-down on YOU, it's a put-down on the whole issue of bashing Bush.

[Burkeman1]

No one- but seeing as I have seen freepers banned who were here years before you and for no reason were banned for violating no posted rule I don't think much of your opinion.

[MEG33]

I am a guest on this site..as are we all.We are free to go at any time.

[CWOJackson]

Good, then you hold my opinion in the same regard that I hold you and your ilk...I'd be upset otherwise. But your answer still doesn't explain you apparent desire to be banned as you have been hinting towards on multiple threads. Since you can always just ride off into the sunset to join all your old buddies and biddies any time you want, and you're not being held captive here on FR, I just naturally kind of wonder what your motiviation may be.

A bet? Some kind of fringe merit badge?

[Burkeman1]

Yes that is true- and this a great site. But the purpose of this site was never to support one political party or another or even a candidate. It was once a conservartive discussion site. But I have been informed this a Bush Re-election site. And I support that. But free and total criticism of Bush must be allowed!

[Burkeman1]

Cause I love this site and the people on it.

[At _War_With_Liberals]

pressure is essential on any politician at any place at any time. Unless republicans in congress are pressured more they will continue to take the path of least resistance.

They were given a clear conservative mandate and promised to fight hard for constituents. No pressure.

They responded by being lazy, avoiding all argument with dems especially in media, approving decidedly socialist legislation, etc.--blowing the mandate

To reward them, we should now offer blind allegiance so that they don't have to worry about reelection? I don't think so.

[CWOJackson]

You love it so much you're telling people to watch you get banned?

I'm sure that makes sense to you.

[MEG33]

This may come as a shock but one doesn't have to be banned to cease visiting FR.If one finds another site more in keeping with one's philosophy and one's ideas and one feels freer to express same, one should take advantage of said opportunity.It's not nice to taunt the management in any case.