Posted on 01/31/2004 6:16:33 AM PST by George Frm Br00klyn Park
WorldNetDaily / Commentary
Henry Lamb
Republicans: Don't give up on 'W' now!
Posted: January 31, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
The most serious threat to President Bush's second term is not a Democrat; it is the growing mass of disenchanted Republicans who are accepting the proposition that there is little or no difference between the two major parties.
"Where are they going to go?" says a well-placed Bush operative. "You know they'll never vote for Dean or Kerry. And there's no Ross Perot on the horizon."
Where will they go? Nowhere. And that's the point. Republicans, especially the more conservative variety, are likely to stay home in droves. So far, the Republican strategists appear to be oblivious to this possibility.
Perhaps conservative Republicans expected too much too soon from a Republican administration. The Democrats had eight years to fill the agencies of government with activists from their special-interest groups. It is true that President Bush quickly dumped the most egregious of these types, whose positions are political plums. The underlings hired by the political appointees, however, are protected by civil-service regulations and cannot be fired, or even reassigned, without non-political justification.
The disappointment of conservatives goes much deeper and questions the fundamental philosophy which guides the administration. After eight years of watching the Clinton-Gore team march the United States directly into the jaws of a global socialist government, Bush supporters expected a screeching halt and a major course correction.
Conservatives cheered Bush's withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol a screeching halt and a major course correction while socialists abroad and Democrats at home condemned the president.
When Bush defied the U.N. Security Council, and created a multi-national coalition to eliminate Saddam Hussein, conservatives split, some cheering the action, some joining the Democrats at home and socialists abroad who condemned the action.
The Patriot Act, the prescription drug program, the "guest worker" program, the so-called "free trade" programs and a half-trillion dollar deficit have left conservatives reeling, wondering why a Republican administration and Congress have produced results that look so much like what they would expect from a Democrat administration and Congress.
Consequently, many, many Republicans have thrown up their hands and have decided to either join some doomed third-party movement or simply stay home.
While this reaction may be understandable, it is not only self-defeating, it violates the first law of true believers: Never, never, never, never give up!
It is true that Republican hold the White House and a razor-thin majority in Congress. It is also true that the nation is divided, almost down the middle, between people who want to continue the Clinton-Gore path toward global socialist government and those who want to abandon that path and move the United States toward more individual freedom, free markets and voluntary cooperation among sovereign nations.
Rather than give up and stay at home, a better strategy may be for conservatives to realize that the election of President Bush in 2000, and securing a slim majority in Congress in 2002, is just the first step in a long journey. Conservatives should realize that it takes 60 senators to prevail over the Democrats' filibuster.
Rather than throw in the towel, conservatives might throw their effort into the campaigns of conservative candidates for the House and Senate, and for the state legislatures and county commissions.
Democrats alone cannot regain control. If conservatives give up, throw in the towel and fail to show up for the November battle, the Democrats will win by default. Conservatives who truly believe that freedom is better than socialism, those who want freedom for their children rather than a world socialist government, will never, never, never, never give up. They will show up in November.Henry Lamb is the executive vice president of the Environmental Conservation Organization and chairman of Sovereignty International.
those who want freedom for their children rather than a world socialist government, will never, never, never, never give up.All, RIGHT ON!!!! Peace and love, George.
I'm a moderate, and what I've seen has surprised even me.
Comparison of Bush Budget (FY04) with Past Budget Averages
FY04
Proposal |
Post-WWII
Average (FY46 - FY02) |
Clinton
Budgets (FY94 FY01) |
G.H.W. Bush
Budgets (FY90 - FY93) |
Reagan
Budgets (FY82 - FY89) |
|
Total Receipts as percent of GDP |
17.0%
|
17.9%
|
19.4%
|
17.7%
|
18.0%
|
Total outlays as percent of GDP |
19.7%
|
19.5%
|
19.6%
|
22.0%
|
22.3%
|
Deficit (-)/Surplus as percent of GDP |
-2.7%
|
-1.6%
|
-0.1%
|
-4.3%
|
-4.3%
|
Annual growth in total receipts (average % change from previous fiscal year, FY96 $) |
2.7%
|
2.9%
|
4.9%
|
0.5%
|
2.5%
|
Annual growth in total outlays (average % change from previous fiscal year, FY96 $) |
2.2%
|
2.3%
|
1.5%
|
1.9%
|
2.7%
|
Defense spending as a percent of total outlays |
17.5%
|
35.5%
|
17.1%
|
21.7%
|
26.7%
|
Non-defense discretionary spending as a percent of total outlays |
19.2%
|
19.4%*
|
17.6%
|
16.6%
|
17.1%
|
Net interest costs as percent of total outlays |
7.9%
|
10.5%*
|
13.9%
|
14.5%
|
13.2%
|
Other mandatory spending as a percent of total outlays |
55.4%
|
41.6%*
|
51.4%
|
46.2%
|
42.9%
|
Debt held by public at end of fiscal year as percent of GDP |
36.9%
|
44.0%
|
43.0%
|
46.3%
|
36.7%
|
Gross Debt at end of fiscal year as percentof GDP |
64.8%
|
56.2%
|
63.4%
|
61.8%
|
45.4%
|
* includes only data back to 1962 since the distinction between discretionary and mandatory began only in that year. |
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©2004 Tax Foundation
How many Rinos does it take to filibuster Bush? None, because they won't go against him. Rove has proven that if any Republican goes against Bush's amnesty policy, they won't get any campaign finance money from the party.Not only that, Rove will pick a candidate to run against them at home in the Primary.
I won't vote for any president who does not propose closing the borders, withdrawing welfare from illegals, and deportation of every illegal who is here.
Vote Bush and make it Mexico 2 instead....
Heck, even Neal Bortz is voting for Bush because of his greater love for the war, and small government be damned!
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