Posted on 06/22/2002 9:46:05 AM PDT by quidnunc
This summer will mark the 47th year since I took my first Republican job: as public relations director for the party in Minnesota. Since then I have rarely strayed from politics, or my party. I served as a staffer to two GOP congressmen, to a GOP governor, as a federal appointee to Richard Nixon and as a corporate executive who supported in Washington and Springfield much, if not all, of the Republican agenda.
You can describe me as a conservative. Thus I am qualified to say that although I dearly love conservatives, they tend to be querulous, disagreeable and threaten revolt when Republican office-holders don't please them. So it is now with George W. Bush. Here is a president who has surprised us all with the firmness and resolve he showed after 9/11. I must tell you I voted for him with less enthusiasm than I had for many of his predecessors. But his administration has pleased me often most notably on two issues: defense of America and social policy.
Yet, Bush has to get re-elected in a country that is evenly divided on philosophy. Thus he must occasionally on matters that sometimes offend conservatives dip into the other side's ideology for support. He has done so on three notable occasions: on the issue of steel protectionism, where he departed his free-market proclamations; on the signing of a campaign finance bill tailored by his enemies, and allowing his attorney general (in the words of Libertarian Nat Hentoff in the Washington Times) "to send disguised agents into religious institutions, libraries and meetings of citizens critical of government policy without a previous complaint, or reason to believe that a crime has been committed."
In a perfect political world, where conservatives are in the majority, these things would be sufficient to encourage a boycott of the polls. Either that or a protest vote for the Democratic opposition. But we are not in a perfect world. We conservatives have a president who didn't receive a majority of the votes, and has one house of Congress against him. He must make compromises to get re-elected. Conservatives who do not understand the nature of politics ought to stay in their air-conditioned ivory towers and refrain from political activity altogether. If they cannot adjudge the stakes in this election and the difference between Bush and an Al Gore or a John Kerry (D-Mass.) or a Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.), they are foolish indeed.
-snip-
To read the remainder of this op/ed open the article via the link provided in the thread's header.
No doubt. They have the gall to call Bush supporters "Bots"? Hell at least we don't imply racial motives to those that we disagree with when supporting our guy..
There are those who don't like their senses assaulted by the constant nonproductive sniveling by the so called "real" conservatives... :o)
Gwb Is The Man !!
Freedom Is Worth Fighting For !!
Molon Labe !!
Bush is NOT going to EVER govern like he's Alan Keyes, so forget it and find another candidate.
Best one I ever saw. :-)
He's not Alwhore, but he ain't great either. He was the best we could get in 2000.
Whether I vote for him or not will depend on what happens with gun shows, and the 94 AW ban sunset. That's the line in the sand.
A freeper told me (unsourced mention) that GW would re-sign the 'Assault Weapon' ban.
There are certainly Trolls amongst us who have no love for the GOP OR the Conservative Movement towards a smaller, less-intrusive Federal Leviathan, but I'd wager many more of us are labelled irreparable BushBashers on this Forum than is applicable. It's become a useful slur for those who would rather not defend Dubyuh's domestic record of late!!
FReegards...MUD
You misread my post.
BTW, I'd honestly like to know what is so offensive about the Cleaning Lady that made it get pulled from all the threads. Seems to me it was pretty harmless, no nudity, no cussing, just plain old cartoon fun.
We gotta live one!
Torie, I know you don't care much about guns, but we do.
Bush has almost lost me several times. Once on CFR, and recently on the Socialist Housing Plan. Both times, freepers made reasonable arguments that made me withhold my rejection of the man.
But if he re-signs the AW ban or makes all private purchases of guns registered to the BATF, the man loses me for good.
Period.
I'm feeling a little parched. Got any of that Kool-Aid left?
Those people are much too weak to be of much use in a discussion anyways. Let them weed themselves out.
Let's see:
Pro-Life.
Pro-Constitution.
Pro-Liberty.
Pro-Local Control.
Pro-Defense.
Pro-Israel.
Etc...
Most Republicans I know hold the same set of principles I do...the party process that leads to a party platform contains my principles...to my way of thinking, that makes me a mainstream Republican.
Just because you and others try through insult to marginalize me and those beliefs doesn't mean that a word of what you say is true...whether you like it or not, the majority of the Party is conservative, not psuedo-conservative.
Given a level playing field (one that rarely exists because of a compromised leadership) conservatives will win any intra-party fight hands down.
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