Conservatives, Cut Bush Slack

The Chicago Sun-Times ^ | June 22, 2002 | Thomas Roeser

[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.

[Dan from Michigan]

I agree and I've praised him for that as I have for the UN Small arms conference.

Then there is CFR and armed pilots(wavers).

Right now, Gun shows are on the horizon, as is gun lawsuits. If there is a compromise bill, tying several aspects, I'll have to analyze and see if it was worth it or not.

The 'AW' ban is the big one in my view. We'll see. I'm assuming nothing either way by Bush on this.

[Sabertooth]

It seems you can't do jacksquat unless you have an overwhelming majority, whereas the Democrats advance their agenda with a minority in the house, and a Republican in the WH. Or maybe W is advancing his agenda, it is just that it is nearly identical to the Democrats.

Other than suggesting preplacing "nearly identical" with "way too close for my tastes," this analysis has serious merit.

[Texasforever]

CONSTITUTION

Wow IN RED NO LESS. Care to run a seminar on the CONSTITUTION for all of us poor deluded fools? I am SURE you have the Rosetta stone that will unlock its true meanings and why we have LOST it.

[Howlin]

I remember!

[SteamshipTime]

Tom Roeser's credentials as an undoubted conservative Republican simbly cannot be challanged without the challanger running the risk of sounding like a crackpot.

I'll take a stab at it. Minnesota's political culture is very similar to the ancestral home of the majority of its inhabitants: Sweden.

And it was Nixon who cut the dollar from gold, then instituted wage and price controls to try and hide the damage. The result was ruinous inflation which lasted until a principled conservative named Ronald Reagan actually cut government consumption.

Because they have no alternative vision to offer (that compromise thing you know), people elect Republicans when the Democrats are unable to find a Kennedy or Clinton.

[PhiKapMom]

Next time someone quotes the Constitution, please check out this site at Find Law where you can type in a title and find whatever you want about the Constitution. Great to use when someone states it is in the Constitution and it is not!

http://www.petitiononline.com/ pdrca5/petition.html

[Dane]

Hey Molly(Ivans), welcome to FR

Have to disagree. Molly gives her self away when the word "shrub" is every other word in the reply.

[dread78645]

I would sign an executive order TODAY making it a federal crime punishable by execution to be involved in an abortion ...

Well that's one name for my IGNORE list.

[Texasforever]

I use it all the time. Thanks.

[Twodees]

I won't vote for a liberal no matter what party. My vote will go for the conservative and if there isn't one in the race, I don't cast a vote for that office. That's how I did in the last Virginia governor's race. The VAGOP insisted on running a gungrabbing, lifelong NAACP liberal for governor. They pulled a fast one by eliminating the primary and holding a convention instead. I refused to vote for Earley for governor because he's a gungrabbing liberal who instituted Project Exile in Virginia. Quite a few of my neighbors did the same. Earley lost while the GOP picked up 12 more seats in the legislature, so it wasn't a big democrat victory.

Republican koolaid drinkers tell me that I helped elect the democrat and that it's all my fault. Sorry, but I can't see it that way. I didn't vote for the republican because he was a liberal. I surely didn't vote for the democrat. That makes it the fault of the GOP fatboys who bulled their liberal candidate into place over the objections of those who wanted a conservative if blame has to be placed. You can't blame a conservative for not voting for a liberal, can you?

The GOP here in Virginia has control of the legislature. They can't go along with the governor without looking like turncoats, but they surely would have passed Earley's whole gungrabbing, big government agenda into law. Sometinmes the best you can do is to keep the two parties at each other's throats.

[Dan from Michigan]

Forgot to mention that Bush also stopped the illegal Janet Reno retention of NICS records destroying them. Another positive.

[PhiKapMom]

So I am not the only one with an IGNORE List! LOL! She is now on mine too!

[Don Myers]

The Bush Camp must be seeing trouble ahead. They have spin-doctors at work trying to whip the troops into line. I don't think it is going to work with those conservatives who have their eyes open.

[Angelique]

His PHILOSOPHY is pro-life. There is a law called Roe v. Wade, and Daschle has made it clear he is going to stonewall any judicial appointments. Can you imagine what is going to happen if he makes a SC nomination?

[christine]

it's a HUGE state! ;)

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

She calls him Shrub, pimp-boy!

[Texasforever]

The Bush Camp must be seeing trouble ahead. They have spin-doctors at work trying to whip the troops into line. I don't think it is going to work with those conservatives who have their eyes open.

Who the hell is trying to keep anyone in "line"? Paranoia runs deep.

[christine]

We hold the Lien-and all their collateral are belong to us.

*grin*

[Texasforever]

She calls him Shrub, pimp-boy!

Then you must be her wife.

[rdb3]

Wouldn't that make him a dictator instead of a President? I mean, why stop there? Issue an E.O. that says no person pays more than 10% on their income in federal taxes. Issue another E.O. that moves the tax deadline to election day.

Are you sure that this is the type of person you would want as a President?