How Conservative Is President Bush?| This thread has been locked, it will not receive new replies. |
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Locked on 08/06/2002 1:02:17 AM PDT by Admin Moderator, reason:
Flame war. |
Posted on 08/04/2002 8:30:36 PM PDT by Uncle Bill
How Conservative Is President Bush?
The Cato Institute
By Veronique de Rugy
August 3, 2002
Source
Veronique de Rugy is a fiscal policy analyst at the Cato Institute.
President Bush may be repeating the sins of his father. Although elected on a Reaganesque, tax-cutting platform, the White House has veered to the left. President Bush has signed a bill to regulate political speech, issued protectionist taxes on imported steel and lumber, backed big-spending education and farm bills, and endorsed massive new entitlements for mental health care and prescription drugs. When the numbers are added up, in fact, it looks like President Bush is less conservative than President Clinton.
It makes little sense to discourage one's core supporters prior to a mid-term election. Yet that is the result when a Republican president expands government, which Bush is doing. Also, academic research on voting patterns shows that a president is most likely to get re-elected if voters are enjoying an increase in disposable income. Yet making government bigger is not a recipe for economic growth. After all, there is a reason why Hong Kong grows so fast and France is an economic basket case. But you can't tell that to the Bush administration.
Administration officials privately admit that much of the legislation moving through Congress represents bad public policy. Yet they argue either that everything must take a back seat to the war on terror (much as the first Bush administration treated the war against Iraq) or that compromises are necessary to neutralize issues such as education. But motives and rationalizations do not repeal the laws of economics.
In less than two years, President Bush has presided over more government expansion than took place during eight years of Bill Clinton. For instance:
The education bill expands federal involvement in education. The administration originally argued that the new spending was a necessary price to get vouchers and other reforms. Yet the final bill boosted spending and was stripped of almost all reform initiatives. And there is every reason to believe that this new spending will be counter-productive, like most other federal money spent on education in the past 40 years. Children and taxpayers are the big losers.
Those policy decisions make government bigger and more expensive. They also slow the economy and hurt financial markets -- read the headlines lately? For all his flaws, President Clinton's major policy mistake was the 1993 tax increase. Other changes, such as the welfare reform bill, NAFTA, GATT, farm deregulation, telecommunications deregulation, and financial services deregulation, moved policy in a market-oriented direction.
Perhaps most importantly, there was a substantial reduction in federal spending as a share of gross domestic product during the Clinton years. Using the growth of domestic spending as a benchmark, Clinton was the second most conservative president of the post-World War II era, trailing only Ronald Reagan.
To be sure, much of the credit for Clinton's good policy probably belongs to the Republican Congress, but that is not an excuse for bad policy today. And on one positive note, President Bush has "promised" to fight for partial privatization of Social Security. Yet, so far, President Bush has not vetoed a single piece of legislation. Needless to say, this means it will be rather difficult to blame "big-spending" Democrats if the economy continues to sputter.
Compassionate Conservatism Means Big Government
No To 'Compassionate Conservatism'
"Marvin Olasky, the former Marxist journalism professor who coined the term. But he and George W. Bush are barking up the wrong tree if they think "compassionate conservatism" is going to rally popular support necessary to effect the real change needed to turn this country around."
President Highlights Compassionate Conservative Agenda for Inner Cities
If You Want Increasing Huge Government, Vote Bush
BUSH SPENDING BILL LARGEST EVER
U.S. quietly OKs fetal stem cell work - Bush allows funding despite federal limits on embryo use
Bush Signs Largest Family Planning Bill In U.S. History
Un El día En El la vida de Jorge W. La arbusto
CFR - "I Believe In Free Speech"
Bush Urges Congress To Deliver on Prescription Drugs For Medicare
GOP Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Advances in House - Another Trillion Dollars
Bush and House Republicans Push Legislation For Full Drug Subsidies For Low-Income Elderly
Bush Prepares 'Big-Time' Response To African Famine
Government Spending - War Against The Stock Market
Bush signs debt-limit increase
Bush Pushes Minority Homeownership
Bush's Food Stamp Plan Called Ethnic Pandering
Bush Wants Food Stamps For Non-Citizens
Senate Clears Way For Trade Bill - More Spending
BUSH AND THE BIG GOVERNMENT GOP
Security Bill Loaded With Wasteful PORK
Senate Ok's $31.5 Billion Anti-Terror Bill Loaded With Pork
George W. Bush and Gun Control
Bush Pushes Gore Plan For Orwellian Government
Bush Backs Down From Immunity Demand - Caves Again
BUSH, G7 to pay $20 billion to get rid of Russian nuke stockpiles
George W. Bush - The Global Warming Sell-Out
Dubya's New Deal - The New FDR
Bush Won't Label Arafat A Terrorist
George W. Bush's Terrorist Buddy
"When peoplelose faith in their institutions they trust to enforce the law, justice is no longer possible."
Bush Caves On Airport Screeners
Bush's Latest Srategic Mistake
BUSH: NINE FORMER PRESIDENTS WRONG; CLINTON RIGHT!
CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS? GEORGE BUSH'S NEVER-ENDING DOMESTIC BUDGET BUILD-UP - Father Like Son
Bush Appoints Four More Homosexuals
Dr. James Dobson Criticizes Bush Appointment to the CDC
Bush Pushes $500 Million HIV/Aids Funding For Africa
Bush to Propose Another $100 Million Over Five Years for Education in Africa
Are You Fat? No Problem, George W. Bush Will Help
House Conservatives Budge on Arts Spending
Bush Cheers Government Support For Art
Bush to Name Justice Dept. BUILDING After Kennedy
GOP Leaders Spurn Right in Key Races
Laura Ingraham's analysis of yet another Bush betrayal
Bush decisions rankle conservatives
BUSH PROPOSES LARGEST EXPANSION OF GOVERNMENT SINCE TRUMAN
Bush's Record Calls into Question His Conservative Label
Conservatives Question Dubya's Direction
Conservatives not satisfied with Bush's record
Bush, Ashcroft Run Roughshod Over Bill Of Rights, Study Says
Republicans: Big Government Addicts
A Few Questions For Die-Hard Bush Supporters
Are Republicans losing their constituency?
Ann Coulter: BUSH PAYS HOMAGE TO THE FETISHISTIC RITUALS OF LIBERALISM
Compassionate conservatism is about socialism, not Americanism
Bush is jettisoning his principles for what?
Bush: stop the runaway federal spending and regulating!
Was Clinton More Conservative Than Bush? - Fox News
Bush: A Democrat in Republican clothing?
GEORGE W. BUSH: CLINTON'S THIRD TERM ©
"Another way to make sure that we foster growth and restore confidence is to hold people accountable for misdeeds in the public sector."
George W. Bush - University of Alabama at Birmingham Alys Stephens Center - July 15, 2002.
NOTE: Do As I Say, Not As I Do.
Bush Administration Lawyers Defending Hillary - Gratis
Bush and Ashcroft Justice Dept. Hamstringing Pardongate Probers.
Bill Clinton broke the law and the Republicans let him off the hook.
What we need is the tough Newt Gingrich back.
"As far back as April 7, 1998, then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich was asked on NBC’s Today if he were going to press for impeachment. His response: "No, we don’t have any evidence."
Source.
Al Gore Broke The Law and the Republicans let him off the hook.
Bush Says He Wants to Let Clinton 'Move On'
"Listen, here's my view: I think it's time to get all of this business behind us. I think it's time ... to allow the president to finish his term, and let him move on and enjoy life and become an active participant in the American system. And I think we've had enough focus on the past. It's time to move forward." - George W. Bush.
Bush Won't Dwell On Clinton Affair, "We're Moving Forward"
"B/S, Mr Bush. Clinton is a criminal and a traitor. We demand a thorough investigation and prosecution. Our Republic is dead and our liberty is at stake if the next administration does not clean up this mess for now and forever more. Corrupt politicians must pay the price for subverting our Constitution and using their offices for personal gain."
4 Posted on 01/20/2000 14:17:56 PST by Jim Robinson
A Republic If We Can Keep It - Bush Trashing The Constitution
It's About The Republic, Not The Republican
How Big Is The Government's Debt? - $33.1 TRILLION
There Must Be Some Way Out Of Here
"Not over my dead body will they raise your taxes,"
George W. Bush - SOURCE.
Oh, I cried for days. I would do the same if you "left". Wanna see?
I have no reason to disbelieve oldvike, as I have not seen oldvike spew B.S. on this forum.
And you avoided the rest of my comments, as well as the one to oldvike that you commented on. You guys should quit while your behind, really.
So that's all that matters to you, eh? Ahead and behind. You believe you are ahead. Fine, I won't contest you. You are ahead, and the conservative movement continues to slip further behind because of all the backbiting and nitpicking.
Meanwhile, Registered, a person who has added quite a bit to FR, is staying away. Have you ever had YOUR posts, YOUR work get national attention? Doubt it.
So go ahead. Drive your wedges. Do your part to help split the various conservative factions further apart. I'm sure there are other potential food fights on other threads that could be provoked, if only someone could get them going. Your work here is done.
You're just proving my point. Ever hear of the term Balkanization? A bunch of small states in an eternal state of conflict, never getting anywhere, and never realizing their potential because of such. Yeah, maybe you are right. FR should split into smaller parts. One site for the Libertarians. One for the Buchananites. One for the Bushies. One for the undecideds. AND THEN WE'LL REALLY BE SHOWING THOSE LIBERALS, EH?
Huh? The Strike-the-Root website has nothing to do with Alan Keyes. You're mistaken.
You're right. Any suggestions as to how that can be accomplished?
It always seems like the dems have their blueprints in place and they're all working on building the same house.
Conservatives seem to have five or six different plans and we're each going to build our own and see who gets it done first. In the meantime we're all running around lighting the other one's partially finished structures on fire so we have a better chance of "winning".
Not very constructive.
I don't think many here would argue that GWB could be more conservative and we'd be happier. Unfortunately that makes him virtually unelectable.
I have to agree with Mr. Robinson on this one. I'm willing to take small steps in the "right" direction, knowing that the alternative is unthinkable.
I happen to believe that the mentality that says they're either going to stay home or vote third party to "teach him a lesson", is teaching the wrong lesson.
Every time we do that, the next electable candidate for the GOP goes further to the center. I think the message they're receiving is that about 60% of the country is in the middle and that's where they'd better govern from.
Funny, people have very short and selective memories. I loved Ronald Reagan, but he signed a lot of legislation that was less than conservative. He granted amnesty to illegals for one. The ACU wrote a scathing review and in his own words, he would never be able to please the far-right because for them it was all or nothing.
George W. Bush, like Ronald Reagan, realizes all too well that they are the President of all Americans.
The fact is that there are two areas that matter most to me. National defense and the judiciary. On both of those subjects there can be no argument that Bush is a conservative. For now, that's enough for me. I'm willing to support him for those two reasons alone, and work here in MN to get Wellstone out of the Senate.
Now, if he gets control of the Senate and keeps the House, and there is no change, then there's a problem. But for now I believe he has his eye on the ball and that's the 2002 elections. If we fail there, we'd better all pray real hard that there are no USSC retirements in the near future.
I wish I were that smart, but I only scored a 135 on that IQ test folks are taking elsewhere on the forum :^)
Seriously, it's gonna take a lot of effort. We're gonna have to win this battle one person at a time, because we have the newspapers and the media and the publik skools and the vast majority of the federal government aligned against us. But IMO the first step is to cement your own alliances. Then, you fight in the marketplace of ideas, and there we have the upper hand, BECAUSE WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT. And that is something just about everyone on this site shares - but, sadly, we don't realize how great our shared values are, but instead dwell on our differences.
U.S. quietly OKs fetal stem cell work
Bush allows funding despite federal limits on embryo use
By Jeremy Manier
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 7, 2002
The Bush administration has approved the first federally funded project using stem cells obtained from fetuses aborted up to eight weeks after conception, expanding the scientific promise of stem cell research.....
If you need any help in reading, you should wait before Bush's reading program comes to a town near you.
Anybody who's been here any length of time has seen all of them already.
I've been here two years. I've seen some and missed a whole bunch of these.
I wish more FReepers had nothing better to do than compile links of related threads. This one took some work.
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