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by Scott Gray

Created on: July 04, 2007

Truth is Stranger than Fiction: The Conservative Credentials of George W. Bush

Less than seven years ago, George W. Bush was the supposed savior of the Republican Party, the true "compassionate conservative" who would could embrace a brand of conservatism which would bring honor and dignity to the White House after the turbulent Clinton years. Additionally, Bush was viewed by the right as the heir to Ronald Reagan, a strong, resilient if sometimes pugnacious, conservative who would restore America's dignity. As a young conservative, I supported the President and believed his intentions to be just. Yet he has misused my trust, just as he has misused the trust of the American people. On matters of government spending, abusive power, limited powers, and responsible warfare, President Bush has failed his conservative supporters just as he has failed his liberal ones.

(I) Government Spending-the Bush Record

True conservatives believe in limited government, the notion that both taxes and spending should be low. While President Bush has respected the Reagan tenet of lowering taxes, he has shied from the age-old conservative policy of restraining spending. Lured by robust Republican majorities in Congress, President Bush left his conservative principles at the door by ramming through education reform which emphasizes Washington bureaucrats over local teachers, a prescription drug bill with exorbitant costs, and spending increases at the discretionary level which would make Jimmy Carter and Lyndon Johnson jump with pleasure. Actually, the deficits America faces now are the product of President Bush's failure to rein in spending.

True conservatives respect events like 9/11. True conservatives also respect the need to provide services to the citizens which constitute the government. However, President Bush's perpetual willingness to expand the Washington bureaucracy is exceptionally liberal, a policy which future conservatives must abandon if they hope to make peace with the American people.

(II) Waste, Fraud, and Abuse-Story of the Bush Years

The Conservative takeover of Congress in 1994 was predicated on the notion that conservative principles of limited government, citizen control, and citizen rights would be respected over the waste and abuse of aging Democratic committee chairmen. Democrats lost that year. However, the same Republicans who hastily investigated allegations of abuse during the Clinton years failed to call President Bush to account, once again leaving Bush no incentive to retain the bedrock conservative principle of trust.

For much of his early Presidency, Mr. Bush carried weight because he was seen as trustworthy, but those days have long sense elapsed. Scandals at the Department of Justice, the bloated abuse at FEMA and Homeland Security, the Scooter Libby Scandal-each of these events show that Mr. Bush rules just like the liberals he once criticized, failing to control the increasingly expansive federal government. While President Bush has pledged integrity, just now the Senate is considering a proposal which would actually make government inspectors general more independent, offering them independent legal advice and bonuses not set by department heads. Under the current policy, the departments inspectors investigate also set bonuses. Surprisingly, the correction to this government abuse is being offered by a liberal Democrat, Senator McCaskill of Missouri and several House colleagues. Gone are the days where conservatives were the leaders who attempted to run honest, accountable, and open yet limited government.

(III) Limited Powers and Bush-Mutually Exclusive

Conservativ es have long desired a minimally intrusive government, a libertarian philosophy still prevalent among the conservative wing of the Republican party. Much like contemporary liberals, they do not appreciate the government stepping outside its carefully crafted legal bounds in pursuing its agenda. However, Mr. Bush has been willing to again check his conservative principles at the door. National Security Letters have been used in excess during Bush's term, as have signing statements. Signing statements are a little-known policy developed by Presidents to sign a bill "with reservations." These binding statements can openly criticize and negate a policy's effect. President Bush's use of these statements has far exceeded use by other Presidents. As a result, even conservatives like Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania have considered legislation limiting, or even nullifying, these statements. Additionally, President Bush has skewed a stout, necessary law in the Patriot Act by including several unnecessary, abusive aspects. He has also lost the public's confidence by attempting to override lasting international precedent, such as the Geneva Conventions.

Conserva tives like myself still look to the brilliant "shining city on a hill" outlined by President Reagan. We want a leader who will be strong and aggressive while favoring the rights and interests of the public over the interests of his cronies. Unfortunately, President Bush has not brought that conservatism to Washington with him.

(IV) War, what is it good for?

Conservatives are certainly not an anti-war breed, but President Bush's engagement in Iraq was not adopted in the fashion of conservatism. Bush's belief in global democratization as compelled by US forces matches only the liberalism of Democrat Woodrow Wilson. Mr. Bush's belief is equally farcical, as the US would gain far more by specifically targeting the terrorists and the states in which they reside. By engaging in the Iraqi struggle, Americans have come to doubt the strength and ability of the American soldier. True conservatives believe in war, but they believe in a war with clear objectives, a clear mission for victory, and a President who will trust the leaders in the field over the Secretaries in Washington. President Bush agreed with Secretary Rumsfeld's proposals to "modernize" the American military by shrinking it even as we prepared for war.

Mr. Bush is threatening the War on Terrorism at a time where we need to be able to send a strong message to those who seek to harm Americans. I am not afraid of war, but I am afraid of a quagmire. Engaging America in another quagmire, much like liberal Lyndon Johnson, only further threatens the status of the American military. As a conservative, I want America to be strong and victorious again.

I hope that by 2008, the true conservative voice might be heard again. It disappoints me that my beliefs now appear so eccentric after being misused by a false conservative in George W. Bush. The tenets of limited government and reforming systems by respecting the principles which make America great have been set aside. The morning in America prophesied by President Reagan has been cast aside by the pall of darkness, the squalor of defeat. I am not ashamed of my conservative politics; I am disappointed in the leaders who abuse those principles for temporary political gain.

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