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

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>