Spend & Spend Conservatives
I support George W. Bush for President. I'll vote for George W. Bush. I'll even encourage others to vote for him (or else work to get them drunk enough so they'll forget to vote for the other guy).
However, he's not perfect. He's far from it. The American Institute runs a piece today that shows how Bush is certainly not a budget-cutter in the mold of Reagan.
Ronald Reagan sought--and won--more spending cuts than any other modern president. He is the only president in the last forty years to cut inflation-adjusted nondefense outlays, which fell by 9.7 percent during his first term. George W. Bush, in contrast, increased real nondefense spending by at least 25.3 percent during his first term.
And, lest we forget, Bush has a Republican Congress behind him. But still, his veto sword has remained sheathed. Why is this? I think the answer is that, sadly, fiscal conservatives have almost disappeared from the political landscape.
Andrew Sullivan asks, in light of Bush's spending record, "Why are fiscal conservatives still supporting him?" I think the obvious answer is that the alternative is even worse. Given the option between a tax & spender and just a spender, we'll take the spender.
But once again this makes me worry about the future of the Republican Party. The fiscal conservatives and those with a libertarian bent are being pushed to the fringes by the social conservatives. All of this points to a rough, bitter struggle in the 2008 primary season. It's going to get ugly out there.
Posted by at June 17, 2004 12:13 PM
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Comments
| # March 7th, 2005 6:48 PM Converted_Comment | |
"Given the option between a tax & spender and just a spender, we'll take the spender." wise words. |
| # March 7th, 2005 6:48 PM Converted_Comment | |
If you think the party is fragmenting now, wait until they run a "pro-choice" candidate for Pres. At least a third of Republican voters will bolt and the ploy will not attrack an equal number of Dems. We're screwed. Eventually. |
| # March 7th, 2005 6:48 PM Converted_Comment | |
The better term would be "borrow and spend." Conservatives used to hate deficit, now they love them, and increase them to buy off voters with wild-eyed spending programs like the prescription drug plan. Also, Reagan was hardly a "budget-cutter." He created the Department of Education, failed to live up to his promise to eliminate the Department of Energy, and created incredibly high deficits. All these so-called conservatives who support the reckless spending policies of Bush and Reagan are simply idiots. Clearly, they don't know the first thing about being a fiscal conservative. |
| # March 7th, 2005 6:48 PM Converted_Comment | |
"Conservatives used to hate deficit, now they love them, and increase them to buy off voters with wild-eyed spending programs like the prescription drug plan." Liar. Were you an extra in the Michael Moore debacle? |
| # March 7th, 2005 6:48 PM Converted_Comment | |
Someone hiding behind the name "Charlesskewedlogic" replies by calling me a liar and making a nonsensical reference to Michael Moore. Which part is supposedly a lie? Try using reason, facts, and logic, and not merely namecalling. I doubt it will happen. I had already given up on this blog for the bizarre rant I receieved in reply to another post. Can't anyone on the right make a valid point without insulting someone? Does the right stand for nothing? Silly me to even ask such questions. |
| # March 7th, 2005 6:48 PM Converted_Comment | |
what, you're back, charles? i thought you were leaving us for greener pastures. i thought that you weren't going to read our nonsense anymore? but you're still there, still reading. you're all talk and no follow-through. figures. |
| # March 7th, 2005 6:48 PM Converted_Comment | |
You can see a related post on Charles here: http://nerepublican.blogspot.com/2004/06/troll-smackdown.html |
| # March 7th, 2005 6:48 PM Converted_Comment | |
7523 Very well said chappy. |
| # March 7th, 2005 6:48 PM Converted_Comment | |
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