Posted on 02/12/2004 1:51:01 PM PST by churchillbuff
After the first President Bush betrayed conservatives by raising taxes, in spite of his promise never to do so, many conservatives didnt bother voting for him in 1992. This was one of the reasons he lost to Bill Clinton, who re-energized the conservative movement and brought about a Republican takeover of Congress in the 1994 elections. In the meantime, Clintons ambitious national health-care plan flopped.
Principled conservatives should hope that history repeats itself in 2004. If John Kerry wins the presidency, Republicans may start acting a bit like conservatives again. Under the current President Bush, party loyalty has made them supporters of further expansion of the Federal Government.
This election will be a battle of the big spenders. There isnt much to choose between Bush and Kerry (or whoever the Democratic candidate turns out to be). But a Bush victory will ensure that the Republican Party will continue to betray conservatism.
Unfortunately, most self-identified conservatives dont see it that way. For some reason, they continue to regard Bush as their guy maybe because, like Richard Nixon, he truly annoys liberals in spite of all his efforts to appease them.
Kerry, a walking stereotype of liberalism, can probably win by simply toning down his rhetoric. If he avoids antagonizing and frightening conservatives, if he subtly resists the temptation to portray the election as a stark contest between opposed philosophies, a critical number of conservatives may simply stay home on Election Day.
Fortunately for Kerry, this shouldnt be hard. Hes a boring fellow. How boring? Well, lets put it this way: If you loved Al Gore, youll like John Kerry. When you listen to him deliver the standard litany of liberal clichés, its impossible to feel that much is at stake. Hes perhaps the perfect candidate to de-energize Bushs base. Thats what he needs to do.
Democrats really hate Bush; thats what will bring them to the polls: fear and loathing. Republicans, on the other hand, dont hate Kerry enough to rally against him; they hardly know him yet. He should do all he can to keep it that way. He needs a strategy of ennui. Dont give the other side a reason to turn out to vote!
A passionless campaign will be good not only for Kerry, but also, ultimately, for conservatism. Kerry may seem an improbable savior for the conservative movement, but Bush is destroying it. It would be a disaster for that movement to allow Bush to identify his grab-bag politics with it.
Bushs only intelligent enthusiasts are neoconservatives, who might better be called pseudoconservatives. They love him for giving them the war theyve hungered for since his fathers presidency (even if it fell short of the World War IV they called for), and they dont really mind that he promotes bigger government all over the place. After all, they revere the memory of Franklin Roosevelt and other icons of liberal Democrats. Theyve changed parties without changing principles.
The Iraq war, alias the War on Terror, has ceased to be a strength for Bush. By the time the fall campaign really begins, it may have become a huge minus. The costly occupation of Iraq (and, oh yes, Afghanistan) drags on pointlessly, and Bush has already abandoned his absurd insistence that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass murder that could threaten this country. Either his word or his judgment, or both, cant be trusted. The country has quietly lost faith in him. For an incumbent seeking reelection, thats very bad news.
Bush will face other discontents too, including economic ones. He has tried to change his partys image, and he has succeeded only too well. Its now impossible to imagine the Republicans as supplying a prudent brake on fiscally improvident Democrats; theyve taught the country how staggering Federal deficits can be. Compassionate conservatism turns out to be neither compassionate nor conservative.
If Kerry wins the presidency, hell have his hands full just handling the mess Bush has left him. He wont want to get us into new wars, and there wont be much loose change to pay for new Federal programs. Besides, the Republicans will try to frustrate his initiatives.
Unless something unforeseeable happens, we can look forward to a dull campaign between a real liberal and a phony conservative. And for real conservatives, the duller the better.
Ho Ho
Ho Chi-Minh!
One way to act like a conservative is to rally support for G-Dub, rather than hope he loses (so conservatives will be energized). Good grief! Sobran would prefer another 8-year bout of nausea to 4 more years of a perfectly good president he has some issues with? Man, these go-down-in-flames-over-single-causes guys are scary.
And Hillary won't be "too dull to energize conservatives."
I've heard more than one "true conservative" advocate electing Democrats so that the revolution breaks out sooner.
You will notice that Newt Gingrich got his ass handed to him by Clinton.
Sobran appears not to mind the ascension of liberal justices to the Court, nor does he appear to care about the outcome of this war. You will find that to be a common thread running through most of the Voortrekker crowd. That and a fear of Mexicans stealing their women.
Thankfully, 98% of Republicans and Conservatives have wised up to this nonsense in the wake of the AWOL non-scandal. All John Kerry did was to succeed in pissing off our base.
John Kerry isn't as shrewd as some of the people on this board give him credit for being.
Sobran, otoh, is an idiot. People like him will never succeed in expanding conservatism beyond a joint meeting of the Objectivist Society and Christian Identity. They are best ignored, or, since people like Sobran wish us ill, treated with contempt and slight regard.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
...People like him will never succeed in expanding conservatism beyond a joint meeting of the Objectivist Society and Christian Identity. They are best ignored, or, since people like Sobran wish us ill, treated with contempt and slight regard.
LOL, uniquely and well stated!
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