Conservatives Restive About Bush Policies

WashingtonPost ^ | 05/10/04 | Dana Milbank and Jonathan Weisman

[Pikamax]

Conservatives Restive About Bush Policies Fresh Initiatives Sought On Iraq, Domestic Issues

By Dana Milbank and Jonathan Weisman Washington Post Staff Writers Monday, May 10, 2004; Page A01

After three years of sweeping actions in both foreign and domestic affairs, the Bush administration is facing complaints from the conservative intelligentsia that it has lost its ability to produce fresh policies.

The centerpiece of President Bush's foreign policy -- the effort to transform Iraq into a peaceful democracy -- has been undermined by a deadly insurrection and broadcast photos of brutality by U.S. prison guards. On the domestic side, conservatives and former administration officials say the White House policy apparatus is moribund, with policies driven by political expediency or ideological pressure rather than by facts and expertise.

Conservatives have become unusually restive. Last Tuesday, columnist George F. Will sharply criticized the administration's Iraq policy, writing: "This administration cannot be trusted to govern if it cannot be counted on to think and, having thought, to have second thoughts." Two days earlier, Robert Kagan, a neoconservative supporter of the Iraq war, wrote: "All but the most blindly devoted Bush supporters can see that Bush administration officials have no clue about what to do in Iraq tomorrow, much less a month from now."

[inkling]

Ah yes, Dana Milbank always has his finger on the pulse of conservative thought. I think this calls for a "Consider the Source" Alert.

[The South Texan]

Dana Milbank alert. This man never has a good thing to say about Republicans, Conservatives, or President Bush. He is a Kool-Aid drinker and bed wetter for John F'ing Kerry.

[BigSkyFreeper]

Considering the alternatives, I think the "restive Conservatives" Dana Milbank mentions in his article will vote for Bush come November.

[sarasmom]

Oh please, like anyone even thought President Bush is/was a conservative????

[Tamzee]

Dana, you're as transparent and fraudulent as a "journalist" can get.

[Arkinsaw]

Alternate headline:
"Hey Conservatives, please don't go vote in November".

Just another turnout suppression piece.

[Dolphy]

George F. Will sharply criticized the administration's Iraq policy, writing: "This administration cannot be trusted to govern if it cannot be counted on to think and, having thought, to have second thoughts."

No wonder I don't read Will anymore. He should be quite happy casting his vote for Kerry who can be counted on not only to think and have second thoughts but to have as many positions on every major issue of the day.

[CyberAnt]

That's pretty close to what I was going to say - consider the source = Dana Milbank.

Anything Dana writes HAS NO RELATION TO CONSERVATISM.

[nathanbedford]

Most of what ails the Bush White House can be put right with an energized campaign articulating how Bush is creating jobs with his tax cuts and how Kerry will kill the recovery with his hikes.

Point two, we are waging a deadly war to protect the homeland from mass murder and Bush, not Kerry, is the man we can all trust to do it.

Two simple ideas, recited again and again but with coordination and with surrogates instead of mere reliance on ads. Bush should go to a local employment office in Ohio to demonstrate that his tax cuts are growing jobs. He should go to a housing tract in Michigan or Florida to demonstrate how he is putting Americans in homes as never before. The media cannot ignore the President when he visits a site. They can if he merely talks about it from the White House.