Bush’s Malaise Moment

Townhall ^ | 06/02/2007 | Craig Shirley

[Responsibility2nd]

In his now infamous “Malaise” speech in 1979, Jimmy Carter demonstrated a fundamental misunderstanding of his country and his countrymen. It was the tipping point for his presidency.

Last week, President Bush had his own malaise moment when he attacked a large segment of the American people and insinuated they were ignorant about the immigration bill he has fashioned with Ted Kennedy.

The American people don’t like to be criticized by their presidents, especially when they are at 28 percent approval, either then or now. This clash is a “Panama Canal moment” for the GOP.

The bar fight over the newest immigration “compromise” bill is the Gotterdammerung for the party and the conservative movement. The outcome will determine what direction the GOP will take and whether it will once again be consigned to minority status for a generation.

It is not the first time there has been a trial separation and eventually a divorce between conservatism and Republicanism. In 1971, conservatives gathered at Bill Buckley’s home in New York. The meeting was called because Richard Nixon had supported his aide, Pat Moynihan’s proposal for a federally-mandated guaranteed household income. That tore it for conservatives.

Nixon had already instituted wage and price controls, appointed liberals to his Administration, was cozying up to the Soviets and was about to betray America’s longtime ally, Taiwan, to recognize instead Red China. “Tricky Dick” tricked conservatives into supporting him in 1968 and then immediately set about to break every promise he’d ever made to the Right.

The group called themselves the “Manhattan Twelve” and signed a manifesto announcing their “Declaration of Independence” from Nixon and his Republican Party. They hence decided to forget about the losers that made up what was left of the GOP and focused instead on building a political movement. At this, they were very successful and were guided only by their principles.

The conservative movement all through the late 1970’s led the GOP around by the nose, on the Panama Canal treaties, on SALT II, on ERA, on tax cuts, on opposition to Jimmy Carter and support for Ronald Reagan. The GOP of the 1970’s was clueless, just as their fancy counterparts are of the current Republican Party.

True conservatives are now faced with this choice once again. In order to save their ideology, should the conservative movement declare it’s independence from the Bush Administration and the GOP? The arguments for doing so are compelling.

The immigration bill, most conservatives believe, is a sellout of everything they hold dear – the rule of law, justice, freedom and sovereignty. But rather than listen to the grassroots American people, the GOP elites are listening intently instead to their master’s voice, corporate America.

Conservatives do not understand the difference between someone breaking and entering their home and someone breaking and entering their country.

Despite “Bushophant” Michael Gerson’s derivative arguments calling conservatives bigots, the rule of law still means something to most people in this country.

The GOP’s arrogance is doubly insulting because they know how the grassroots feels or at least should. All they have to do is listen to Laura Ingraham, Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity, read any of a dozen conservative columnists, websites and blogs to know what conservatives think about this bill.

The outrage over this betrayal is evident. Republicans across the board seemed astonished when the first quarter FEC reports came out and all told, the Democratic presidential candidates out-raised the Republicans by $25 million. The party committees are lagging behind their Democratic counterparts, as reported in the Washington Times.

There is no mystery. Conservatives, who voted in droves for Democrats and against Republicans as a protest vote last November are now voting with their pocketbooks. The sleeping giant of the conservative movement has been awakened and if the immigration bill passes, one can imagine an organized effort to shut down all grassroots conservative money from going to any GOP party committee and instead, direct their hard-earned dollars to legitimate conservative groups.

Some may argue a breakup is premature citing the War on Terror, tax cuts and the appointments of Samuel Alito and John Roberts to the federal bench.

George W. Bush campaigned on supporting tax cuts and appointing conservatives to the courts and conservatives expected him to keep his promises. However, if the White House had had its way, Alberto Gonzales and Harriet Meiers would have been appointed instead. It was conservatives who demanded conservative judges and the White House unhappily went along. As my father used to say, you don’t get medals for not robbing banks. You’re supposed to not rob banks.

Traditional conservatives are patriots and are thus conflicted over the war in Iraq. They support and honor the American GI Joes and Janes, but deep down, they believe this is not their war or at least that it has been managed poorly. They may have sung a few hymns, they never joined the choir.

The war has held together the unhappy shotgun marriage of the elitist GOP and the populist conservatives, but the D-word (“divorce”) is now on the lips of many in the movement.

The arguments for at least a trial separation are legion; from steel tariffs to federal mandates to the states educational systems, to the biggest entitlement since the Great Society to the corruption of Republican “lawmakers” and Enron and the GOP K Street walkers, whose main job is to convince GOP lawmakers into doing un-Republican things. Arrogance, ignorance, the unseemly pursuit of power over principles and betrayal of conservatism are the hallmarks of the current GOP.

The elites in the Republican Party are in denial about this, as they are about last November. But this is not surprising. Republicans have made a cottage industry out of denial, in 1960 when JFK won, in 1992 when George H. W. Bush lost and August 9, 1974…the day Nixon resigned.

Craig Shirley is the president of Shirley & Banister Public Affairs and the author of a history of the 1976 campaign, Reagan's Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started it All. He is now writing a book about the 1980 campaign, Rendezvous with Destiny.

[Responsibility2nd]

It seems like everyone is throwing GW under the bus lately.

[TBP]

Amnesty, a no-win military strategy directed from DC, the largest entitlement in 40 years, restrictions on freedom of speech...

Lyndon Baines Bush.

[pissant]

Horseshit.

[Diogenesis]

MYTH: Everyone is throwing GW under the bus lately
FACT: The GOP and Pres. Bush KNEW this was coming, were given warnings, over and over; but bowed to La Raza.

MYTH: We need new laws to deal with illegal immigration.
FACT: The federal government is lazy and dysfunctional
needs to address its current Constitutional responsibilities and enforce current laws.

MYTH: Rove is a genius.
FACT: The Administration's policy on border protection is insane.

MYTH: The White House supports its conservative base.
FACT: The GOP certainly will, and America may, die because of El Presidente's lack of concern about the border.

MYTH: Pres. Bush cares about America.
FACT: Apparently NOT. Americans are in danger from illegal aliens
who foster 40,000+ murders a year,
40,000+ hit and runs a year, and they are coming with
infectious hepatitis, incurable tuberculosis, typhoid,
cholera, plague, measles, mumps, disease, leprosy,
incurable Morgellons disease, Dengue fever, and
polio from which America was free before El Presidente.
Adding in known terrorists coming in easily, El Presidente's
WOT is a joke because it ignores the Homeland.

MYTH: The President is conservative.
FACT: The White House met secretly with, and cares much more
about, La Raza than any of its long-term supporters at FRepublic.

[semaj]

I think GW and his advisors threw GW under the bus. It’s hard for me to believe I voted twice for the guy. Apparently my uncle was right to call him a light weight back in 2000.

[canuck_conservative]

This COULD actually be a unique moment in US history.

I suspect there may be a lot of Democrats that are fed up with the Amnesty Bill too, and that, together with alienated Republicans, could provide a genuine groundswell of support for a third American party. A REAL party of the people, not just the corporate elites or the unions.

If the two big parties keep forcing this idiotic bill on citizens that don’t want it, keep ticking off their bases, eventually something will have to give ....

[DTogo]

Now that’s a darn good graphic! :)

[PeterFinn]

It seems like everyone is throwing GW under the bus lately.

Yep, but this time Georgie dove under it all on his own.

[PeterFinn]

Ditto that!

[plain talk]

The American people don’t like to be criticized by their presidents, especially when they are at 28 percent approval, either then or now.

While I agree Bush is wrong on immigration this statement is ludicrous. 30 percent of the American people or so are liberals. I don't want the President scared of criticizing them. Another 20-30 percent are ignorant and uninformed. Who cares what they think? The President's approval rating is irrelevant to doing what is right especially when it comes to the War on Terror and Iraq. I don't want Presidents scared to criticize and pandering to populism. So I stopped reading when I saw this stupid statement.

[Responsibility2nd]

Peggy Noonan and The WSJ Editorial - It's Time to Revolt!

Posted by ClintonfatiguedOn News/Activism 06/01/2007 7:41:16 PM CDT · 309 replies · 4,248+

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The Bush implosion [commentary on Peggy Noonan's column]

Posted by freedomdefenderOn News/Activism 06/01/2007 10:10:03 AM CDT · 377 replies · 7,065+ views

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Too Bad - President Bush has torn the conservative coalition asunder.

Posted by Sub-DriverOn News/Activism 06/01/2007 6:10:19 AM CDT · 107 replies · 2,181+ views

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Too Bad - President Bush has torn the conservative coalition asunder

Posted by gpapaOn News/Activism 05/31/2007 11:19:25 PM CDT · 394 replies · 5,764+ views

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MYTH: Everyone is throwing GW under the bus lately

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No, I'm pretty sure EVERYONE is throwing GW under the bus. Even here at Free Republic.

[Travis McGee]

Carter only gave away the Panama Canal.

Whorge is giving away our entire country.

[endthematrix]

"The war has held together the unhappy shotgun marriage of the elitist GOP and the populist conservatives"

That was my reason behind my votes. Then the globalist flexed in other areas like billions for AIDS drugs in Africa, Millennium Acct for Latin America, Hemispheric integration, global warming, etc.

[RobbyS]

Your remarks about the diseases being brought into this country is right on the mark. The government os having a fit about the lawyer who came back into the states illegally with TB. Well, evidentally he picked it up in Vietnam. Ironically, probably hundreds of illegal alienas are carrying the bug. Wonder when we start to see outbreaks? A hundred years ago, the diseased who came form Europe could be quarantined or sent back, because they came over in ships. But they can walk across the Mexican or Canadian borders.

[bamahead]

ping for later

[Plutarch]

The bar fight over the newest immigration “compromise” bill is the Gotterdammerung for the party and the conservative movement.

Had to look it up:

Gotterdammerung

Main Entry: Göt·ter·däm·mer·ung
Pronunciation: "g&(r)-t&r-'de-m&-"ru[ng], -'da-
Function: noun
Etymology: German, literally, twilight of the gods, from Götter (plural of Gott god) + Dämmerung twilight
: a collapse (as of a society or regime) marked by catastrophic violence and disorder; broadly : DOWNFALL <the Götterdämmerung of Communism>

[endthematrix]

"A REAL party of the people"

Oh, you'll get that groundswell of angry masses alright. It's inevitable, IMO The Have-Not party? Even the elites are talking about this now.

[RobbyS]

Yes, but has the President simply chosen to disregard that ten to twenty points of support have been lost on this same issue. A few years ago I thought that the GOP had a chance to win the Hispanic vote. Don’t think so.
The Democratic Party has always been the immigrant party, and there is no way that the Republicans can match what the Democrats offer. The wake-up call should have been the demonstrations of May of last year. When I saw them marching, I knew that Rove’s plan was a pipe dream, and the results in the fall election showed this.

[spectre]

"There is no mystery. Conservatives, who voted in droves for Democrats and against Republicans as a protest vote last November ..."

That statement is total bullshit.

Conservatives do not vote for democrats to make a point. That would be not just be a hissy fit - it would be accelerated suicide.

[Responsibility2nd]

Agreed.

I wonder if he meant that conservatives who stayed home last November - in effect - voted for democrats?