Posted on 09/07/2004 6:20:37 PM PDT by quidnunc
I spent Thursday evening on the floor of the Republican convention, and I can report with confidence that the delegates didn't once break into a chant of "OWN-ER-SHIP." They were happy, of course. They would have been happy if George W. Bush had read from the phone book. But when he started discussing his "ownership society," some looked as if they thought he was reading from the phone book.
Still, despite dazed delegates and dissing pundits, the first half of President Bush's speech was probably the most enduring part. It may not help Mr. Bush win the election of 2004, which, it is now clear, is going to be relentlessly focused on national security. But the ideas mark an important effort to redefine conservatism in this country. And whether President Bush wins re-election or not, they signal a new era in national politics.
Former congressman Jack Kemp, who was sitting proudly in the vice president's box on Thursday night, symbolizes the old era. He convinced the Republican Party in 1978 to embrace across-the-board tax cuts. In every national election over the subsequent quarter-century, the party proudly waved the tax-cut banner. Candidates didn't need to think long or hard about what economic-policy proposals to put at the center of their campaigns. The answer was always the same: cut taxes.
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(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
With all due respect, George Bush is hardly the author of conservatism. There are many claimants to that honor, and more than a few pretenders. However, it most assuredly does not belong to George Bush.
Bush's speech at the convention had little or nothing to do with conservatism. The same can actually be said for Dubyah himself.
How I loathe the thought of spending the next four years enduring the punditry's repeated attempts to convince all of us that the Bush clan has "redefined" conservatism. I guess it's time to hunker down, grin, and bear it.
Actually, when Bush mentioned "opportunity zones," I thought that was similar to Kemp's "free enterprise zones," he was talking about back in the nineties.
...or was it "empowerment zones"? Blast it, I can't remember the exact words.
Maybe it was "entitlement zone" I'm getting too old to remember also.
The "ownership" society represents a libertarian/populist agenda, imho.
It starts with tax reform to restore the basic human right of average Americans to own the fruits of their hard work, good decisions, and responsible acts instead of the powerful and privileged Washington D.C. elites.
It continues with common sense regulation of the "Litigation Industry" to restore the basic human right of average Americans to the relatively unfettered ownership of personal, real, and intellectual property.
Entitlement reform establishes that the long term goal of an "ownership" society is reforming government so America's children own their future.
I hope that conservatives see the common sense in vigorously promoting a domestic and foreign policy agenda which makes the relatively unfettered right of individuals anywhere in the world to own personal, real, and intellectual property is the best way to protect us from terrorist attacks and tidal waves of illegal immigrants.
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