A conservative's lament
A regular Vox Verax reader who often disagrees with us suggested we post a link to this article from the Wall Street Journal. In it Peggy Noonan expresses a frustration that most true conservatives are feeling about the Current Occupant of the White House, as Garrison Keillor would say.
Coincidentally, this same subject just came up this morning in a conversation I had with an herb and vegetable grower at the local farmer's market — which, by the way, represents the free market in its truest sense. We were trading anecdotes about how many long-time tried-and-true Republicans we know who are abandoning their party because of the policies of the Current Occupant and those who are still with him. A lot of these people are in their 70s and 80s and have always voted Republican. Now they don't know what to do.
Some have decided to vote Democratic, often confessing to "holding their noses" while doing so. Others have decided not to vote at all.
In fact, I am beginning to feel sorry for some of my loyal and thoughtful Republican friends, because everything that they have worked for and believed in — smaller government, individual rights, opportunities for everyone to move up economically, international isolationism, etc. — has been forsaken by the current administration.
In the Bush-Rove zeal to turn the U.S. into a one-party state, they may be succeeding — ironically, the beneficiary may be the party they had not intended.
This is what Peggy Noonan has to say about the matter:
Coincidentally, this same subject just came up this morning in a conversation I had with an herb and vegetable grower at the local farmer's market — which, by the way, represents the free market in its truest sense. We were trading anecdotes about how many long-time tried-and-true Republicans we know who are abandoning their party because of the policies of the Current Occupant and those who are still with him. A lot of these people are in their 70s and 80s and have always voted Republican. Now they don't know what to do.
Some have decided to vote Democratic, often confessing to "holding their noses" while doing so. Others have decided not to vote at all.
In fact, I am beginning to feel sorry for some of my loyal and thoughtful Republican friends, because everything that they have worked for and believed in — smaller government, individual rights, opportunities for everyone to move up economically, international isolationism, etc. — has been forsaken by the current administration.
In the Bush-Rove zeal to turn the U.S. into a one-party state, they may be succeeding — ironically, the beneficiary may be the party they had not intended.
This is what Peggy Noonan has to say about the matter:
Too Bad: President Bush has torn the conservative coalition asunderThe rest is here.
What political conservatives and on-the-ground Republicans must understand at this point is that they are not breaking with the White House on immigration. They are not resisting, fighting and thereby setting down a historical marker--"At this point the break became final." That's not what's happening. What conservatives and Republicans must recognize is that the White House has broken with them. What President Bush is doing, and has been doing for some time, is sundering a great political coalition. This is sad, and it holds implications not only for one political party but for the American future.
The White House doesn't need its traditional supporters anymore, because its problems are way beyond being solved by the base. And the people in the administration don't even much like the base. Desperate straits have left them liberated, and they are acting out their disdain. Leading Democrats often think their base is slightly mad but at least their heart is in the right place. This White House thinks its base is stupid and that its heart is in the wrong place.
Labels: Bush, GOP, Republican Party
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1 Comments:
Lincoln Chaffee stated that he voted for George Bush in the 2004 election … to be precise, he “wrote-in” GWB’s father … George H.W. Bush. I have wonder for awhile who Peggy Noonan voted for in 2004 … could she have written in Ronald Reagan … even though he was deceased ? A lot of Republicans could not vote for Bush … I know one person who has written in John McCain in the last two elections ( this year, she’s telling me that she likes Obama … how’s that for a change?)
Why do I wonder who Peggy voted for ??? … Remember when she wrote
wrote
“A John Kerry would spend as much and raise taxes too. But could a President Kerry spend more than President Bush? How?
The article concludes with three questions :
“What are the implications for our country if spending levels continue to grow at their current pace?
What are the implications for the Republican party if it continues to cede one of the pillars on which it stood?
Did compassionate conservatism always mean big spending?
As a speechwriter for Reagan, I wonder what she thought of his farewell address when he stated ”And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and heart to get here." Remember that Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which included stepped up border enforcement and sanctions against employers who knowingly hire illegal workers. That legislation also legalized 2.8 million undocumented workers.
I view Noonan’s comments as just recognition that Bush is a lame duck and that to rally the anti-immigration voters that it is time for Republicans to separate themselves from GWB.
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