Tacitus is toying with some impure thoughts about the Bushies this week. He writes, "The White House has gotten things badly wrong this time, as both party and people start to peel away." He notes a Newsweek poll that for the first time has a specific Democrat (Kerry) defeating Bush. "Conservatives are starting to revolt over ludicrous spending levels" as Bush tax cuts continue to pile up the deficit.
Tacitus wonders if a Bush administration not dedicated to re-election might revert to "core conservative principles" which, I guess, would be more restrained fiscally and isolationist internationally. But that's giving Bush the benefit of the doubt, and I'm not convinced. The centrist conservatives in the administration (e.g. Colin Powell) are dropping like flies as more neocons come into the light to build their American Imperium. A lame-duck Bush regime without Powell will be even more aggressive and interventionist in foreign policy.
Anyway, Tacitus winds up with this:
Now we must ask ourselves what's best for the party in November '04. It's not necessarily electoral success. If the President wins reelection this fall, then the elements of the party that feel free to ignore core conservative principles have won.
And, presumably, those same elements of the party, once re-elected, would govern the way they did the first time around: with heavy-handed partisan tactics, dirty tricks, and general disregard for reality.
Posted by Chris at January 25, 2004 08:06 AM