A Loss's Silver Lining
posted by David at 1:20 AM
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2 Comments:
Alternatively, one could argue that it's the rightward shift of the Republican party over the last 12 years that has brought us to this point (e.g., Bush Jr. is generally seen as much more conservative policy-wise than his father was). I'm not so sure one can take this defeat to say that conservatives are right about everything in principle and that they only lost because they abandoned those principles. I think that's a pretty myopic analysis of the situation. Much to the chagrin of both parties, most Americans seem to be pretty moderate.
I think it's true that Bush is seen as conservative but I don't think he actually is conservative, and the Democrats painting him as extreme right wing has only helped him. Sure he panders to the social conservatives but what else has he done? He oversaw the biggest expansion of the federal government since FDR (or something like that) -- No Child Left Behind, medicare expansion, etc., even his foreign policy -- these things all stem from Bush's belief that the federal government should provide for everyone. To say that he is conservative is to ignore his record.
I haven't seen the numbers but for me personally I am less supportive of the current Republican party under Bush precisely because they have abandoned the conservative principles that make me a Republican, and I think I'm pretty typical.
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