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I concur
Tim.
^**^Bethany^**^
^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^
"Keep
American out of the liberal toilet.
Vote Bush-Cheney in
2004"
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----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 10:17
AM
Subject: Re: [Sndbox] How Bush Can Lose
I disagree. If Bush could be beat, Hillary would be
running...
Couple that with good economic news and what I predict as
a
perceived win in Iraq. There is not enough bad news for
the retard Dem
candidates to even mount an attempt.
I do not disagree with the reasons
why *real* conservatives
are pissed though....
On
Tuesday, December 2, 2003, at 08:45 AM, Charles wrote:
How Bush Can Lose
Some
conservatives are unhappy with the president. Will they stay home in
November?
BY
BRENDAN MINITER
Tuesday,
December 2, 2003 12:01 a.m. EST
President
Bush's armor of invincibility is starting to crack. The president is still
infinitely stronger on national defense than any of the nine Democrats
running for the White House, but on a growing list of domestic issues, the
president is losing his conservative base.
Fiscal conservatives are
upset about the Medicare expansion as well as the farm bill and a host of
other spending extravaganzas. And now another front of criticism is opening
up. Karl Rove is picking up his phone to find the Family Research Council
and other Christian groups thundering away. The big issue is marriage and
whether the president will defend it.
It's not enough to have a
president who sees the world in moral terms and isn't fooling around with an
intern in the Oval Office. The recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
ruling mandating same-sex marriage is now a test for where politicians stand
on this issue. If gay marriage gets a foothold in the Bay State, social
conservatives believe, the decline of marriage nationwide will be
inevitable. If Massachusetts legislators aren't able to hold the line on
marriage, Christian conservative groups will demand federal
action.
Strong leadership now could head off the necessity for
federal laws or a constitutional amendment later. So what's really giving
the Christian right jitters is that Gov. Mitt Romney--a Republican with
access to the president--waffled a little. He initially spoke out against
the court's ruling, calling for a state constitutional amendment defining
marriage in traditional terms. He later softened his position, saying a
civil-union law might satisfy the court. Many fear that Mr. Romney softened
his position after getting a call from the White House. That's why Karl Rove
is now hearing that if President Bush waffles on marriage, many Christian
voters will stay home next November.
That would pose a serious
electoral problem for the president. Self-identified evangelical Christians
are among the most active volunteers and will likely be the key to winning
the South and some of the Midwest. Christians are already upset with Mr.
Bush. Remember all those white guys standing behind the president as he
signed the Partial Birth Abortion Act? The White House just doesn't make
that kind of PR mistake on an issue it sees as important. Signing the bill
seemed to be more of a chit to hand a constituency than an _expression_ of
moral conviction. Trade groups and unions can be handled that way.
Christians, who are in politics to fight for moral convictions, won't stand
for it.
<image.tiff>
There are other issues too. The Bible is the most
influential book of Western civilization, yet it's not taught in the
nation's public schools. Christians are routinely discriminated against and
told they can't talk about their faith in the classroom. Christians have
increasingly become involved in politics over the past 30 years because
they've seen the moral underpinnings pulled out of civic institutions from
schools to courts to social services departments.
The irony is that
restoring these underpinnings was one of the driving forces behind Mr. Bush
seeking the presidency. The Faith-Based Initiative came straight from the
Oval Office, as an effort to stop religious discrimination in government
grants. Mr. Bush's education initiative, No Child Left Behind, was also
based on a moral conviction. The president wanted to take a stand against
"the soft bigotry of low expectations." And many of the president's judicial
nominees are active in their churches. Priscilla Owen, who's being
filibustered by Senate Democrats, teaches Sunday school. Even Iraq regent L.
Paul Bremer is a practicing Catholic. Since Sept. 11, 2001, Mr. Bush hasn't
lost his moral compass either. He's repeatedly made his case on moral terms
for standing against terrorists and overthrowing the tyrants who support
them.
<image.tiff>
That, however, may not be enough to win Mr. Bush a
second term. Rampant spending will alienate more than budget hawks. The
deficit isn't really a problem yet, although the bigger it gets, the harder
it is going to be to fight off future tax increases or even make Mr. Bush's
tax cuts permanent. Rather, it's the bad public policy that comes along with
out-of-control spending. Republicans are now bringing back the very
subsidies they once promised to eliminate. Gone are the days when
Republicans debated eliminating federal departments.
As it stands
now, House Budget Chairman Jim Nussle can't even manage much support in his
caucus for rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. If the Christian
conservatives follow the fiscal conservatives in stepping away from the
party, Mr. Bush won't be so invincible come November.
Mr. Miniter
is assistant editor of OpinionJournal.com. His column appears
Tuesdays.
Charles Mims
http://www.the-sandbox.org
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