[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
International News Title: Bush's conservative legacy Craig Shirley and Don Devine use Karl Rove’s new memoir to argue that George W. Bush was no conservative. I am admirer of both men (and particularly Shirley’s outstanding histories of Reagan’s presidential campaigns), but I respectfully disagree. (Full disclosure, for those who don't know, I was a speechwriter in the Bush administration.) The thrust of their argument is that Bush expanded the size of government dramatically -- and they are absolutely right. Federal spending grew significantly on Bush’s watch, and this is without question a black mark on his record. (Federal spending also grew dramatically under Ronald Reagan, though he was dealt a Democratic Congress, whereas Bush had six years of Republican leadership on Capitol Hill.) Yet this is only one part of Bush’s record, and Shirley and Devine ignore a string of unprecedented conservative achievements on Bush’s watch. There is ample evidence to back up Rove’s claim that “Bush is among the most conservative presidents of the modern age.” Indeed, Bush arguably did more to advance conservative priorities than any president that came before him. Consider a few examples: TAX CUTS. Bush enacted the largest tax cuts in history -- and unlike my personal hero, Ronald Reagan, he never signed a major tax increase into law. JUDGES. Bush has the best record on judges of any Republican president in memory – his appointments of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito will be judged favorably over time compared to Justices Anthony Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor, David Souter and John Paul Stevens (all put on the high court by Republican presidents). FREE TRADE. Bush enacted free-trade agreements with 17 nations, more than any president in history. HEALTH CARE. Bush created Health Savings Accounts – the most important free-market health-care reform in a generation. And he courageously stood up to Congressional Democrats when they sought to use the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to nationalize health care -- and defeated their efforts. SCHOOL CHOICE. Bush won a Supreme Court ruling declaring school vouchers constitutional and enacted the nation's first school-choice program in the District of Columbia. SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE. Bush was the most pro-life president in history, securing passage of the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act and the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. And Bush steadfastly refused to fund the destruction of human embryos for research -- and was vindicated by the scientific breakthroughs that followed. No president did more to protect the sanctity of unborn life. NATIONAL DEFENSE. Bush increased defense spending by nearly 73 percent, more than even Ronald Reagan, and the largest increase since the Truman administration. INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT. Bush defended American sovereignty with an act that was virtually unprecedented – he unsigned a treaty, the Rome Statute, creating the International Criminal Court. MISSILE DEFENSE. Bush withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty – a conservative goal for a quarter century. And he became the first president to deploy defenses protecting the American homeland against ballistic missile attack. EXAPNDING FREEDOM. Bush brought freedom to more than 50 million people in Afghanistan and Iraq, the largest expansion of human liberty since the fall of the Berlin Wall. THE SURGE. Bush’s decision to launch the surge in Iraq – and to stick with it when virtually everyone in Washington was urging him to admit defeat and withdraw – was one of the most courageous acts by a commander in chief in the history of our country. It is one of the many reasons the men and women of our military loved him like they did no President since Reagan. SOCIAL SECURITY. Bush fought valiantly for a conservative priority no American president had ever dared to touch: Social Security reform, with private accounts that would have given millions of our citizens a stake in the free market system. His effort failed, but he deserves credit from conservatives for staking his second term in office on this effort. So yes, spending grew on Bush’s watch. But taken as a whole, Bush’s presidency established a conservative record without parallel. This is why, despite the spending, the vast majority of conservatives across the country supported President Bush and stood with him through his last moments in office. Shirley and Devine should acknowledge these accomplishments. And if are going to blame Karl Rove for the growth of government on Bush’s watch, they should give Rove credit for his role in these conservative achievements as well.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread |
|
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|