…No traditional conservative can support the Patriot Act. The rights of individuals are trampled by this radical expansion of federal power in the name of security. The Patriot Act does not significantly enhance the security of American citizens. Instead, it threatens their individual freedom. It is time for traditional conservatives to abandon Bush Republicanism…
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Bush Republicanism is not Conservative in the traditional sense but actually is radically anti-conservative. Bush Republicanism has emerged as the dominant political ideology of the leadership of the modern Republican Party. It has retained the allegiance of traditional conservatives by slowly and systematically using the media to corrupt the meaning of conservatism and obscure the radical nature of their political agenda.
Bush Republicanism has combined various Far Right elements with runaway Corporatism to create a 21st Century radical New Right coalition. It is economically powerful but inherently a minority viewpoint. Unfortunately, this New Right coalition, commonly called Bush Republicans after their most prominent national leader, George W. Bush, has little attachment to the traditions or institutions of American Democracy. They are willing to radically alter or undermine American political traditions in a very anti-conservative way to achieve political power and advance their radical Right Wing agenda.
The contempt Bush Republicanism holds for American political traditions can be seen in their tactics and policies. The Tom Delay- Texas Congressional Re-Districting Scandals are great examples of the anti-conservative and corrupt nature of Bush Republicanism in action. The Bill Frist inspired so-called “nuclear option” tactic concerning the filibuster Democrats in the Senate were considering to block extremist judgeship nominations is typical of the Bush Republican contempt for American political traditions.
The ignoring of federal law by the Bush White concerning illegal spying by the federal government on American citizens is not part of any traditional conservative approach to federal government powers versus individual citizens. The huge federal deficits created by the current Bush Republican government controlling all branches of the federal government are absolutely anti-conservative. There is nothing even remotely conservative in the billions of dollars in “no-bid” contracts awarded by the Bush Administration with active support of Bush Republicans in Congress to partisan companies and corporations connected financially and politically to Bush Republicanism.
The recent corrupt scandals surrounding the Republican Party from “Duke” Cunningham to Jack Abramoff are the result of the very nature of Bush Republicanism. Bush Republicanism is all about the money. The Bush Republican leadership view the federal treasury and public assets as sources of private profit for themselves and their supporters. This is the personal financial history of Bush and the political history of Bush Republicanism. They are consumed by the lust for wealth and power over all other considerations including both American political traditions and national security as demonstrated by the recent Dubai Port Deal and Bush’s comments in India on outsourcing of American jobs by large corporations.
Frankly, you do not need to be a “Corporate Clown” to be a conservative. You do need to be a “Corporate Clown” to be a nationally prominent leader in the Bush Republican movement. Bush Republicanism is strongly biased against small businesses, middle class interests, the poor, unions and nationalism in the economic sphere. Traditional conservatism does not have to share these extreme biases.
Bush Republicanism seeks to undermine the Constitutionally-mandated Separation of Church and State while traditional conservatism celebrates that protection of religion from the corrupting influences of politics. Traditional conservatives understand that individual freedom in the political sphere and national unity can be undermined by mixing religion with politics. The Bush Administration has actively tried to interject federal tax money into churches to obtain political control of those churches. Bush Republicans have tried to gain membership lists from churches to politicize them. Strangely, Bush Republicans and their allies in the so-called “Christian Right” are advancing a radically anti-Christian political agenda in the name of Christianity. Readers wanting to examine this issue should read Faith In Politics and Republicans: The Anti-Christian, Christian Party. Bush Republicans have zero commitment to any truth in labeling when it comes to political issues as anyone who has examined the inheritance tax on very large estates can document. Bush Republicans falsely call it a “death tax.” Another great example is the falsely named Patriot Act.
No traditional conservative can support the Patriot Act. The rights of individuals are trampled by this radical expansion of federal power in the name of security. The Patriot Act does not significantly enhance the security of American citizens. Instead, it threatens their individual freedom.
It is time for traditional conservatives to abandon Bush Republicanism. Bush Republicans should be opposed by traditional conservatives in every Republican Primary in 2006 and 2008. Traditional conservatives should take another look at the Democratic Party which often has more in common with traditional conservatives than does Bush Republicanism. In some cases, traditional conservatives may want to consider supporting Third Party alternatives. Traditional conservatives need to reclaim the conservative label from the corrupt, Corporatists and Radical Right!
Written by Stephen Crockett, who is a co-host for Democratic Talk Radio. Stephen writes a syndicated column that is published widely, and is a regular contributing author to www.populistamerica.com. He welcomes your feedback at midsouthcm@aol.com.
