I found an article on http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/02/do-bush-followers-have-political.html conservative Glenn Greenwald's blog today via Metafilter discussing the enourmous detour that conservatives have taken in the past six years -- moving from small government, state's rights, and less spending into the behemouth that we are dealing with today. While I'm sure that many people have seen this metamorphasis taking shape through this administration, I haven't seen anyone describe it so eloquantly. Here are a couple of excerpts:

Quote :

"As much as any policy prescriptions, conservatism has always been based, more than anything else, on a fundamental distrust of the power of the federal government and a corresponding belief that that power ought to be as restrained as possible, particularly when it comes to its application by the Government to American citizens. It was that deeply rooted distrust that led to conservatives’ vigorous advocacy of states’ rights over centralized power in the federal government, accompanied by demands that the intrusion of the Federal Government in the lives of American citizens be minimized. Is there anything more antithetical to that ethos than the rabid, power-hungry appetites of Bush followers? There is not an iota of distrust of the Federal Government among them. Quite the contrary. Whereas distrust of the government was quite recently a hallmark of conservatism, expressing distrust of George Bush and the expansive governmental powers he is pursuing subjects one to accusations of being a leftist, subversive loon."

Quote :

"The anti-government ethos espoused by Barry Goldwater and even Ronald Reagan is wholly unrecognizable in Bush followers, who – at least thus far – have discovered no limits on the powers that ought to be vested in George Bush to enable him to do good on behalf of all of us."

He also found a http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a27337612f5.htm Free Republic thread from 2000 about the FISA courts. The juxtaposition is mindblowing. I can barely stand to read Metafilter because of the overwhelming left swing, but the Free Republic thread reads like something that would wind up on Metafilter today. Is distrust of the government now a liberal value, or is it simply confined to this administration? Not to knock every liberal, but the vitriol that I read coming out of the left (possibly a repercussion of the anonymity of the internets) is usually so nonsensical I can't make out much of a liberal ideology, either, besides "impeach Bush." This is a quote from the Free Republic thread:

Quote :

"To: HalfIrish Wonder how many terrorist plots they have stopped? Sounds like despite trampling Constitutional rights, this was ineffective. Maybe because x42 told them to go after movie pirates! 43 Posted on 09/19/2001 06:01:22 PDT by antidisestablishment"

Sarcasm about terrorists and consititutional breadth from a conservative eight days after the WTC attack. Maybe in '08 we'll have some Republicans in the primaries who have the balls to come out and analyze what is really happening here. In the mean time, I'm curious as to how many conservatives around are as worried about the party as I am.

2/13/2006 12:22:31 PM

seems to me that the Bush conservatives are conservative in every aspect that they cant connect back to 9/11.

Thus massive defecits thanks to new offices, defense, spying and cuts in social programs.

2/13/2006 12:45:40 PM

One word: Neoconservatism.

2/13/2006 3:09:15 PM

Quote :

"Where did all the conservatives go?"

"Hunting accidents"

2/13/2006 3:19:24 PM

They're all in Washington, bitching about the same things you are:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/02/12/MNG41H78RM1.DTL&feed=rss.news

Quote :

"Right says Bush is wrong President's base unhappy with policies on immigration, budget, wiretaps and war Washington -- They railed against President Bush's immigration plan, jeered his budget, condemned his domestic surveillance operation, and bemoaned the prolonged U.S. involvement in Iraq. Such sentiments could probably be heard on any Bay Area street corner, but the past few days they came from a gathering of several thousand conservative Republicans in Washington who voiced alarm that their president had strayed from his conservative moorings. Participants at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference aimed their most potent venom at the usual suspects, such as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., ("It takes a village to raise an idiot,'' read one bumper sticker) and Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., ("Ted Kennedy's car has killed more people than my gun,'' read another). Patrons snatched up perennial best-selling buttons and T-shirts reading: "I love animals. They're so delicious,'' "Evolution is Science Fiction,'' and "Gun Control is Using Both Hands.'' A deck of playing cards entitled "The 52 most dangerous liberals in America,'' featured House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, as the queen of hearts, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., as the nine of clubs, and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., as the jack of clubs (Clinton was the ace of spades.) But the event was distinguished by an open frustration with Bush and, to a lesser degree, the Republican Congress. Faced with threats to the GOP majority and less than 36 months remaining in Bush's presidency, participants expressed dismay that Republicans had not taken full advantage of their electoral clout, which seemed to offer boundless opportunities when the president was first sworn in. While Bush has always been more attentive to, and had stronger support among conservatives than his father had, he is under increasing fire for growing the national debt to $8.2 trillion, nearly a 50 percent jump since he became president. "The American people don't understand what Republicans stand for anymore,'' roared Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., who proudly declared that he had voted against Bush's prescription drug plan, his Central American trade proposal and his "$100 billion Katrina slush fund.'' "American conservatives have watched dumbfounded as their Congress -- their Republican Congress -- and the Republican White House engineered the largest expansion of the federal government in modern history,'' Tancredo said. The only area where all participants seemed willing to rally behind Bush was in his appointments to the Supreme Court. The choices and confirmations of Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito drew universal praise. Even Bush's conduct of the war in Iraq, which helped sustain record high approval ratings during his first term, drew dissent from some participants, who said such deadly and expensive nation- building is the sort of government endeavor that conservatives should shun. True believers rarely find national leaders who live up to their ideological expectations. Democratic former President Bill Clinton earned the wrath of liberals for signing a welfare reform proposal and boosting military budgets midway through his eight years. Bush's father lost re-election after infuriating conservatives by breaking his "read my lips, no new taxes'' pledge. And even former President Ronald Reagan was criticized by some conservatives for compromising with Democrats on tax reform and negotiating nuclear arms deals with the Soviets. Yet Bush -- until recently -- had enjoyed the unwavering public support of conservatives from all factions, who seemed willing to overlook any misgivings in their united desire to elect a Republican president. At this year's conference, which sponsors said would attract 5,000 participants, Tancredo received a standing ovation after his remarks in which he said: "It is the president who is out of step with his party.'' Tancredo was not alone in voicing his displeasure -- a sign that Bush may have much more trouble with Republicans in Congress as they move toward the midterm elections. Bob Barr, a former Republican House member from Georgia, warned fellow conservatives that those who defend the president's ability to spy on American citizens are "in danger of putting allegiance to party ahead of allegiance to principle.'' The president, Barr warned, has overstepped his bounds and "it should not matter the person, the man, occupying the position of the presidency.'' Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies chided Bush's guest-worker plan for being too accommodating to illegal immigrants, asserting that "the White House has an office that comes up with euphemisms for amnesty.'' Phyllis Schlafly, founder of the conservative Eagle Forum, called Bush's immigration plan "a bad mistake -- and we should tell him that.'' Vice President Dick Cheney received a warm welcome when he pushed the president's agenda, though the applause was less than overwhelming as he defended the administration's domestic surveillance program. Even the man who introduced Cheney, David Keene, president of the American Conservative Union, and the event's organizer, expressed concern about the administration's assertion of unrestrained executive power. "That's something a conservative president should be reluctant to fall back on,'' Keene said in an interview. Keene said Bush is more conservative than his father, but less conservative than he originally thought. Keene speculated that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack distracted Bush from conservative instincts, and his focus on the war in Iraq may have put him in a weaker position to stand up to liberals. While the elimination of 141 federal programs outlined in Bush's budget last week is a good step, it is outweighed by the growth of spending in other areas, Keene said. "The biggest problem people have with Bush's conservatism is that to him, it seems it's not a question of how much you spend, it's where you spend it. Traditional conservatives would say that's wrongheaded, because no matter what you spend it on, public spending restricts individual freedom in favor of government.'' Tony Blankley, editorial page editor of the Washington Times and one-time press secretary to former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, said dissent is typical for gatherings of conservatives. "Any faction is suspicious of their leaders once they are national leaders,'' he said. "We're always complaining about something.'' He recalled a speaker at the same conference in 1981 complaining that Ronald Reagan -- then just three weeks into his presidency -- could not be trusted to carry out the "Reagan revolution." "I don't find the grumbling and dissatisfaction any different today,'' Blankley said. Yet Bush's Republican base has eroded. A Gallup Poll released Friday showed Bush's approval rating among Republicans at 81 percent, a sizable figure, but far below the mid-90 percent Bush received from Republicans for most of his presidency. Facing no future election and having just endured the most difficult year of his presidency, Bush must now confront questions from his own. "I saw no conservative dissent for this president before 2005,'' said Aaron Biterman, project manager for Americans for Limited Government. "2005 was the breakout year.""

2/13/2006 8:50:29 PM

it's all b/c of teh j00z, infiltrating teh R1ght and turning them into evil evil neoc0ns...

2/14/2006 12:08:38 AM

Except for their leading apologist, TGD, of course...

2/14/2006 12:32:41 AM

we got plenty of moral conservatives...

2/14/2006 5:22:33 AM

The issue is hardly about morality. As much as the neocons love to say that Dems are morally bankrupt, the democratic platform is built on moral values -- they are just socialist-leaning values.

The issue is that I get the impression that the majority of the voting public is now forcing traditional little-r republican values out of the platform. I refuse to call myself a Republican because of the Bush administration's desecration of almost every conservative value. Even the NYC Young Republicans split into a traditional group that has no ties with the GOP, and a group that simply follows the politicians. If this continues, is there a possibility of a resurgance in the Libertarian Party, or are they still too fringe (on par with, say, Nader et al.)? What do you think will happen in the '08 primaries?

2/14/2006 10:49:51 AM

Quote :

"Gamecat: Except for their leading apologist, TGD, of course..."

Don't be silly, I too was persuaded of the errors in my previous philosophy by teh j00z. Really. Why do you think Smoker4 and I had those debates all the time?

2/14/2006 11:03:58 AM

I'll take a shot in the dark: Because even blowhards need exercise?

2/14/2006 11:31:59 AM

If the President can't literally mean "reduce oil dependance by 75%" when he says "reduce oil dependance by 75%", then what the hell makes you think the adminstration defines "conservative" in the traditional sense.

2/14/2006 11:52:28 AM

And from that, I'd like to know this. What are the Republicans going to do in '08 when it comes time to explain what Republicanism is? It seems like there's a pretty big disagreement between them over it right now.

2/14/2006 11:53:29 AM

Quote :

"What are the Republicans going to do in '08 when it comes time to explain what Republicanism is?"

Good question! The GOP gang has strayed far from their claims of being fiscal conservatives (the issue that originally swept them into office in '94). They are definately cruising for a bruising.

The democrats are having the same problem, don't they?

2/14/2006 12:13:48 PM

Maybe? What fundamental Democratic (party, not system of government) principle have they been ignoring?

2/14/2006 12:52:49 PM

wtf

[Edited on February 14, 2006 at 12:55 PM. Reason : wrong thread]

2/14/2006 12:55:18 PM

The GOP will continue to play the terror card, kiss a few babys, harp on the gays, etc. The hard-core party liners and jesus voters will eat that shit up, again. Those same voters will get ignored by legislative proxy, again.

The GOP has effectively neutered any real conservative thinkers from having any power within the party. Its about branding as much as ideas any more. Just make sure you have the right color ribbon on your vehicle and you're golden.

/frustrated conservative

2/14/2006 1:17:17 PM

Vote Duke in 2028

2/14/2006 9:03:33 PM

^
damn you're waiting that long? I might bump my campaign back from 2016 to 2020 instead -- I'll make you my VP so you can have 8 years once I'm done

---

Quote :

"Gamecat: I'll take a shot in the dark: Because even blowhards need exercise?"

[no], it was all part of teh J00 Infilitration Program

[Edited on February 14, 2006 at 9:43 PM. Reason : ---]

2/14/2006 9:42:31 PM

Quote :

"Where did all the conservatives go?"

Busy working and generallybeing wealthier than everyone else.

2/15/2006 1:38:07 AM

^^well, if i stay 20 years active duty, that puts my enter into the fray at 2026 or 2028.

if i get out earlier than that, who knows...

2/15/2006 2:57:09 AM

fear of the government has never been a sole possession of the right.

2/15/2006 3:10:15 AM

That point is lost among too many people.

2/15/2006 3:36:11 AM