Liberal-in-chief

It’s always amazed me how much the left hates George W. Bush when so many of his policies have put conservatives among his biggest critics. Liberals mock his promise to set a “new tone” of unity and bipartisanship, claiming that Washington is more divided than ever. If that’s true, it’s not because Bush hasn’t tried to reach out across party lines. \nThe President has tried too hard to appease his political enemies – who’ll hate him no matter what he does – while turning his back on his base, who he thought would love him no matter what he does. Now, as a result, Dennis Kucinich probably has more people loyal to him than Bush.\nNo doubt, Bush has gotten some important things right. After 9/11, even many Democrats were on their knees thanking God that Al Gore wasn’t in the White House. Bush has been a strong and courageous wartime leader, rising above politics and conventional wisdom to do what’s best for American security. He helped to pass tax cuts that energized the economy and reduced the injustice of the government’s seizure of private wealth. He’s also been a steady, if passive, supporter of the right to life. It’d be nice if liberals would direct their criticisms at those few areas in which the President has actually taken a conservative stance, rather than repeat groundlessly that Bush is an “idiot” or a “moron.” \nIf you’re a liberal getting bored with the “Bush is dumb” mantra, here’s a partial overview of Bush’s liberal legacy, which might even put a soft spot in your heart for our 43rd president.\nBush has been a champion of big government and runaway spending. True, 9/11 necessitated increased defense spending, but even Bush’s domestic budget has increased to the highest rate since Lyndon Johnson. His Medicare prescription drug program and the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate regulation bill were both the biggest governmental expansions of their kind since Johnson and FDR, respectively. Bush has been a proponent of anti-market practices like steel tariffs and agricultural subsidies. He sided with liberals like Ted Kennedy in creating huge expansions in federal involvement in schools and signed the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill, a law hated by conservatives. He even created his own bureaucratic agency, the Department of Homeland Security.\nBush has acknowledged the leftist hoax of manmade global warming as “a serious challenge.” He wants to achieve energy independence not by fighting to increase American oil excavation and refinement, but by regulating fuel usage.\nLast June, the President once again teamed up with Ted Kennedy and Senate RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) like John McCain to try to pass what would have been disastrous legislation regarding illegal immigration. Many Republican officials seem to be competing for the distinction of who could most insult the conservative base, portraying us as racist bigots too unsophisticated to understand such a complex issue as the invasion of our country across our southern border. Fortunately, “we the people” killed the effort by flooding Senators with phone calls and e-mails.\nSo you see, liberals? Maybe Dubya’s not such a bad guy after all.