Reply #18: Bush is NOT conservative, neither are the Neocons.

[Hamlette]

I always hold my nose when I vote. Jimmy Carter and the Clintons are way too religious for me (Dawkins for Prez!) If I hold my nose and vote for a Dem who turns out to be a Lieberman, will you be as hard on me as you are on the conservatives who are criticizing Bush? Why do many (most, all?) of us here support LaMont but trash Sullivan/Buckley et al?

I can't tell you how pissed I was at Clinton for NAFTA and welfare reform. Those were/are not liberal positions/legislation. There are not many people out there who are correct all the time (like I am ;). But I only dissed him among other Dems, out of party loyalty and discipline. (War is another issue I think. Most Dems were against Vietnam when LBJ was running it. But I don't really expect Republicans to shy away from any war...what with their strong on defense positions.)

Remember the Neocons came from the Democratic party, out of Scoop Jackson's office, the hawk wing of the Dem party during Vietnam. Bush actually tired to run/act like a Scoop Jackson, "strong on defense but compassionate" (get your head around that if you can!) Compassion and conservative have never belonged together so Bush suckered in some people who believed his b-s on that like Kuo and Diliulo, people who believed compassion was the true Christian calling.

The debate I'd love to see is on Reagan. Most of those who have abandoned Bush still love Reagan. It would also be interesting to know if these people would have spoken out while Bush was still popular. Sullivan, and a few others like Paul O'Niell, actually did but there were not many who criticized him until his poll numbers hit the 30s.

The real problem is America is NOT conservative so the only way conservatives can get elected is to be actors or fakes like Bush.