From Jeff Greenfield of CNN:
Yet now, at what should be the floodtide of conservative power, many on the right are expressing open, even passionate disagreement with what has been done in their name.
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"I believe that as a movement we have veered off course into the dangerous and uncharted waters of big government Republicanism," said Mike Pence, a three-term representative from Indiana.
Pence is one of a number of conservatives who finds himself dismayed by much of what has happened under Republican rule.
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"At the Republican convention in '08 there will be a lot of rhetoric, which will deplore what has been done in the name of conservatism and Republicanism. And I think it will bring the house down," [William F. Buckley Jr] told me for our "Broken Government: Right Gone Wrong."
"Because I think there's always a queasy feeling when you violate your own canons."
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"[Republicans] have increased the amount of government spending by a degree that no Democrat would ever dream of getting away with," said columnist Andrew Sullivan.
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There are social conservatives who say the Republicans have taken them for granted -- and libertarians like Dick Armey and Sullivan, who say government has no more business in the bedroom than the boardroom. In "Right Gone Wrong," you'll see the sharp split over Bush's foreign policy, especially his sweeping goal of promoting democracy around the world. ("Loony," William Buckley calls it).
While conservatives overwhelmingly support Bush on his tax cuts and judicial appointments -- and while many, if not most, back his claim of broad executive authority to wage the war on terror, the discontent on the right has grown so intense that a number of well-known conservatives have openly argued that the Republicans should lose their hold on Congress this year, either to punish conservatives for abandoning the cause, or because divided government actually produces better policy results.
Alright Republicans and conservatives, pay attention.
All the scandal and the corruption and the high deficits and the runaway spending and the failed foreign policy are all direct results of conservative policies enacted by Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. And now that the chickens are home roosting and causing a mess, and you want no part of the blame. But, rather incredibly, you want us to reelect you so that you can fix it.
If I understand you, what you are saying is:
"Yeah, the conservatives in my party have been in power at all levels and in all branches of government for 6 straight years, and indeed conservatives have controlled Congress and a majority of the statehouses across this land for the last twelve years. And we have held the Presidency for 18 out of the last 26 years. And yet nothing that has gone wrong is our fault. And if it is our fault, it is because we did not follow our principles. And if it is our fault, we should be the ones to clean up. So vote for me."
No dice.
Your argument fails on multiple levels.
First, if we are to believe that none of the failures that occurred on your watch is your fault, then you deserve to be fired for not paying attention and allowing others to run the government you should have been running.
Second, if the failures are your fault, you deserve to be fired. What employee (and that is what you are Republicans, employees) you know can fuck up as much as you and expect to keep your job?
Third, if the failures are the result of not following your principles, then you should be fired for being unprincipled, something you said you were. Indeed, you were elected in part because you promised to do certain things. It is no excuse that you are unprincipled enough not to keep your promises.
Finally, when a plumber you hired to fix something fucks your system up even more, do you retain the same plumber to fix his fuck-up? No. You fire the bastard, you do not pay him, and you find some one more qualified to do the work and repair the shit you broke.
You do not get to fix this. You do not get to fix what you broke.
Your policies, your ideas, your decisions, have all been wrong. ALL of them. It is rather shocking. A blind monkey even does things right once and a while. A broken clock is right twice a day. But you, nada. Nothing you have done has been a success. Nothing.
So you don't get to stay. More qualified people, you know, the Democrats, will clean up your mess.
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