Buckley's Boy Against Bush

[Doug]

Let’s quit while we’re behind
By Christopher Buckley

I voted for George W. Bush in 2000. In 2004, I could not bring myself to pull the same lever again. Neither could I bring myself to vote for John Kerry, who, for all his strengths, credentials, and talent, seems very much less than the sum of his parts. So, I wrote in a vote for George Herbert Walker Bush, for whom I worked as a speechwriter from 1981 to ’83. I wish he’d won.

Bob Woodward asked Bush 43 if he had consulted his father before invading Iraq. The son replied that he had consulted “a higher father.” That frisson you feel going up your spine is the realization that he meant it. And apparently the higher father said, “Go for it!” There are those of us who wish he had consulted his terrestrial one; or, if he couldn’t get him on the line, Brent Scowcroft. Or Jim Baker. Or Henry Kissinger. Or, for that matter, anyone who has read a book about the British experience in Iraq. (18,000 dead.)

...Who knew, in 2000, that “compassionate conservatism” meant bigger government, unrestricted government spending, government intrusion in personal matters, government ineptitude, and cronyism in disaster relief? Who knew, in 2000, that the only bill the president would veto, six years later, would be one on funding stem-cell research?

A more accurate term for Mr. Bush’s political philosophy might be incontinent conservatism.

...The Republican Party I grew up into—Dwight D. Eisenhower, William F. Buckley Jr., Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon (sigh), Ronald Reagan—stood for certain things. It did not always live up to its ideals. Au contraire, as we Republicans said in the pre-Dominique de Villepin era—often, it fell flat on its face...Despite the failures, one had the sense that the party at least knew in its heart of hearts that these were failures, either of principle or execution. Today one has no sense, aside from a slight lowering of the swagger-mometer, that the president or the Republican Congress is in the least bit chastened by their debacles.

...What have they done to my party? Where does one go to get it back?
One place comes to mind: the back benches. It’s time for a time-out. Time to hand over this sorry enchilada to Hillary and Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden and Charlie Rangel and Harry Reid, who has the gift of being able to induce sleep in 30 seconds. Or, with any luck, to Mark Warner or, what the heck, Al Gore. I’m not much into polar bears, but this heat wave has me thinking the man might be on to something.

My fellow Republicans, it is time, as Madison said in Federalist 76, to “Hand over the tiller of governance, that others may fuck things up for a change.”

(Or was it Federalist 78?)
Read the rest here.

[Barbara Fitzpatrick]

I've wondered whether the real conservatives were going to be able to take their party back. At least now it looks like they're trying, which is better than they've been doing. Here's where the real WWII analogy comes in. While Hitler was pulling off every bluff and winning, the generals and other German patriots had to keep an extremely low profile, but once he started to lose they could start trying to take back their country. (Which they mostly did with unsuccessful assasination attempts, but once Hitler was out of the picture, they surrendered to the Allies in droves.)

[Doug]

...once Hitler was out of the picture, they surrendered to the Allies in droves.

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DOUG
Guy Gabaldon, the "Pied Piper" of Saipan, captured over 1500 Japanese soldiers by himself in WWII. He died last week.

See here.

We need a Guy Gabaldon to lead the conservatives out of the picture. Christopher Buckley..?

[Barbara Fitzpatrick]

What a Guy! You notice he didn't "capture" the enemy, he persuaded the enemy to surrender - with promises of being treated with dignity and returned home at the end of the war. That's America as she should be, sometimes is, and definitely isn't at the moment. (Of course, that's also probably why he wasn't awarded the Medal of Honor - he didn't "take" them, he just brought them in.)

[Doug]

What a Guy! You notice he didn't "capture" the enemy, he persuaded the enemy to surrender - with promises of being treated with dignity and returned home at the end of the war. That's America as she should be, sometimes is, and definitely isn't at the moment.

DOUG
Because of our reputation for treating POW's well in WWII, many Germans who wanted to surrender would avoid surrendering to other allies and wait until a US unit would happen by.