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Jewish World Review Oct. 27, 2005 / 24 Tishrei, 5766 Bush on the edge By Tony Blankley
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
President Bush is a lucky man. Seldom has a president found
himself in more political trouble that he substantially has the power in his
own hands to fix than does President Bush currently.
While the vagaries of the Iraq war are not likely to respond to
any quick presidential actions, the president can promptly and dramatically
reverse the growing alienation of his conservative base — both in
Washington and around the country.
Those who claim that it is only Washington eggheads and
activists who are disillusioned, misunderstand and underestimate the
consequences of such Washington-based problems. The current Washington
Republican negativity to President Bush is as a stone thrown into a lake —
it will ripple outward until it causes waves on the distant shores of the
heartland.
The problem is not merely with us obstreperous and
self-important conservative columnists and pundits — though even our
unloved tribe can cause measurable damage.
More importantly, the president is perilously close to
duplicating the estrangement his father experienced from his congressional
allies when G.H.W.Bush raised taxes in 1990. Just a year out from
congressional elections, Republican congressmen and senators are in the
process of making the practical judgment whether to distance themselves from
the president to save their skins. I don't blame them. (After all, it's not
as if he is currently championing their principles and policies
domestically.)
If they decide in the affirmative, their constituents will hear
criticisms rather than support of the president for the next 12 months. The
most dangerous time for any politician is not when his opponents say rude
things about him, but when his own partymen do. They will start out
respectfully disagreeing, but will build to more flagrant rhetoric as their
Democratic Party opponents start raising and spending more money and start
rising in the polls.
The time for the president to bring his worried allies back into
the fold is now — and bold action is required.
Of course no actions are without their dissents and downsides.
But I believe four actions could rally the troops to a year of loyal and
mostly principled partisan battle on behalf of their president.
First, withdraw the unfortunate nomination of Miss Miers. Not
only is there almost no enthusiasm for her nomination, I have never seen as
much outright hostility and even anger at an appointment from a president's
own party. Replace her with a highly qualified, full-blooded, proven
conservative nominee (any number of his appointments to the courts of appeal
will do).
Then he can have a principled fight between conservatives and
liberals (a debate that should break in his favor at least 60 percent to 40
percent nationally on the judicial issues), rather than the current
idiotically unuseful fight between blind presidential loyalists and sighted
presidential loyalists.
Second, he should delay pushing for guest worker law changes —
and instead move full speed ahead with legislation and policies to secure
the border. This must be more than symbolic actions and rhetoric. It should
include serious proposals to dramatically render the borders non-porous.
It should include tens of thousands more border guards, sensor
technology, structures and stiff (i.e. criminal prison terms) employer
sanctions against hiring illegals. When, as now, Democratic governors and
Hillary Clinton have flanked a Republican president to the right on secure
borders, it is manifest that both principle and political sense is not being
exercised in the White House.
Third, he should rally his base by fighting for serious budget
cuts to offset the necessary increases in defense and disaster relief
spending. While many congressional Republicans will not like this tough
love, it will be good for them — and for the national fisc.
Fourth, political expediency requires him to get on the right
side of gas prices. When the eye-popping third quarter oil company profits
are announced — he must jawbone the oil executives to start re-investing
that money. If he doesn't, Republicans in Congress will. Regretfully (though
incorrectly), even a majority of conservatives and Republicans around the
country use the word price-gouging to describe current conditions.
If the president were to make these four bold corrections,
virtually his entire base would snap back to his side to do noble and fierce
battle on his behalf. He would not only be substantially true to his party's
principles, but he would move from about 40 percent to about 48 percent in
the polls — a critical increase.
Oh, and one other thing. As I write this column, Washington is
waiting "in hope or despair, depending on party affiliation — for the
special prosecutor to announce his indictment decisions. I truly hope that
none of the president's aides have done anything to deserve criminal
indictment. Some of them are my friends.
But if any of their actions warrant criminal conviction, the
president and his allies would be grievously ill-advised to minimize such
criminal conduct or disparage the prosecutor. Perjury, if that is the
charge, is a very serious felony. All the more so when committed by a person
in high office.
Neither the president nor conservatives generally should raise
the Clinton defense. Any Republican who measures his integrity by the
standards of Bill Clinton (and his disreputable apologists) is unfit for
public office.
If the worst happens, the president should make a clean break
with such conduct — and such people. He has three years left in his office.
He owes it both to himself and to the country to take such actions as to
make those years highly ethical and productive. The world is too dangerous
for anything less.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. Tony Blankley is editorial page editor of The Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.
© 2005, Creators Syndicate |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
