|
|
Comment IPS Features |
|
|
|
How is it possible that, only 4 and a half years into this Presidential administration, we find ourselves with a government that tolerates no criticism, that welcomes no honest open debate of any issue, which labels anyone who disagrees with it “unpatriotic,” and will not admit its failings and outright mistakes? The decisions of this government, and the future of this nation, have fallen into the hands of a small ideological (almost fanatical) group who have demonstrated no compunction in attacking the very liberty we are all obligated to defend. I voted Republican since I voted for Gerald R. Ford (who was the incumbent President) in 1976 at the age of 19. I'll tell you this, George W. Bush is no conservative. Bush never promised the Democrats or the Liberals anything, but to the conservative members of his own party, my party, he made these promises: to restore honesty and integrity to the White House; a smaller less intrusive government. In accepting the nomination of the Republican Party in 2000, Bush said, "Big government is not the answer. The alternative ... is to put conservative values and conservative ideas into the thick of the fight for justice and opportunity." to make fiscal responsibility a hallmark of his Presidency and to maintain a balanced budget; an end to the use of the American military for "nation building"; no unnecessary foreign wars, particularly for "humanitarian" reasons; Bush promised to be a uniter, not a divider, acting as the president of all of the American people, not just those who voted for him. All of these promises have been broken. We have no reason to expect anything from the remaining years Bush Administration except more of the same: alarmingly high deficit spending, American soldiers shedding their blood for the sake of corporate profits, while terrorist groups like al Qaeda grow stronger than ever and leaders like Osama bin Laden, his deputy, the radical cleric Mohammed Omar, Zayman Al-Zawahiri gain international notoriety and power beyond their wildest dreams. The liberals in this nation aren't the ones who have been played for fools by these con artists. The conservative voters who gave them their jobs are. Many still lack the moral courage it takes to admit that. Incidentally, it was extremely naïve to think that the Iraqi people would really welcome the occupying forces as “liberators.” The comparisons to Vietnam are apt; the lessons of that conflict would've been heeded by wiser men less blinded by lust for power.
|