Coming Soon: Strange New Respect for George W. Bush from the Left
[Posted by Karl]
As Jonah Goldberg recently observed, for the Left:
The best conservatives are always dead; the worst are always alive and influential. When Buckley and Kristol, not to mention Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, were alive, they were hated and vilified by the same sorts of people who now claim to miss the old gang. The gold standard of the dead is always a cudgel, used to beat back the living.
George W. Bush isn’t dead yet (as much as some on the Left might wish), but he is out of office. Consequently, he is slowly (or maybe not-so-slowly) gaining “strange new respect” from Lefties eager to bash conservatives still on the political stage.
Witness Kevin Drum, bloviating at MoJo on opposition to the Ground Zero Mosque:
For once, I really do miss George Bush. The damage he did to the American cause in the Muslim world is incalculable, but at least he never countenanced this kind of lunatic bigotry. [The opposition to the Ground Zero Mosque from moderate Muslims, including Raheel Raza and Tarek Fatah of the Muslim Canadian Congress , goes unmentioned, natch]
NYT columnist Frank Rich, recognizing that blaming Bush is a losing Democratic strategy for the 2010 midterms, asserts that “what we can discern of the Republican ‘ideas’ lying in wait almost makes Bush’s conservatism actually seem compassionate.” And the NYT magazine gave Matt Bai plenty of space to push this line:
Once, in what seems like another eon of Republican politics, George W. Bush dreamed of building a multiethnic party that would achieve dominance in a nation where the words “majority” and “minority” were losing their meaning. Mr. Bush was adamant, in the days after the terrorist attacks of 2001, that American Muslims not become the targets of public resentment, and he later pushed a plan to offer illegal immigrants a path toward citizenship.
Republicans are now taking a decidedly different approach. Last week, a group of senior Republican senators called for hearings on repealing the 14th Amendment; that’s the one that affords children born on American soil automatic citizenship. At the same time, Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich were among those posting outraged Twitter updates over the decision to allow an Islamic center and mosque near the site of the fallen trade center towers.
These stands garnered a fair amount of publicity, and at a moment of voter insurrection, they may well yield short-term advantages for the party. History suggests, however, that the long term may be more problematic.
Bai actually acknowledges that these issues are legitimate debates, before quickly settling into the standard Narrative about the nativism of what Pres. Obama infamously called “bitter clingers,” then re-introducing Bush to the discussion:
[B]ecause of the political realignment that began in 1980 (when the term “Reagan Democrats” — meaning ethnic whites — entered the lexicon) and reached its apex in 1994, when the South tipped into the Republican column, the voters who are most susceptible to such appeals reside, at this juncture in our politics, primarily in the Republican base.
[It is apparently acceptable to marginalize voters by ethnicity when they stop voting for Democrats.]
When Mr. Bush, a Texan fluent both in Spanish and in immigration policy, advanced a plan to reform the system in 2006, he was going directly into the teeth of that sentiment within his own party [More like into the teeth of broad majorities of the American public, really]. His failure [a bipartisan defeat, with a big assist from Big Labor] virtually guaranteed that his party — already beset by an unpopular war and mounting distrust from black Americans [OK, that one is just plain funny; when did the target of that disgusting NAACP ad have any significant trust from black Americans?] — would not become the broader coalition he had hoped to build.
This could be a problem for Republicans in the years ahead, as the American electorate rapidly grows more diverse. “You can win elections temporarily by accumulating large percentages of the white vote,” says Matthew Dowd, who was a top strategist in Mr. Bush’s two elections, “but over time, it’s unsustainable.”
Here, Bai buys into the Bush camp’s unstated premise — that the way to win non-white votes is to pander on issues like illegal immigration. This is also how Dems think, with The Emerging Democratic Majority (by John B. Judis, Ruy Teixeira) as Exhibit A. These sorts of long-term theories are questionable, as evidenced by the migration of the white working class to the GOP after decades in the Dem base. Indeed, even in the short-term, Pres. Obama has lost 15-20% approval with Hispanics this year, suggesting that the economy is overwhelming their interest in amnesty for illegal immigrants (much like everyone else).
The irony here is that the Lefties edging toward “strange new respect” for the Bush camp are engaging the same sort of stereotypical generalizations about various demographics that they denounce when coming from anyone on the Right. The Left thinks that backing amnesty for illegal immigrants and the divisive “salad bowl” model of multi-culturalism is another way by which they can push America into becoming a Euro-socialist nanny state. But pointing out the Left’s tribal political strategy to the public is bigotry.
–Karl
It so often seems that the Democratic Party has decided that they are about to lose the senior vote so they are switching over to the Hispanic vote, but, in typical political style, they figure if they keep the Southern border open, they will have a constantly expanding Democratic electorate.
Neo (7830e6) — 8/10/2010 @ 3:02 pmRacist
JD (abc2eb) — 8/10/2010 @ 3:03 pmSome of the “strange new respect” is the unspoken background of the Left’s realization that Obama is fundamentally not competent as President especially in direct comparison to George Bush’s foundational competence as an executive.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/10/2010 @ 3:11 pmSo now they suddenly realize that “BusHitler” was basically a Democrat in Republican clothing? Duh!
Subotai (c1531e) — 8/10/2010 @ 3:32 pmWhat they mean is that having any respect, whatsoever, for the other side of the aisle is “strange” and “new”.
Icy Texan (95c5b1) — 8/10/2010 @ 3:35 pmAnother day, another round of dishonesty from the left. The problem as always is that if they were honest, nobody would vote for them. They just have to keep test marketing new lies.
daleyrocks (940075) — 8/10/2010 @ 3:50 pmThis could be a problem for Republicans in the years ahead, as the American electorate rapidly grows more diverse.
The American electorate would not be growing more “diverse” if not for the fanatically determined efforts of people like Bush and his corporate corrupticrat cronies.
Talk about “killing your parents and asking for pity because you’re an orphan”!
Subotai (c1531e) — 8/10/2010 @ 3:51 pmThey’re all saying that
“Bush did less race baiting than the GOP currently does.”
And you like this?
Also, when was Bush a great a great executive? About the only good thing he did was cut taxes. And the only way he could get that through was with the sunset provision. That’s it. 8 years in office and congressional majority (some of the time) and his only real accomplishment was a tax cut.
Time123 (b7cad2) — 8/10/2010 @ 4:08 pmTime123, your dismissal of Bush’s term is simply comical.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/10/2010 @ 4:12 pmHe expanded government, didn’t address immigration successfully, started a war in Iraq we didn’t need to fight which diminishes our military capability and didn’t do squat to cut spending/balance the budget. Actually made it worse with his Medicare Part D.
I like fiscal discipline and smaller government. What did GWB do that I should get excited about?
You like him so much spqr, what do you do you want to list as his greatest conservative hits?
Time123 (b7cad2) — 8/10/2010 @ 4:17 pmTime123, so you did not like his policies. Great, and of course all it takes are a hand full of sentences for you to demolish Bush’s competence.
Just comedy gold.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/10/2010 @ 4:24 pmSo you’ve got nothing either? Cool, good to know we’re on the same page
Time123 (b7cad2) — 8/10/2010 @ 4:38 pmHe didn’t promise to slash the budget, hold the line on the border, or most of those other things
ian cormac (ab2f02) — 8/10/2010 @ 4:43 pm; 9/11 changed his view on nation building
non-violence is
ColonelHaiku (2d4d13) — 8/10/2010 @ 4:52 pmgood thing except for Kevin
beat that Drum slowly
when Left position
TimesDislaiku (67dc1a) — 8/10/2010 @ 5:21 pmcan no longer hold water
time to change premise
started a war in Iraq we didn’t need to fight which diminishes our military capability
This is the standard leftist theme but they never go back and discuss the choices that were made before him. I think Iraq was about the only good tying he did. It may not have the effect I hoped because Islam may be too far gone to ever be a modern philosophy. Still, if there was ever going to be a democracy in the ME, Iraq would have the best chance of success.
The lefties know nothing of ME history or what the issues are.
Mike K (d6b02c) — 8/10/2010 @ 5:40 pmThey’re all saying that
“Bush did less race baiting than the GOP currently does.”
And you like this?
No, merely pointing out that it is as predictable as the sunrise, and no more credible than every prior iteration of the “only good conservative is a dead conservative” trope. Also, that the Dems robotically throw themselves into racial politics so often that they have lost all self-awareness of it.
Karl (12dcea) — 8/10/2010 @ 5:59 pmisn’t it funny how to the left the minorities never exist on the right.
Everyone who opposes the ground zero mosque are self-evident bigots. Unless you notice that some muslims fully agree.
Everyone who opposes Obama’s policies are racists, especially those evil Tea-Klux-klanners. Unless, of course you notice that there are black people in the Tea Party.
It makes you wonder, who are really the bigots, here? Those of us who bother to find out what words like “Cordoba” refer to? Or the people who look out on a crowd that includes virtually every color there is and sees only white?
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (f97997) — 8/10/2010 @ 7:06 pmBush took India out of the Soviet orbit and into the US orbit. He’s considered a god-hero in Africa for his AIDS programs.
luagha (2f7212) — 8/10/2010 @ 7:15 pmHe’ll be getting no new respect from me. He was a lousy president who sought and took terrible advice from rapacious men.
But for a long while, I’ve given him credit for two things:
1. His failed immigration plan was the best I’ve seen, but too bad his own party didn’t support it.
2. He did the right thing and passed the Wall Street bailout and didn’t listen to idiots on the far right or far left. It was a bit of dirty work, and I personally didn’t like it, but it may have staved off a much worse economic disaster. I think it was the only thing Bush II and campaign Obama agreed on. I am comfortable being in the minority who still believe it was the right thing.
On some days, I give him credit for at least the spirit behind No Child Left Behind if not the execution.
And Bush did NOT race bait, like some Republican panderers do, even McCain and Lindsey Graham. Repealing the 14th Amendment? Anchor babies? “Dropping” babies? Garbage! Bush never did it.
Myron (6a93dd) — 8/10/2010 @ 8:03 pmCorrection: Bush obviously didn’t “pass” the bailout — Congress did. But he was a strong advocate in getting the bipartisan vote in Congress.
Myron (6a93dd) — 8/10/2010 @ 8:07 pmIs race-baiting a code word for calling people racist for no reason? It is an Ackerman dogwhistle, no?
JD (abc2eb) — 8/10/2010 @ 8:40 pmMyron,
Glad to hear that you don’t believe the standard media myth that the Bush campaign race-baited McCain in the SC primary in 2000. Or the NAACP ad that tried to link him to a lynching. Because most of the Left was happy to wallow in that sort of crap for 8 years. But they are going to slink away from it now if it helps them repeat the cycle with the next set of Republicans.
Karl (12dcea) — 8/10/2010 @ 8:50 pmLOL, Ackerman. I love that point. It’s so true that this racism shtick is only for the morons now (not making a play on Myron’s handle). You’d have to be a real idiot to fall for that crap these days.
I should send Ackerman some kind of present.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 8/10/2010 @ 8:50 pmHis failed immigration plan was the best I’ve seen
What end goal must a person have to think that Bush’s immigration plan was the best they’ve seen? The death of America? Or merely its bankruptcy?
Subotai (c0d294) — 8/10/2010 @ 8:53 pmAnd let’s not forget, the cycle Karl is discussing is basically a cycle of increasing voter turnout and polarization for blacks, and to lesser extent Hispanics.
It is the purest cynicism in America to do such a thing. Ackerman was trying to manipulate black people with a dumb ruse. More and more, I think blacks are rejecting it. It’s hard to see because there is a competing issue (a lot of blacks want a black man as president and that’s just huge). I know many will tell me I’m naive. But I think the information age is going to make a dent in this tactic.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 8/10/2010 @ 8:55 pmThis is an awesome Big Government article on that Phantom N Word race hustle.
Just a terrific example of the way people accuse racism and then demand proof it didn’t happen, and even in the face of such proof, demand more proof, forever. The nastiest of American insults, and the least responsible standards for leveling it. That’s liberalism today.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 8/10/2010 @ 9:02 pmTalking points anyone?
pk (17238b) — 8/10/2010 @ 9:20 pmYes republicans in general oppose abortion unless the woman’s life was in danger or the women was raped……………..Expecting comparisons to South Africa under apartheid in 5….4…3…2….1…
DohBiden (15aa57) — 5/27/2011 @ 6:43 am