One thing about Bush, unlike others before him he has done EXACTLY what he said he would do while running for office. JDN
No, JDN. Think back to the Bush campaign. Bush ran on "compassionate conservative", "education", "tax cut", "uniter not a divider" -- the rest was vagueness wrapped in gauze.
Most people got the impression that he was conservative on some issues and moderate on others. I remember a reporter under this impression interviewing George Will during November, and Will replying, quite correctly, "No, you don't understand. He really is a conservative."
Now, it's true that Bush has concentrated efforts on the tax cut -- it's now a panacea for all ills -- and to a lesser extent, education. But I certainly don't remember him running on Rumsfield's new missile shield, or on toughening the bankruptcy laws, or anything like that. And he has rammed his tax bill through Congress in a way that didn't unite anybody across party lines. Trent Lott's heavy hand hasn't helped the atmosphere either.
Jeffords never swore eternal loyalty to the Republican Party. Jeffords ran as a liberal Republican and hasn't changed his positions. His constituents like him and will reelect him as an Independent. I don't think they will care that he's no longer a Republican. If he stood by and let the White House cut dairy subsidies as it recently threatened to do, they would care about that, very much. White House efforts to punish Jeffords for his defection on the tax bill have been as foolish as they were arrogant.
Bush has governed as if he had received a solid mandate for his very conservative positions. He didn't. Jeffords' defection will restore divided government, which the American people have been voting for for the last ten years. They will now get a government closer to their wishes. |
