The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Clintonian Reactors

9.22.05 @ 12:01AM

HUFFINGTONIANS
Re: The Prowler's That Sinking Feeling and Reader Mail's Crestfallen Conservatives:

"Clintonian respose"... Yeah, you wish he did half that well. Here's a news flash for all you neocons in the media: After we get the incompetent morons out of the White House, we're coming after you traitors next.
-- Wm "Cid" Newman
Veteran

How extraordinary to describe the Bush debacle in New Orleans as being "Clintonian." This administration has been rife with incompetence and cronyism from the get-go. Why should it now seem like news that the brightest and best talents in government have quit because they felt their careers would be blighted to favor those with no talent but with connections?

This administration has turned the U.S. into a third-world nation. Our only real growth industry is personal debt -- which is then outsourced to China. In what manner is this conservative? And what will our awakening bring?
-- Stephen Temperley

The president should resign for the good of the country. Thank God he wasn't able to use his capital. Can you image how much damage he would have done then???
-- Diane Duffy-Patyjewicz

Okay, so everything is going to hell in a hand basket. Now what? How far did expounding this pessimism get you?
-- John Branca

I waited before I decided to reply to your "Bush is Dead" article to see what the reaction would be. I kind of figured TAS would be pilloried by the true conservatives and you were. You should be. True friends you are not. Like one respondent pointed out, you have been around doom and gloom politicians a little too much. Another one pointed out the "conservative" mentality of cut-and-run when times get rough. Why is it that the worst enemy most of us true conservatives have are people supposedly on our own side? I found this to be true in my own past political career. I spent more time watching my back among some of my "supporters" than fighting the liberals. Whenever victory was within reach, some weak-kneed fool would upset things. Now that Bush seems to be on the ropes, a few of his "loyal supporters" have decided the King is dead, joining the chorus calling for his head. One quote that hasn't been used yet is that famous one by Mark Twain about how his supposed demise had been highly exaggerated. The same is true about Bush and his agenda. Let me point out that Bush's agenda is a conservative one and will survive his presidency no matter what. He is not alone in pushing it and there are some very capable conservatives behind it. Maybe we won't get it this round but we will eventually push it through. That is because true conservatives (like their liberal brethren before them) have long-term plans and are not swayed by these short-term setbacks. No, neither Bush's agenda nor his presidency are dead. We have merely found out who the true believers are and who to keep an eye on.
-- Pete Chagnon

"Clintonian response"? Whoa, is that supposed to be a low blow to the Bush White House: to say their response to the Katrina disaster was "Clintonian"? Would that it were so! Can you seriously doubt that, if Katrina had hit while Clinton was President, then he would have been up for 48 straight hours, working the phones, getting things done? Not sitting around with his thumb in his bum waiting for his staff to recommend something? Get serious.
-- Steve Vinson
South Bend, Indiana

I agree. Bush has squandered whatever chance he had to make major changes in Social Security and national security. But I'm not sure what you mean by his "Clintonian response to Hurricane Katrina." James Lee Witt headed FEMA during Clinton's administration. FEMA was a quick and able responder. Now, because of this current administration's incompetence, FEMA is itself a disaster. I think you meant to say George Herbert Walker Bush's response to Hurricane Andrew, did you not? Just making sure.
-- Chris Woods

What has happened to the Grand Old Party? The party of Eisenhower and Rockefeller?

Given the dismal failures of the conservative agenda to beef up weapons spending, downsize social services spending, and neglect infrastructure maintenance in favor of fat, no-bid contracts to Bush campaign supporters (but otherwise under qualified) was highlighted by the way Bush's good friend, "Heck -of-a-Job" Brown did not perform as FEMA head nearly as well as he did for the Arabian Horse Assn (who gave him the boot), I cannot think of why anyone with an income of under $250k and wasn't heir to a fortune would vote for a GOP candidate again. Ever.

The master plan to replace competent second, third, and fourth tier government employees with party-loyal grads from no-name colleges where they majored in Bible study, was a loser that is going to take us years to recover from. The voters are meeting those badly trained people and are turning away, not from big government, but from the Republican Party. Without knowledgeable people in those support jobs, it is not going to be possible for high profile guys like Brown to succeed. Let's face it: every administration puts cronies and supporters to work after winning office, but in the past they could always look to the lower echelon employees to carry the load and make the guy at the top look good. Now we have bozos below and above and it doesn't take a liberal Democrat to see the screw-ups anymore, my friends.

Get ready for a huge swing to the dark side in voter preferences in '06 if we don't drop some of these dumb ideas quick. The far right had its chance and blew it. It's time to swing back to the middle or even the Rockefeller wing.
-- Steve Munzel

Are you crazy calling "the political and policy debacle that the White House created with it response to Katrina" as "Clintonian"? Pres. Clinton may not have got many things right but he did have FEMA running like a well oiled machine. Pres. Bush, with his political cronies and attitude that a non-responsive Federal Government is good government, screwed up the Katrina relief better than anything Pres. Clinton could have done. Stop being so partisan.
-- Eric Jochym

Bush response "Clintonian"? I am just curious to know why you describe the Bush White House's response to Katrina as "Clintonian." The way I see it, James Witt and FEMA performed magnificently well in responding to disasters, and had people in staff positions who were well experienced in disaster response. They weren't appointed merely on the basis of political connections or as paybacks for campaign work.
-- Larry Jordan
Panora, Iowa

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