The NY
Times has an
article today on one of its favorite topics: conservative
infighting. The gist of this particular piece is that conservatives
are already debating which wing of the movement is most to blame
for the current predicament of the Republican Party. Is it the free
spenders? Is it the internationally adventurous neoconservatives?
Is it the religious right? Did the party turn off its base by not
being firmer on immigration? Or did it alienate other voters by
being too anti-immigrant?
I think my favorite part of the article was this closing quote
from Newt Gingrich:
"I would rather have a movement active enough to bite itself
rather than a movement so moribund it didn't realize it was
irritated."
In keeping with tradition, I want to take
issue with this:
William Kristol, editor of the conservative Weekly
Standard and another prominent advocate of the invasion, said he
doubted that soaring spending was turning off as many voters as
tax-cutters like Mr. Norquist or Mr. Armey suggested.
"The spending bill that was supposedly going to
destroy the Republican Party was the Medicare drug bill," he said.
"I have heard almost no one talk about it one way or the
other."
A few things. First, he's
kidding, right? He hasn't heard anyone talk about the prescription
drug bill? Second, I don't think any single spending bill was going
to imperil Republicans, but rather, an accumulated six-year record
of runaway spending that now rivals the Johnson era. In 2004, there
was plenty of conservative angst over spending, but the prospect of
putting John Kerry in charge of the War on Terror was itself enough
to make conservatives vote for President Bush. Republicans not only
got a reprieve, but another two years to do something about their
spending habit. Instead, they went on a post-Katrina spending
spree, passed the pork-laden energy and transportation bills, and
doled out money for the Bridge to Nowhere, along with tens of
thousands of other earmarks. So for Kristol to single out one bill
and say spending hasn't had an impact is just absurd.
topics:
Transportation, Earmarks, Immigration, Energy, Medicare
