Grand Old Pansies

Most sane people realize that George W. Bush did not "lie" - that is, knowingly communicate something he knew to be false - to the American people when discussing Saddam Hussein's possession of weapons of mass destruction or the potential of providing terrorists with them when he made his case for war with Iraq. Nonetheless, Mark Tapscott wonders why the Bush adminstration is so reluctant to defend itself against such slanderous charges as well as why it has seemingly given up justifying the war.

I'm bothered by this too, Mark. In fact, I'm disenchanted by not only this but also the GOP's absolute capitulation to Democrats and RINOs in their decision to scrap plans to drill in ANWR and off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, as well as their reluctance to extend Bush's tax cuts, which practically have been the saving grace of his presidency to date. Dan Mitchell sums it up nicely:

The GOP's incompetence may have reached a new level. The supply-side tax cuts in the 2003 tax bill have worked spectacularly well. As the Wall Street Journal notes, lower rates of double-taxation on dividends and capital gains have encouraged faster growth and even boosted tax revenues. Yet the Republicans are reluctant to extend these tax rate reductions - even though this means uncertainty for investors and entrepreneurs. One would think that the GOP would want a strong economy for the 2006 and 2008 elections, but this assumes Republicans actually have a strategy beyond spending other people's money[.]

Ouch. But so true. This type of talk indicates that the uproar among conservatives over the Harriet Miers nomination was only the spark that ignited the flame of discontent with the Republican Party. There is most certainly a growing revolt among conservatives disgusted with the party's abandonment of the core principles of limiting government, supporting free market principles, and protecting our borders, and if the Grand Old Pansies don't soon realize that having control of the Congress means they're expected to honor the expectations of those who put them in power, they'll be in for a rude awakening in 2006 and 2008.