Oooh, nuance!

"George Bush isn't REALLY a conservative."

Type "is George Bush a liberal" in your favorite search engine and watch the hit count go up (3,893,000 on Ask.com). Who in the name of the Giant Green Lizard do they think they're kidding?

I understand that George W. Bush is not an old-style conservative. By that I mean, he does not support the pre-1994 agenda of lower taxes, smaller government and "strict interpretation" of the Constitution, whatever that means. In fact, the only thing he has done that remotely relates to that type of conservatism is lower taxes on corporations and the wealthy; however, the taxes on the middle and lower classes have remained the same or, directly and indirectly, become higher.

But has he betrayed the current version of conservatism? Yea, even crossed the murky waters to the evil Other Side of *gasp* liberalism? That idea is simply laughable.

George W. Bush is the poster boy for the modern movement conservative, a la Viguerie, Norquist and Gingrich. He is 1) authoritarian, 2)"faith"-based, 3) desirous of privatizing all areas of government, and 4) always right because he is a Christian. (My main source for these assertions is the excellent John Dean book, "Conservatives without Conscience".)

I'm so tired of the victim mentality of the Republics. Listen up, folks, you voted for this guy. If you're deserting him because of the immigration bill, it's because you feel he's not racist enough for you. Own it.

Just don't try to push him onto our side.

Believe me, we don't want him.