Rumblings of discontent from the right
I’ve given the Bush administration a rough ride this week on its trade policy and its Iraq policy. Some may think I’m going wobbly and abandoning my idiosyncratic melange of conservative and libertarian principles. Actually, surfing the blogosphere, I’d say it’s the Bush administration that has gone wobbly. In the past week, the White House ...
I've given the Bush administration a rough ride this week on its trade policy and its Iraq policy. Some may think I'm going wobbly and abandoning my idiosyncratic melange of conservative and libertarian principles. Actually, surfing the blogosphere, I'd say it's the Bush administration that has gone wobbly. In the past week, the White House has shown itself to be enthusiastic about protectionism, profligate in its domestic spending, and passive in it's foreign policy management. What's conservative about this? Think I'm exaggerationg? Go read Andrew Sullivan, Jacob Levy, Glenn Reynolds, Kim du Toit, the Spoons Experience, and yet more Andrew Sullivan. We're hardly monolithic in our politics, but there is a common denominator -- free markets, limited domestic government, robust foreign policy -- that this administration has left unsated. Let me be as plain as possible -- the ideologies of conservatism and libertarianism cannot be reduced to unwavering support for tax cuts. Very few people on the right share Britney Spears' position on supporting the President. The chairman of the Republican National Committee disagrees, believing that the Democratic alternatives are so bad that real conservatives have no other choice (that's du Toit's view as well). This position is certainly consistent with the median voter theorem on how to win elections -- and, as I observed recently, the Dems are currently experiencing technical difficulties in finding an exciting centrist alternative. However, since the median voter theorem assumes 100% voter turnout, the Bush team may be overestimating the enthusiasm of those on the right to go and vote for the least offensive alternative in November 2004. I'm not giving up on the administration -- Bush has an uncanny ability to demonstrate his leadership qualities when the chips are down. However, I'm not going to be rejecting the Democratic lever -- or pulling no lever at all -- anytime soon.
I’ve given the Bush administration a rough ride this week on its trade policy and its Iraq policy. Some may think I’m going wobbly and abandoning my idiosyncratic melange of conservative and libertarian principles. Actually, surfing the blogosphere, I’d say it’s the Bush administration that has gone wobbly. In the past week, the White House has shown itself to be enthusiastic about protectionism, profligate in its domestic spending, and passive in it’s foreign policy management. What’s conservative about this? Think I’m exaggerationg? Go read Andrew Sullivan, Jacob Levy, Glenn Reynolds, Kim du Toit, the Spoons Experience, and yet more Andrew Sullivan. We’re hardly monolithic in our politics, but there is a common denominator — free markets, limited domestic government, robust foreign policy — that this administration has left unsated. Let me be as plain as possible — the ideologies of conservatism and libertarianism cannot be reduced to unwavering support for tax cuts. Very few people on the right share Britney Spears’ position on supporting the President. The chairman of the Republican National Committee disagrees, believing that the Democratic alternatives are so bad that real conservatives have no other choice (that’s du Toit’s view as well). This position is certainly consistent with the median voter theorem on how to win elections — and, as I observed recently, the Dems are currently experiencing technical difficulties in finding an exciting centrist alternative. However, since the median voter theorem assumes 100% voter turnout, the Bush team may be overestimating the enthusiasm of those on the right to go and vote for the least offensive alternative in November 2004. I’m not giving up on the administration — Bush has an uncanny ability to demonstrate his leadership qualities when the chips are down. However, I’m not going to be rejecting the Democratic lever — or pulling no lever at all — anytime soon.
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
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