A rabbi speaks...

... words that are sure to evoke sneers, snickers and a rolling of the eyes in some circles but not the one I hang in:

President Bush is receiving too much criticism from our side complaining he is not conservative. Using the historic criteria, he is conservative enough for me.

The first economic rule for a conservative is to lower taxes and lessen regulations. This the President has done. He did so against the howls of the New York Times set, whose hatchet man Paul Krugman prophesized an "economic depression" if taxes were lowered. Bush stood his ground, and has come back asking that these lower taxes be made permanent.

He did so not only for income taxes but capital gains taxes as well. The President has stood up to the never ending chant that by removing onerous and silly regulations he is ruining the environment and is in the back pocket of big and small business. He fought to open up barren, nondescript wildernesses to oil drilling, where proven reserves have been recorded, even while they've called him a plunderer and a man with "no social conscience".

Contrary to economists, professors, pundits, Democrats and the soft contingent among Republicans, Bush's steadfastness has produced a revived economy of record-breaking consecutive quarters and historically low unemployment. Only a believer in Laffer theory -- which Bush evidently is --- could have withstood for so long the barbs and humiliations that the President has, all in loyalty to conservative economic policies.

Conservatives believe in a strong build-up of Defense needs and the judicious use of military power to solve problems that can't be solved by the corrupt, ineffective, anti-American and anti-Semitic U.N. As realists, conservatives reject the meaningless negotiations that simply give aggressors more time to build up their war and nuclear machines. We've seen the failed byproducts of Carterism and Clintonism.

No liberal would have undertaken a real War on Terror. Liberals such as Clinton, Gore, Carter and Kerry continue to view jihadist barbarism more as criminal offenses than a willful war against the West and would, therefore, have tepidly fought it with Interpol, police and some sporadic lobbing of missiles. Their remedy would have been endless, sickening negotiations implying a sort of moral parity. Most of us would have become utterly demoralized and physically ill. Thanks to Bush, we are not. I may have some questions and differences, but, thank God, I'm not plotzing.

There's much more where that came from and all of it ought to be required reading for those prone to or thinking of joining the Bash Bush Bandwagon.

Pass it along.

And give thanks to The Anchoress for the find.  And for the picture used to frame her find.

Comments

[Zossima]

Well, the fool you quoted, cited the "Laffer theory", so right there he is utterly discredited. I have a masters in economics. It is not a credible theory. It is stupidity. It has been empirically shown to be a false notion. (I'm not denying that tax cuts can be a good thing, mind you.)

The Laffer theory predicts that tax cuts will stimulate the economy *so much* that lost tax revenue is made up through economic growth. If taxes are "too high", that might happen. But it didn't happen for Reagan, and it hasn't happened for Bush. And the projected deficits should scare everyone. We are now above 5% of GDP, which is a level that has historically proven dangerous.

BTW, Krugman didn't prophesy a depression anytime soon. He, like the saner among us, is looking down the road to the accumulation of debt. We all know that the lenders will keep giving us the rope to hang ourselves with.

Face it, Republicans, other than Eisenhower, since WWII have been very fiscally irresponsible. Plenty of blame for the tax-and-spend liberals of the 1960s, too. But the Republicans have been very complicit. We need to call leaders of all parties to fiscal responsibility. The escalation in the debt is factually a very dangerous thing. We have both historical and mathematical proof.

I could take plenty of other issues with the post, but what's the point? You've sold your soul so much that you now even seem to deny the dangers of Bush's fiscal recklessness, where once you didn't.

[Zossima]

BTW, when your kid and mine are either working for the Chinese or forced to fight them because we can't pay, you can apologize to all of us for garbage like this.