St. Louis CofCC Blog

PJB:

On reading George Bush’s discourse to the New York Economic Club last week, Cicero’s insight came to mind: “To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.”

With Iraq entering its sixth year, the dollar sinking to peso levels, the economy careening into recession, and 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens roosting here, Bush alerted us to what really worries him:

“I’m troubled by isolationism and protectionism … (and) another ‘ism,’ and that’s nativism. And that’s what happened throughout our history. And probably the most grim reminder of what can happen to America during periods of isolationism and protectionism is what happened in the late — in the ’30s, when we had this America First policy and Smoot-Hawley. And look where it got us.”

(snip)

In smearing as nativists, protectionists and isolationists those who wish to stop the invasion, halt the export of factories and jobs to Asia, and stop the unnecessary wars, Bush is attacking the last true conservatives in his party.

Which is understandable. For after the judges and tax cuts, what is there about Bush that is conservative? His foreign policy is Wilsonian. His trade policy is pure FDR. His spending is LBJ all the way. His amnesty for illegals is Teddy Kennedy’s policy.

Two-thirds of the nation says we are on the wrong course. Two-thirds rejects NAFTA and amnesty. Two-thirds wants out of Iraq. Two-thirds rejects Bush. Bush says that people are being misled by those wicked old isolationists, protectionists and nativists. At least he and Poppy will have something to agree on in retirement.

I would like to know which “isolationists, protectionists and nativists” President Bush is worried about.  Does he mean the three remaining major Presidential candidates to replace him, the ones that are for free trade, open borders, and foreign military interventionism, in spite of the pretenses on the part of two of them?  Does he mean the current Democrat-run House and Senate, the one that has jacked tariff rates way up, funded the border fence, and defunded the American military empire?  (Tongue-in-cheek.)

He probably means the Council of Conservative Citizens, whose isolationism, protectionism and nativism is genuine, because he knows that our trek to total national domination is proceeding as planned.