DeschutesAg said:
Dems:
President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama governed to the right of the center-left they ran on.
President Biden had a few leftist policies but overall he governed as a moderate.
Rs:
President GWB and President GHWB ran as a moderate-conservatives Rs and governed that way.
President Trump 1.0 -- he was stymied by the Establishment Rs in Congress and his Cabinet.
President Trump 2.0 -- he has been unleashed. Uncategorizable thus far, imo, because he is redefining US politics. The word "conservative" has only one meaning now in the GOP: "I stand with Trump."
I don't know if this is gaslighting or old school propaganda, but it is mostly BS. I'll concede that the Bush's ran as conservatives for the most part and the part about Trump's first term has some truth to it. Everything else is not only untrue, it is a flat out LIE.
Neither Clinton nor Obama governed anywhere near the "right," whatever that means. Clinton's first priority was the health care "reform" that became Obama care and the spending packages (styled as "stimulus") that temporarily cratered the growing economy in '93 and '94. He ran on a weak economy that Bush created but his campaign, aided by the media, lied about all that. The economy was strong and getting stronger after a mild recession midway through Bush. When the Republicans won control of the House in '94, they tightened the purse strings, pushed back on regulation, and the economy exploded. Clinton took credit and Dole was an ineffective campaigner.
Obama's term can be summed up with one lie: "if you like your doctor, you can keep him." You wanna rewrite your statement given that quote? GHWB didn't govern as a conservative. Look at his USSC appointment other than Thomas: David Souter was a leftist disaster and was appointed due to establishment connections. Likewise, Bush gave in too many times to the democrats in Congress and they took his good will and used it against him. Had he finished the job in the Gulf with Sadam, his son would have had a better 2 terms. He chickened out due to supposed "threats" from Congress and the media. That's not leadership.
GWB expanded entitlements, and while I've supported his foreign policy over the years, it has become clear in recent years that it was very establishment based and not America-first prioritized. GWB would like to think he was a good leader, and he had some decent leadership qualities, but even after his dad's experience in office, he came into the White House thinking he could work "across the aisle." That was naive at best and idiotic at worst.
In retrospect, very LITTLE of what the Bush father and son due did in the White House was conservative based. I'll give them USSC justices Thomas and Alito, but Souter, as said, was a nightmare, and Roberts has, at best, been a disappointment.
Biden didn't govern. AT ALL. Even if you want to believe otherwise, then you have an individual who's focus was J6 and DEI. That's NOT a moderate.
The conservatism = "I stand with Trump" is unadulterated horse***** Many DO NOT stand with him on issues, including tariffs, Israel, and even Iran. Others, like me, still question his ability to put the right people into places they need to be and the key things to focus on. There are many of us conservatives, and I don't think I need to "prove" my conservatism, that have issues with Trump.
It isn't that "conservatism = Trump;" it is that everything BUT conservatives are on a "hate Trump first" agenda and think that anyone that supports just ONE thing Trump does is a Trump worshipper. They forget all the worship the left had for Clinton and Obama.
That was truly disgusting.
