eva young
Eva Young is President of Log Cabin Republicans of Minnesota and lives in Minneapolis with her cat, Kiddleleewink. You can also read her other blog here.
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September 12, 2004

Doug Bandow from the Cato Institute hits the nail on the head.

Andrew Sullivan comments.

REAGANITES VERSUS BUSH: Doug Bandow joins the growing throng of principled conservatives unwilling to give Bush a second term. Money quote:

Quite simply, the president, despite his well-choreographed posturing, does not represent traditional conservatism -- a commitment to individual liberty, limited government, constitutional restraint and fiscal responsibility. Rather, Bush routinely puts power before principle.

One wonders why this kind of piece isn't published by the Weekly Standard or National Review.

From Chuck Muth's News and Views:

DISCOURAGING WORDS FROM THE RIGHT

The pundits seemed unanimous in their praise of President Bush for “asking for the sale” during his acceptance speech at the Republican convention in New York. Asking for the people’s vote is something John Kerry had neglected to do in his own acceptance speech at the Democrat convention.

But the problem is, although the President has ASKED for the sale, he still hasn’t closed the deal with many conservatives who are struggling mightily with the choice between a weak-on-defense Democrat and a big-government Republican. Many conservatives are finding themselves between the proverbial rock and a hard place.

Now, in a stinging indictment of the incumbent, Doug Bandow - a former Reagan official and senior fellow at the Cato Institute - has inked a column this weekend titled “Why Conservatives Must Not Vote for Bush,” which gets to the heart of this conundrum.

“Indeed, many conservatives react like the proverbial vampire at the sight of a cross when they consider casting a ballot for Kerry,” Bandow writes. However, “the president, despite his well-choreographed posturing, does not represent traditional conservatism -- a commitment to individual liberty, limited government, constitutional restraint and fiscal responsibility.”

When it comes to limited government, Bandow is certainly no shrinking violet...and although I may disagree with his assessment on the issue of Iraq, this is an extremely thoughtful piece which raises some extremely serious and tough questions for conservatives.

You may or may not agree with Bandow’s conclusions, but you owe it to yourself and the conservative movement to read what he has to say.