Editor of America’s flagship conservative magazine gets it: Bush doesn’t like conservatives

I have talked endlessly about President Bush’s contempt for his conservative supporters. Now even Richard Lowry of National Review is getting it::

If this debate [on immigration] is presented clearly, there is little doubt what most conservatives—and the public—would prefer. In his second term, President Bush has become a master of the reverse-wedge issue—hot-button issues that divide his political base and get it to feast on itself with charges of sexism, xenophobia and racism. The first was Harriet Miers; then there was the Dubai ports deal; and now comes his guest-worker proposal, making for a trifecta of political self-immolation.

This is very good, especially the line about “reverse-wedge issue,” which perfectly describes Bush’s amazing pattern of behavior of attacking his own side. My only disagreement is with the statement that Bush has gotten his political base “to feast on itself with charges of sexism, xenophobia and racism.” It wasn’t so much that Bush got members of his political base to make those charges against each other; it was that Bush, his wife, and his Secretary of State made these charges against the base.

Mark D. asks questions about the above that I am unable to answer:

So why is Bush destroying himself?

It’s not enough to say he is closet liberal. On issues like the Dubai ports deal and immigration, he is opposed by more than voting Republicans.

If one chooses one’s battles carefully, I couldn’t think of three more worthless battles than Harriet Miers, Dubai ports, and immigration.

It seems something else than “He’s lost his way.” He’s lost his way in a particular, self-destructive way.

Dick Cheney is supposed to be in the Administration to provide some adult supervision, but contrary to general belief I don’t think he has any influence at all.

I don’t think this is subject to some conventional liberal/conservative analysis. I think we may be witnessing a scene of what Lowry calls self-immolation.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at March 14, 2006 01:40 PM | Send