Republican Presidential Candidates Offer Nothing New To Enraged Voters

GOP “outrage” over George W. Bush’s misrule is little more than a photo-op for its 2008 presidential hopefuls.Republican Presidential Candidates Offer Nothing New To Enraged VotersBy Cliff Montgomery – Oct. 15th, 2007It has become increasingly clear that Republican Party “outrage” over George W. Bush’s misrule is little more than a photo-op for its 2008 presidential hopefuls.Though the contenders publicly complain about Bush’s policies in the hope of distancing themselves from an increasingly unpopular president, the truth is that not one candidate offers a true break with most White House policy choices.Take for instance the eagerness with which the GOP candidates embraced Bush’s recent veto of  an expanded health insurance program for children. And though they sometimes serve up harsh language when discussing Bush’s mishandling of the Iraq mess, not one of the major Republican contenders has given the American public a coherent plan which would change the current strategy.So all this talk about a Republican ‘change of course’ is a GOP display long on style, but short on substance.There appears to be only two Republican presidential candidates who, at first glance, offer anything remotely new to voters: Rudolph Giuliani and Ron Paul. Both are long on style, but offer only slight change from the last six and a half years.It appears that Giuliani really is what candidate George W. Bush only pretended to be in 2000–a “compassionate conservative.” But his socially liberal stance on personal issues–such as gay rights and guns–only really matter to fringe, single-issue voters still fighting a so-called ‘social war’ must Americans have ceased to discuss. When it comes to the meat-and-potatoes issues–Iraq, health care, spiraling deficits, the destruction of civil liberties and the exportation of better-paying American jobs–he sounds no different than George W. Bush.Ron Paul does offer a more passionate rhetorical change from some Bush policies, but rhetoric and reality are two different things. A man who seems to hint that if he had been in the White House during Hurricane Katrina, he would have provided even less aid to his fellow Americans than that eventually offered by George W. Bush, has given up all realistic political–and moral–hope of sitting in the Oval Office.And an added note to both Ron Paul and his increasingly fanatical followers: It simply is not consistent to proclaim government to be an innate evil while seeking to rule a government. Arguing that, “Government is by its nature incompetent and an oppressor, and that’s why our career politician is the perfect man to rule it,” is not a valid argument.To be fair, the rather gutless Democratic majority in Congress now is rightly reeling from its own lack of popularity with the U.S. voter. But one suspects that if the Republican presidential candidates cannot offer something substantially new to an increasingly enraged American populace, 2008 will be a very long election year for the GOP.Like what you’re reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of thee-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!