Barack Obama is a conservative, argues former Reagan adviser Bruce Bartlett

[BroncoInferno]

Barack Obama is a conservative ... really

Right-wingers call him a socialist, but he's really the Democrats' Nixon, argues former Reagan adviser BRUCE BARTLETT

Sunday, August 07, 2011

There is no question that Barack Obama is one of our most enigmatic presidents. Despite having published two volumes of memoirs before being elected president, we really don't know that much about what makes him tick. The debate over the deficit and the debt limit clarified what I think he is: a Democratic Richard Nixon.

To explain what I mean, I first have to tell some history.

Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt was a transformative president, partly because of his policies but mainly because he presided over the two most disruptive events of the 20th century: the Great Depression and World War II.

By the time Dwight Eisenhower took office, people craved stability and he was determined to give it to them. This angered his fellow Republicans, who wanted nothing more than to repeal Roosevelt's New Deal, root and branch. And with control of both the House and Senate in 1953 and 1954, he could have undone a lot of it if he wanted to.

But Eisenhower not only refused to repeal the New Deal, he wouldn't even let Republicans in Congress cut taxes even though the high World War II and Korean War rates were in effect. He thought a balanced budget should take priority. Eisenhower also helped to destroy right-wing hero Joe McCarthy and worked closely with liberals on civil rights.

Eisenhower's effective liberalism was deeply frustrating to conservatives. Robert Welch of the John Birch Society even accused him of being a Communist. But after Republicans lost control of Congress in 1954, he was the only game in town for them.

By 1964, conservatives got control of the GOP's nominating process and put forward one of their own, Barry Goldwater, to complete the unfinished work of repealing the New Deal that Eisenhower refused to do. But Goldwater lost in a landslide to Lyndon Johnson, who quickly capitalized on his victory by doubling down on the New Deal with the Great Society.

Although Johnson was done in by Vietnam, his domestic liberalism was as popular in 1968 as the New Deal had been in 1952. Nevertheless, conservatives deluded themselves that Nixon would repeal the Great Society. But just as Eisenhower cemented the New Deal in place, Nixon accepted the legitimacy of the Great Society. His goal was to make it work efficiently and shave off the rough edges. Nixon even expanded the welfare state by expanding its regulatory reach through the Environmental Protection Agency and other new government agencies.

Conservatives were infuriated by Nixon's betrayal, but lacking control of Congress they were stuck with him just as they had been with Eisenhower. Not very many were upset when Watergate pushed Nixon out of office.

Conservatives finally got the president they had always hoped for when Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980. But by then, key New Deal/Great Society programs like Social Security and Medicare were so deeply embedded in government and society that he never lifted a finger to dismantle them. Reagan even raised taxes 11 times to keep them funded.

Liberals initially viewed Bill Clinton the same way conservatives viewed Eisenhower -- as a liberator who would reverse the awful policies of his two predecessors. But almost immediately, Clinton decided that deficit reduction would be the first order of business in his administration. His promised middle-class tax cut and economic stimulus were abandoned.

By 1995, Clinton was working with Republicans to dismantle welfare. In 1997, he supported a cut in the capital gains tax. As the benefits of his 1993 deficit reduction package took effect, budget deficits disappeared and we had the first significant surpluses in memory. Yet Clinton steadfastly refused to spend any of the flood of revenues coming into the Treasury, hording them like a latter day Midas. In the end, his administration was even more conservative than Eisenhower's on fiscal policy.

And just as pent-up liberal aspirations exploded in the 1960s with spending for every pet project green lighted, so too the fiscal conservatism of the Clinton years led to an explosion of tax cuts under George W. Bush, who supported every one that came down the pike. The result was the same as it was with Johnson: massive federal deficits and a tanking economy.

Thus Barack Obama took office under roughly the same political and economic circumstances that Nixon did in 1968 except in a mirror opposite way. Instead of being forced to manage a slew of new liberal spending programs, as Nixon did, Obama had to cope with a revenue structure that had been decimated by Republicans.

Liberals hoped that Obama would overturn conservative policies and launch a new era of government activism. Although Republicans routinely accuse him of being a socialist, an honest examination of his presidency must conclude that he has in fact been moderately conservative to exactly the same degree that Nixon was moderately liberal.

Here are a few examples of Obama's effective conservatism:

• His stimulus bill was half the size that his advisers thought necessary;

• He continued Bush's war and national security policies and even retained Bush's defense secretary;

• He put forward a health plan almost identical to those that had been supported by Republicans such as Mitt Romney in the recent past, pointedly rejecting the single-payer option favored by liberals;

• He caved to conservative demands that the Bush tax cuts be extended without getting any quid pro quo whatsoever;

• And in the past few weeks he has supported deficit reductions that go far beyond those offered by Republicans.

Further evidence can be found in the writings of outspoken liberals such as New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, who has condemned Obama's conservatism ever since he took office.

Conservatives will, of course, scoff at the idea of Obama being any sort of conservative, just as liberals scoffed at Nixon being any kind of liberal. But with the benefit of historical hindsight, it's now obvious that Nixon was indeed a moderate liberal in practice. And with the passage of time, it's increasingly obvious that Clinton was essentially an Eisenhower Republican.

It may take 20 years before Obama's basic conservatism is widely accepted as well, but it's a fact.

Bruce Bartlett, former senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House, is a columnist for The Fiscal Times.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11219...#ixzz1UQ43W1xR

[Pony Boy]

Ha......... Don't try to pin that turd on the conservatives

[BroncoInferno]

Originally Posted by Pony Boy

Ha......... Don't try to pin that turd on the conservatives

How about try and rebut the article, which was written by a Reagan aide (i.e. not a liberal)? You won't, because you can't.

[Popcorn Sutton]

Originally Posted by Pony Boy

Ha......... Don't try to pin that turd on the conservatives

What about Bush?

[Requiem]

Obama isn't nearly as liberal as people would like to believe. Though, that is understandable, because there are about five people here who are educated or qualified to talk ideology correctly.

[alkemical]

I agree, and I am one of them. The rest of you are idiots.

[Requiem]

Originally Posted by alkemical

I agree, and I am one of them. The rest of you are idiots.

I'm still waiting on a deal on those HP computers better than what I get via e-mail or is already available online.

[alkemical]

Originally Posted by Requiem

I'm still waiting on a deal on those HP computers better than what I get via e-mail or is already available online.

For you, triple the cost!!! I have to make margins. (Oh, and I don't do that anymore, make much more $$$$ in my new endeavors! - with out the bull**** programs, b****y entitled customers, etc)

[Requiem]

Well, lets just hope you are a better salesman at whatever you do now than you were at HP.

[alkemical]

Originally Posted by Requiem

Well, lets just hope you are a better salesman at whatever you do now than you were at HP.

$4.2Million in sales in 4 months. Not bad. But hey, nothing like an opportunity for you to show the OM how low-class you are!

[Requiem]

Originally Posted by alkemical

$4.2Million in sales in 4 months. Not bad. But hey, nothing like an opportunity for you to show the OM how low-class you are!

I was actually being sincere in that, after what you had shared to me about your HP endeavors. I am stoked you are doing something new and you are making well out with it. Hope everyone can make out well in life. Don't try and guess or read intentions.

[alkemical]

Originally Posted by Requiem

I was actually being sincere in that, after what you had shared to me about your HP endeavors. I am stoked you are doing something new and you are making well out with it. Hope everyone can make out well in life. Don't try and guess or read intentions.

**** off. You ride my ass and want to be a douchbag, then suck on my nuts.

[epicSocialism4tw]

[broncocalijohn]

Originally Posted by BrewCrew

What about Bush?

Bush and Obama can almost be in the same boat. Obama is far from a conservative but he has become more central than many of his liberal friends would like him to be.

* He extended Bush tax cuts for all (but would like to repeal that asap)
* continues war in Afghanistan and Iraq (as Bush did ---started)
* went more center than left on the debt "solution"
* Spends the **** out of the money we do or don't have (aka Bush)

He isnt as liberal as many keep labeling him. He isnt far off from Bushy 2.0 also.

[Pony Boy]

Originally Posted by BroncoInferno

How about try and rebut the article, which was written by a Reagan aide (i.e. not a liberal)? You won't, because you can't.

Obamageddon, Barackalypse Now, Debt Man Walking or what ever term you wish to use to describe Obama is acceptable, but please don’t call him a conservative.

[BroncoInferno]

Originally Posted by Pony Boy

Obamageddon, Barackalypse Now, Debt Man Walking or what ever term you wish to use to describe Obama is acceptable, but please don’t call him a conservative.

Just like I thought. You fail to offer any kind of a legitimate rebuttal to any of the points made in the article (an article written by a conservative, no less). No surprise. Another worthless contribution.

[BroncoInferno]

Originally Posted by epicSocialism4tw

What? Drama Llama failing to offer any kind of a counterargument to the OP? Well, that is a stunner

[elsid13]

Obama needs to operate within the environment where he is. The culture of the country is currently right of center, so that where he operates to be successful.

[That One Guy]

Originally Posted by elsid13

Obama needs to operate within the environment where he is. The culture of the country is currently right of center, so that where he operates to be successful.

Agreed. You let Obama do whatever he wanted and you'd have a very much more liberal government. He just does what he can get away with.

[Rigs11]

Originally Posted by That One Guy

Agreed. You let Obama do whatever he wanted and you'd have a very much more liberal government. He just does what he can get away with.

I disagree,he knows he has to stay centered to win re election.once he does,expect him to veer left.

[Pony Boy]

Originally Posted by BroncoInferno

Just like I thought. You fail to offer any kind of a legitimate rebuttal to any of the points made in the article (an article written by a conservative, no less). No surprise. Another worthless contribution.

Obama violates the first law of Fiscal Conservatism "a government does not have the right to run up large debts and then throw the burden on the taxpayer".

That alone throws your whole argument out the window.

[El Guapo]

I. Cant. Stop. Laughing!

[That One Guy]

Originally Posted by Rigs11

I disagree,he knows he has to stay centered to win re election.once he does,expect him to veer left.

Good point. We might see a different person if he wins reelection.

We're basically agreed though. He does what he can get way with - and still get elected again.

[DenverBrit]

Originally Posted by BroncoInferno

What? Drama Llama failing to offer any kind of a counterargument to the OP? Well, that is a stunner

He doesn't have time.

He's still trying to find the Moody's 7-8 trillion debt reduction demand that only he was privy to.

[sirhcyennek81]

The article lost me when it said Obama is conservative because he only supported a stimulus half the size his advisors wanted.

Thanks for adding 3.7 tril to the Nat'l debt. I guess I should be greatful it wasnt 7.4 tril instead.