THE IRONY OF COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATISM
By Ryan Oddey


I have always been a fan of irony, especially in the political arena. The Republican Party has long been a source of irony, and I would probably find it funnier if this behavior did not have such a negative effect on our nation. For me, the two biggest Republican ideals that reek of hypocrisy and irony are the GOP claims of "fiscal responsibility" and "compassionate conservatism." Although President Bush and other claim to be compassionate and fiscally responsible, the actions of the Republican Party show that nothing is further from the truth.

Although it is looking less likely that the Bush plan for Social Security will ever be passed, America is still in danger of the White House deceiving the public in order to get what they want. For example, President Bush plans on asking congress for an addition $80 Billion dollars that will be used to conduct more military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. This comes on top of the $25 billion dollars of emergency funding that is already approved for the current fiscal year.

Asking congress for an additional $80 Billion dollars in funding is just the tip of the iceberg. It is no secret that Bush and his advisors totally underestimated the cost of going to war with Iraq. The worst part of this lack of planning comes down on the soldiers, who have to look through landfills and scrap yards searching for any additional body armor. American men and women have died because President Bush and his administration failed to give our soldiers enough armor to protect themselves and the vehicles they use. We will never know how many soldiers died as a direct result of a lack of protective gear but one thing is for certain, even one death caused by a lack of preparation and/or honesty by the Bush administration is one to many. Is this Bush's idea of "compassionate conservatism"?

Now, the Republican majority in congress will have to decide if they should approve Bush's request for additional spending in the Middle East. Those who are against the additional funding will be looked upon as anti-soldier, because they are denying money that would be used, hopefully, to make our military operations safer. Those who approve the funding will have to justify why other programs are losing money in order to cover up for President Bush's lack of preparedness. We have already learned that Bush plans on reducing the amount of money Medicare will receive this year. With the current administrations stance against raising taxes, more programs will face budget cuts. Education, homeland defense, and other health care programs will continue to suffer under the Bush administration. Maybe this is Bush's idea of "compassionate conservatism".

The recent inauguration cost the city of Washington DC over $17 million dollars in security costs alone. In spite of the soldiers who are fighting a war overseas, the President still managed to have a clear enough conscious to celebrate his reelection with fancy parties, music superstars, and candlelight dinners. Ironically, it's the taxpayer who paid for a good portion of this inaugural ball, one that was called the "least public" inauguration on record. I remember when all these Right Wingers questioned Bill Clinton's moral integrity, where are all these people now when Bush is throwing an extravagant party paid for by the public while the sons and daughters of America are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan? . Where is the moral responsibility, as well as the fiscal responsibility, of planning a multi-million dollar inauguration while our soldiers die because they do not have enough protective equipment? Where are the people who praised Bush as being the "people's president" when his inauguration was less public then Richard Nixon's second inauguration? The hypocrisy of people on the right who blasted Bill Clinton for his moral being yet refuse to question the ideology of President Bush is enough to induce nausea. Ironically, its these same hypocrites that call the Republican Party the party of fiscal responsibility.

A fiscally responsible president would have had an inauguration that was not the most expensive in history. The $17 million dollars that Washington DC had to spend on the Bush victory party could have gone to much better things. An additional $17 million dollars would mean more money for education, more money for health and fire services, and more for the upkeep of necessary programs such as public transportation. President Bush and the organizers of the inaugural ball felt that their party was worth taking $17 million dollars from other programs and projects. This decision is not just a lapse in fiscal judgement, it is a loss of moral judgement as well as a fine example of "compassionate conservatism" at its best.

We saw how fiscally irresponsible Bush was during his first four years in office. Bush promised Tax cuts upon his "election" in 2000 and he did so in his first year in office. What Bush failed to point out was that although he cut taxes, he did not cut government spending to the same degree. The result of this was an increase in the budget deficit. Now, someone who was fiscally responsible would solve this problem by cutting the amount of funding programs received, or raising taxes. The Bush Administration decided it would be better to make the budget deficit larger, and cut taxes even further. Paul O'Neill, Bush's Treasury Secretary during part of his first term, advised the administration against the tax cuts. When O'Neill suggested the administration be fiscally responsible by not cutting taxes Vice President Cheney said "You know, Paul, Reagan proved that deficits don't matter. We won the midterm elections, this is our due." Shortly after this exchange President Bush called Paul O'Neill and asked for his resignation. The irony here, is that the supposed party of fiscal responsibility fired one of its own for attempting to get Bush to practice what he preached. I wonder what Paul O'Neill thinks about "compassionate conservatism."

"Compassionate conservatism" was born as an idea to help George W. Bush win the Republican Nomination, and then the presidency, in 2000. Karl Rove, the power-that-is in the Bush Administration, who planned the 2000 campaign decided to learn from the failures of George H.W. Bush, Newt Gingrich, and others

In theory, "compassionate conservatism"involves promoting an agenda that stresses values such as education, healthcare, and other programs that help Americans lead a better life. In reality, the Bush policies have resulted budget cuts that have crippled or outright eliminated the programs many Americans depend on.

The evidence of Bush's lack of compassion can be seen when we take a look into the recent past. In 2000, when Bush accepted the GOP nomination for President, he gave a speech about a juvenile delinquent Johnny Demon. He spoke about how Johnny asked if there was any hope for him once he completed his sentence, and talked about how our nation is responsible for confronting the problems people like Johnny Demon faced. Candidate Bush spoke of tearing down the wall that stands between the rich and the poor, and develop a nation that gives everyone a fair chance. The crowd at the GOP convention applauded wildly as Bush laid out his example of "compassionate conservatism."

As President George W. Bush begins his second term, the story of Johnny Demon exemplifies much of the Bush presidency. National Public Radio recently reported that Johnny Demon had turned 21 in April, 2004, and was without a job or a permanent home. Furthermore, he had no idea that Bush had even used his name in the acceptance speech back in 2000. I wonder if the audience at that GOP convention back in 2000 would still applaud as wildly, now that the world knows how the last few years have gone for Johnny Demon. This story goes beyond irony, and dips into the pool of despair.

Unfortunately, Johnny Demon isn't the only person who "compassionate conservatism" forgot. Although some would say that the Bush tax cuts during his first term offered some compassion, we should not forget that because of those tax cuts, numerous domestic programs saw their government funding reduced. Furthermore, the deficit is larger than it has ever been and many crucial programs are in trouble. If this is Bush's idea of compassion I would hate to see what he would do if he got angry.

If there is one group that has reaped the rewards of "compassionate conservatism", it is the upper class - the top one percent of tax payers. They were the ones who benefitted most from the Bush tax cuts. Furthermore, these wealthy people do not need or use programs like Medicare and thus they do not feel the effects when our domestic programs go to hell. The wealthy will never depend on a Social Security check to pay the bills. The wealthy will never need the government to help provide food for their children.

The nation has elected a leader who talks a good game, but when it comes the time to back up his words, he fails the American people.

Many Bush supporters are from rural America. One would think, that Bush would at least show compassion to his own voting constituency. Yet, in the latest budget proposal, the president has suggested that we reduce the amount of money the government gives to assist farmers. That's not how I would say thank you.

Rather than show compassion to the working people who re-elected him, Bush would rather give the wealthy more advantages.

The current Social Security payroll tax only taxes the first $90,000 of income. Anything you make over that is not taxed for Social Security. That means - if you made $90,000 last year, you are going to put the same amount into Social Security as people like Bill Gates, Donald Trump, and others who have more money than they would ever need. That isn't even fair, let alone compassionate.

Everyone should pay their far share of taxes, based on the concept of a graduated tax that takes into consideration the ability to pay. We can go back and forth on if there is a Social Security crisis or not, but what cannot be disputed is the fact that Social Security would be much better off if everyone paid their fair share of Social Security tax. Rather than propose a plan to eliminate the $90,000 dollar limit for Social Security tax, the President would rather roll the dice on a chance at privatization. Every nation that has tried a plan similar to this has seen results that range from bad to disastrous.

Other groups to feel the brunt of compassionate conservatism include the Environmental Protection Agency, National Institutes of Health, and the Veterans Administration. It is nothing less than appalling that a person who has no problem sending men and women to Iraq under false pretenses also has no shame when it comes to cutting veteran programs.

The Republican Party claims to be the party of fiscal responsibility, yet the Bush Administration has a history of financial mismanagement. The Republican Party claims to practice "compassionate conservatism" yet they continue to cut the programs many Americans depend on to survive. In spite of all this, the Republican Party still claims to be the party of values.

I guess the GOP likes irony a lot more than I do.