What Would Ike Do?

George W. Bush and his buddies Karl Rove and Dick Cheney have caused a lot of destruction in just 6 short years and ironically one of the victims is the Republican party itself. Conservative Republicans are jumping ship in droves due the lack of principle found in the party.

The latest turncoats are none other than the progeny of Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Barry Goldwater who are now vocal opponents of Bush's big deficits, international misadventures, lack of conservation measures and the sell-out to the religious wackos.

Eisenhower was elected in 1952 as a backlash against Truman's intervention in Korea, among other things, viewed as misguided liberal policy. Many of the descendants of those Republican conservatives are now realizing that Bush's ideology called “neoconservatism” is really just an inept and dangerous form of this old-time Wilsonian liberalism abroad coupled with fiscal irresponsibility at home.

The Paul Wolfwitz denouement is a case in point. His history has always been one of a pro-Israel Wilsonian who embraced the concept of nation-building and favored an increased military-industrial complex. Make no mistake, this man is not a conservative, at least not in the manner of Bill Buckley, Eisenhower or Barry Goldwater.

Wolfy completely miscalculated the chaos that ensued in post-invasion Iraq and then blundered his way through the ethical mismanagement of his girlfriend at the World Bank. The failure occurred in the execution phases of his tenure on several key issues, but ideologically Wolfy is liberal, even libertine if one considers his unmarried relationship, to the core.

The fact is that true conservatives have been run out of government and the choices now are between incompetent liberals, like Bush and Wolfowitz, who enlarge the government they profess a disdain for, and more capable liberals who respect the institutions enough to at least make them work.

The Democrats certainly have their problems, but these Republicans liberals are tearing this nation apart.

And the progeny of past Republican leaders can see it.