Political conservatives should not vote to re-elect George W. Bush in the 2004 national election.
Well-spoken conservatives believe that John Kerry is a weak candidate for the office of POTUS, but acknowledge that he has the apparent advantage of having an even worse opponent. A list of facts showing how the incumbent administration does not live up to its profession of being conservative includes, but is not limited to, the following.
1) The Constitution does not empower the President to declare war. The Bush administration either ignored or manipulated evidence and convinced the Congress to abdicate its sole authority on the matter. Yes, the blame for this primarily rests on the Congress (send them home too). The administration definitely played its part.
2) True conservatives embody a non-interventionist international policy. The Bush administration adopted a doctrine of pre-emption and used that doctrine to justify invading a sovereign, albeit troublesome, nation, and what's more, a nation whose citizens have myriad sympathizers across a rather large, volatile portion of the planet. The result is that our homeland is less secure -- a direction contrary to conservative principle.
3) Conservatives are for a constitutionally limited federal government. The Bush administration has outspent all others. The record federal deficits have been primarily caused by spending on the un-conservative war and by tax cuts that favored an unfair balance of citizens. Conservatives are for relieving the tax burden on middle-income earners and small business owners, not just the top 1%. On the war front, poor planning for post-"victory" occupation has resulted in a staggering bill, some of which has been criminally inflated by profiteers with very close ties to the administration. These kinds of corruption find no fit among the planks of a true conservative platform.
4) Speaking of Big Government, the USA PATRIOT act (which, again, Congress -- including Senators Kerry and Edwards -- gets primary blame for, but a close second goes to Bushcroft) has repeatedly been used to threaten and to damage individual freedoms. This is another clear violation of conservatives' creed to limit the size and scope of government.
It is time for the American people to send a clear message to the GOP and all others who would defy the Constitution that we will not stand for it. We should all be very critical (as in analytical, not complaining) when we are encouraged to "vote for so-and-so because of his/her conservative values." In far too many cases, the phrase "conservative values" refers only to the candidate's views on aspects of social interaction or religious concepts. The hype surrounding the so-called "culture wars" is a distraction and a ploy to ensure that the rural, lower middle class votes for a feeling about morality rather than for an economically sound administration.
The government has no business meddling in individuals' personal lives, and true conservatives understand this. I urge each of you who considers himself or herself to be conservative to truly examine the choices for President and Vice-President this November. If, after this self-examination and cross-referencing with the current administration's record, you find that you are comfortable with supporting the GOP or the Democratic Party candidate, so be it. But if you cannot take such a step in good conscience, please do your fellow conservative Americans a favor and vote for Michael Badnarik and Richard Campagna on November 2.
Joe Lance
jlance32@comcast.net