Speaking for the Republican wing of the Republican party, Tacitus isn't much happier with George Bush's track record than say, Howard Dean. The more or less 50% of Americans ready to dump the president may be swelled by Republicans who don't recognize their party in the politics of the administration:
The White House has gotten things badly wrong this time, as both party and people start to peel away. Conservatives are starting to revolt over ludicrous spending levels, and there are a lot of Americans who will not feel that they're better off in November '04 than they were in November '00.And while "electability" has become a fetish for Democrats, as if voters in Iowa and NH really have a clue as to what will swing Ohio, this conservative is painfully reflecting upon whether or not the Republican party remains the natural home for his values:
Now we must ask ourselves what's best for the party in November '04. It's not necessarily electoral success. If the President wins reelection this fall, then the elements of the party that feel free to ignore core conservative principles have won. Victory is, after all, the ultimate validation. And defeat is the ultimate rebuke: is that the level of rebuke we need to get the party leadership back on the principled path?. . . There is a separability between the conservative cause and the Republican party, but let's be honest and admit that one without the other is essentially impotent. Our current course means that split is, I think, coming sooner or later, to the detriment of both.However the great national divide evolves, Tacitus is prepared to do whatever it takes to preserve his principles, if not his politics:
In recent memory, the Congressional Republicans have shown themselves capable of holding the line and driving meaningful change for the country while not lulled by the illusion of a like-minded Executive; and Democratic presidents have shown themselves amenable to reasonable compromise on a conservative policy agenda. Personally, at the moment, if the Dems nominate a candidate who looks like he might be that sort of president, I'd give the arrangement some serious thought. Yes indeed. May God have mercy on my soul.Amen