By 2004 we had No Child Left Behind and the Prescription Drug Entitlement programs already passed. As a card-carrying Liberal, I agreed with most of those programs except for the modern-day Conservative addition to them, being that:

"No program is to be paid for directly. Everything is to be put o the credit card for others to pay."

However Conservatives (Neo- and otherwise) do worship power, and the money that comes with power. Therfore I beleive that Conservatives knowlingly voted for George W. Bush and Republicans in Congress in order to retain power among their preferred political party (The Republicans). And that is what President Bush and the Republican Congress delivered: Power to their cronies and money to their special interests.

That is what I fully expect to see in 2008: Conservatives everywhere will decide that they want the power and money that control of Congress and the White House brought to them once (no matter what the cost to their contry), and will vote unanimously Republican in the 2008 elections.

The chorouses of "we were fooled again" will be sung reliably in 2009.

Tht is as guaranteed.

This distinction is important, as it's crucial for people to understand that the GOP is no longer conservative. Therefore, "true conservatives" (none of whom voted for Bush in 2004, unless they were profoundly misinformed, which, unfortunately, is what happened) need to know that they need to funnel their support elsewhere if they want to advance their ideology. I think most conservatives got so wrapped up in the "us-vs-them" mentality of the blue dress Gingrich days, that they unquestioningly hitched their wagons to anything the GOP did or said, without distinction. Now they're stuck supporting woefully unqualified politicians and the American Taliban. I think many American conservatives are looking for a way out of this cul-de-sac.

I disagree.

Conservatives has changed to be what we see from NeoConservatives now. They control the Republicanparty and everything on the "Conservative" agenda.

There are no "Barry Goldwater" Conservatives left in charge of the "Conservative" (Republican) Party inthe US. And they will never come back. So, please stop pretending the George W. Bush and his cronies are "not Conservbative". They are because that is what Conservatism has become and there is not one single "True Conservative" who did not vote loyally for President Bush in 2004. And there is not one sinlge "true Conservative" who will not loyally vote for whomever the Republican Party nominates for office, no matter what candidate gets the nod.

Cheney (the hand in the back of Bush's shirt)
Scaife (one of the early and top financiers)
Luntz (the word meister)
Kristol (the articulator of neo-con theory)
Hadley (Cheney's gatekeeper and enforcer)

The limbaugh, drudge, hannity, malkin, billo, crowd are really just tools of the trade and don't merit mention as opinion makers. their job is just to "push the propaganda" as Bush has said.

*******

Of course none of the clowns mentioned above is an actual conservative in the classic sense like say: John Warner, Bob Barr, Richard Vigurie, Orrin Hatch, and the old warhorse John Ashcroft.

This kind of gives the lie to the story that General Petraeus' statements in front of Congress were not "politicall based", doesn't it?

That was understood to be a lie by most everyone at the time he was delivering the Bush message to congress. However, there were still a handful of Bush faithful who were still manufacturing some indignation about that at the time. Now that their accountability moment has passed, however, they're quick to pad their boy on the back.

Adding to this, it turns out that Patraeus' press officer is rampantly partisan. Check out his regretable exchange with Glenn Greenwald.

The answer must be to mainline Imitrex straight into the skull. Let the gibble jabble mix with the willy nilly, then you’ll find him going down the drain. Through the twists and turns, then you’ll come out doing the back stroke down the great, green, greasy Limbpopo River, if you know what I mean. Well, then everything will make sense. Especially as you give Laura a well-oiled and bemused grin. Her arms will wave and her gums will flap non-sensically as if they were tied by strings, just like Boosh, and being pulled by an unseen puppet master some where in the dankest recesses of some clandestine diabolical bunker, three miles below the low-tide mark, where scum sucking zygotes and lower forms of humanity hide their worthless asses from the light of reason and reality. But you will not be afraid of her or his madcapped gesticulations and giggling genuflections, for you are the annointed one. The one which has been annointing hiz sef’ all afternoon with the bubbly carbonated incantations of the Mead of the Druids. Some call it Breesky, some calls it Suds, you may even call for the Bud. Newts, salamanders, and mud puppies alike will all march past not only in astonishing formations (the judges liked what they saw!), but in impressive numbers, despite being dispirited over the lingering Korean black dog meat boycott still in effect. And that nasty, nasty stick of butter never materialized until it was time to retire for the evening.

LIST MANIA....The Telegraph's list of the most influential liberals and conservatives in America is now complete, and the #1 most influential conservative is.....Rudy Giuliani! Surprise! James Joyner calls the list "bizarre," and maybe it is. Puttin...

He’s committed us to wars in Iran and Afghanistan that will be ongoing

So that explains the strange increase in F-15 traffic in and out of Centcom in the past week. ;-)

But seriously... Rudy, a conservative? HA!

Because no one believes a word coming from his filthy mouth.

Everything he says is either an outright lie or a cheap and meaningless platitude: "We hate evildoers". He needs to be put in prison now before he does more damage.