The same crowd that has placed Bush on this high pedestal and made even coined him as “one of the greatest presidents in history” is now turning:
From Iraq to deficits, from immigration to port security, some of the most pointed criticism leveled at President Bush is coming from within his own party. Republicans these days are almost sounding like perennially divided Democrats.
The rising GOP angst stems from Bush’s deep slump in the polls and the growing unpopularity of the Iraq war.
But it also reflects a political reawakening as Republicans follow their own political interests in this midterm election year and as would-be 2008 presidential contenders seek ways to set themselves apart — from each other and from Bush.
“It’s open season on him. George Bush has lost trust on too many issues,” said presidential historian Thomas E. Cronin of Colorado College. “We saw it happen with Johnson, we saw it with Nixon. And now, sadly, we’re seeing it with Bush.”
If that is not enough of a turn then check out this little article from today’s Dallas Morning News:
There was no clearer sense of the despair among conservative Christians who gathered recently than the row upon row of books with urgent, alarmist titles.
Pagan America. Judicial Tyranny. Liberalism Kills Kids. The Criminalization of Christianity.
In the political culture wars, religious conservatives say they’ve been electing candidates but not getting the results they want. And leaders worry that they might be about to lose Christian conservatives as a potent political force because of unmet expectations on a host of issues and stumbles by a Republican administration they helped elect.
Conservative “values voters” have been crucial to Republican success, with religious leaders driving huge voter turnout in recent elections. If they lack enthusiasm this fall, experts say, the GOP could lose control of Congress.
“The nation isn’t focused today in a way it was on such issues as abortion, marriage, the nature of the family,” said the Rev. Laurence White of Houston. “For us, it’s not the economy, stupid. It’s the morality, stupid.”
So the right is bashing Bush and the Christians are pissed with the right because they are not Christian enough. To think that we use to hear about this lack of unity with the Democrats. Seems like every little niche of the right wing is in peril and the entire strong hold is falling apart.
Now we need to wait and see how the right handles Mehlman’s little threat letter last week of “Stay behind Bush or else”. With these kind of politics who the hell needs soap operas!