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Old July 1st 03, 11:12 AM
Wilf Kelly
 
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Default Bush Caters to the Extremist Right Wing

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/30/na...ewanted=print&
position=

June 30, 2003
Bush, Looking to His Right, Shores Up Support for 2004
By ADAM NAGOURNEY


WASHINGTON, June 28 - A systematic effort by President Bush to enlist
members of his party's conservative wing in the White House, and to
champion
touchstone conservative issues, has produced a unified base of support for
him from this sometimes wayward faction of the Republican Party,
conservative leaders say.

Mr. Bush's standing among conservatives going into next year's election
appears more than strong enough to withstand the strains that have emerged
in recent weeks over some of his policies, including his support for
providing prescription drug coverage under Medicare and for expanding the
child tax credit.

By any measure, Mr. Bush appears to have built up enough good will with his
party's right wing to provide him significant latitude as he seeks to
appeal
to moderate voters by taking positions that might roil conservatives.
Indeed, on one potentially pivotal matter - filling a Supreme Court
vacancy,
should one occur - conservative leaders say the president enjoys a level of
trust that would allow him to nominate a candidate without unambiguously
conservative credentials, avoiding an ideological battle that could harm
his
re-election efforts.

Mr. Bush's position among conservatives stands in marked contrast to the
troubled relations his father endured with many of them when he lost his
re-election bid in 1992.

Again and again in interviews, leading conservatives drew favorable
contrasts with the first President George Bush, who endured a debilitating
primary challenge from Patrick J. Buchanan, contributing to his defeat by
Bill Clinton.

"It's night and day," said Grover G. Norquist, president of Americans for
Tax Reform, a conservative group. "Every group that this president has kept
faith with, the previous president double-crossed."

David A. Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, said: "In the
first Bush administration, the conservatives were asked to be spectators -
and it was hoped that they would applaud the action in the field. In this
one, they have a president who wants them to be part of the team."

Mr. Bush's effort to tend to the conservative wing of his party has emerged
as a crucial part of his early campaign preparations.

The Bush campaign has begun sending a representative to a meeting of
conservative leaders that takes place in Washington every Wednesday,
joining
a delegation of as many as eight administration officials.

Party officials say Mr. Bush's advisers - starting with Karl Rove, his
senior political adviser, and Ken Mehlman, his campaign manager - are now
in
regular contact with about 60 conservative leaders across the nation,
discussing issues of concern to the White House and the re-election
campaign.

Mr. Bush has named Ralph Reed, who first rose to prominence as executive
director the Christian Coalition, as a senior member of his campaign team.
Beyond that, Mr. Rove and Mr. Mehlman are viewed by conservatives as
advocates for their point of view in the White House.

Asked about efforts to mobilize conservative support, Mr. Mehlman
responded:
"Ultimately good policy is good politics. This is a president who has
strongly pushed numerous policies that appealed to a lot of different
groups - including conservatives."

Many conservatives say Mr. Bush's alliance with their wing of the
Republican
Party is as solid as that enjoyed by Ronald Reagan. Some suggest it is even
stronger.

To some extent, several argued, that is a benefit Mr. Bush is enjoying from
following Mr. Clinton in the Oval Office.

"I think the strongest motivating factor out there that I see with gun
owners and people who believe in the Second Amendment is that they can
still
taste eight years of Bill Clinton," said Wayne LaPierre, chief executive of
the National Rifle Association. "They don't ever want to go back to that."

Mr. Bush's White House has also embraced issues that many conservatives
described as crucial to their support, starting with tax cuts (the issue
that undid Mr. Bush's father with this group) and abortion, and also
including national security and foreign policy.

"Just about every conservative is thrilled with a president who tells the
U.N. to take a hike," said Nelson Warfield, a conservative strategist.

All this has given Mr. Bush some license to stray on other issues,
particularly this long before Election Day. He has taken some positions
that
have stirred concern among his supporters, like his approval of the
expansion of Medicare to cover prescription drugs, an increase in farm
subsidies and the child tax credit measure.

"His fiscal record is appalling - spending is out of control," said Edward
H. Crane, president of the Cato Institute, a libertarian research
organization. "The fiscal record of the Bush administration makes Clinton
look downright responsible."

Stephen Moore, president of the Club for Growth, a conservative group, said
Mr. Bush had been "one of the biggest-spending presidents we've had in 20
years." But, he added, "he has cut taxes, so politically that has protected
him."

"A month ago, he passed this huge tax cut that I think is terrific - I
mean,
I'm thrilled by that - and now this month he's passing this preposterous
prescription drug benefit, and I'm furious at him," Mr. Moore said. "But I
can't get too angry with him because he passed this tax cut. That's the way
this administration works."

Some conservatives said the real test of their relationship with Mr. Bush
would come if there was a vacancy on the Supreme Court and Mr. Bush chose a
candidate whose ideological credentials might be in doubt, like Alberto R.
Gonzales, the White House counsel.

Ken Connor, president of the Family Research Council, said, "There are two
issues that are nonnegotiable for the base: the sanctity of life and the
sanctity of marriage."

Mr. Connor praised Mr. Bush's record on abortion in particular, but said:
"Everything he has done to date on the issue will pale in significance
compared to the consequential nature of the Supreme Court nomination. If
the
president appoints another nominee like David Souter, all of that will be
naught."

But other opponents of abortion said they had confidence in any judicial
appointment Mr. Bush might make. "The president has made great selections
on
the Circuit Court, and I trust his judgment on the Supreme Court," said
Roberta Combs, president of the Christian Coalition.

Anti-abortion groups say they are already moving to make sure rank-and-file
abortion opponents turn out solidly for Mr. Bush next year.

"What you'll probably see is pro-lifers trying to make sure that their
fellow citizens, family friends, realize how bad at this point all of the
Democratic president candidates are - they all support abortion on demand,
with no limits," said Carol Tobias, the political director of National
Right
to Life.

In 1994, when conservatives led by Newt Gingrich took control of the House,
there was concern that their time in power would be limited. Today, many
conservatives say, American public opinion is shifting their way, so there
is no reason to be impatient - or to pressure Mr. Bush into doing things
before the election that might hurt him next year.

"The Republicans are looking at decades of dominance in the House and the
Senate, and having the presidency with some regularity," Mr. Norquist said.
"So if this year the tax cut isn't the one we wanted - no biggie. There's a
sense that we can afford to wait."



Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company


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