Bush Forges Weak Links to Legacies of Democratic Predecessors

[emad]

LATimes

Probably the last Democratic president who held views roughly similar to President Bush's was Grover Cleveland in the late 19th century. Cleveland embodied the resistance to activist government that dominated the Democratic Party through its first century and fuels the GOP today.

But the unlamented Cleveland isn't one of the predecessors Bush and his allies are enlisting to sell his initiatives at home and abroad. Instead, they are trying to link Bush's agenda with Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Bill Clinton.

In each case, to put it mildly, the connection is a stretch. In fact, in each instance, the Bush team is citing the Democrats to sell policies that reverse the strategies those presidents pursued. It's as if General Motors were using a testimonial from Ralph Nader to sell an updated Corvair.

Bush's allies have routinely described his recent inaugural address as the most idealistic statement of America's commitment to expanding liberty since Wilson's declaration in 1917 that, "The world must be made safe for democracy."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-outlook31jan31,1,4741916.column?coll=la-headlines-nation&ctrack=1&cset=true

[electropop]

1. "resistance to activist government" ?

The GOP is building a very activist government, one which actively tries to conquer other countries, transfer wealth from poor to rich, create a Christian Taliban, and more. Maybe the GOP of old wanted small government. These guys want a big government actively attacking America.

[liveoaktx]

2. If you didn't see this, here's what James Roosevelt had to

say about * riding on his grandfather's memory.

James Roosevelt's Testimony at Dem Social Security Committee Hearing