He IS a Conservative.

A lot of people on the right have been saying that George W. Bush doesn't deserve the amount of abuse he receives from liberal because he has put more money into certain programs that liberals like. There are two things wrong with this analysis, the implementation of this government expansion has been done in a way that would be the least likely to please liberals and this analysis focuses too narrowly on spending, when we look at the big picture, anyone with eyes to see can realize how far to the right this president is.

First of all, the way Bush has gone about boosting funding for different social programs is noxious to the center-left. The pharmaceutical companies essentially designed the medicare prescription drug benefit and while liberals generally support such a benefit, designing it in such away is clearly not going to earn their admiration. It is true Bush has increased education spending, but the requirements imposed by No Child Left Behind are not covered by the increase and so a large part of the President's education plan is an unfunded mandate imposed on state and local governments (something conservatives use to be against). A lot of the other spending hikes have been for things liberals really don't care about and primarily driven by cynical political considerations. Do the democrats; does anyone, really care about the NEA? No, they do not.

More importantly, when we look at the whole of President Bush's agenda (and the agenda of the Republican party), rather than focus obsessively over certain actions, it becomes quite clear it is reactionary. The stereotype of "tax and spend" liberals isn't entirely baseless. Tax and budgetary policy is important to liberals and when you look at what Bush is doing on this front, you can see why the left hates him. Tax cuts themselves are enormous and they are without question tilted towards the richest Americans. They also deprive the federal government of revenue, which means that there is less money for things liberals actually like. The tax cuts have caused a tremendous budget deficit and the fiscal situation will only get worse if the Republicans hold on to power. As the fiscal situation deteriorates, not only will new reforms become impossible, there will have to be a serious reduction in the existing activities and goals of the welfare state. When the broader fiscal picture is considered, Bush's "liberalism" seems all the more sinister. While he puts more burdens on the government in order to win the votes of moderates, he is systematically making it harder and harder for us to pay for these burdens. Therefore, the growth of government under Bush is only accelerating the conservative agenda. Each additional dollar of spending brings us nearer to a fiscal train wreck that will have serious consequences for the American and global economy and possibly end any chance at reform for a generation.

In light of these facts, particularly the part about crushing the liberal state with huge amounts of debt, there are plenty of good reasons to revile the President. He is unique in his cavalier attitude about the national debt (Reagan, George Bush Sr. and Clinton enacted tax hikes to bring the deficit under control) and this recklessness will end up costing us all dearly.