To the Stevens Point Journal, March 2006

Time for conservatives to come clean. Our president is not a conservative. He has exploded the budget deficit. He has greatly expanded government spending. He claims powers far beyond any envisioned by our Founding Fathers, who knew a little about leading a country at war. He claims he is not bound by laws passed by Congress (even after he signs them) or by the rulings of our courts (even though he appoints them). He is filling the Supreme Court with justices who share his expansive views of his powers. He has passed out tax cuts to oil companies while passing on adequate body armor for our troops. He has let lobbyists write laws and regulations, while hiding the meetings behind executive privilege. He has boasted of breaking the law, but only after originally denying that he was. He has filled the Executive branch with corrupt incompetent cronies, who have sold our country to the highest bidder and mishandled everything from the War in Iraq to Katrina. This is not conservative, it is not good management nor is it good government. Feel free to support him if you must, but it is time to stop pretending that this administration is in any way conservative.

By the way, backing these incompetents has nothing to do with supporting our troops. Our president can often be seen using our troops as props when he speaks, but that hasn’t stopped him from stiffing them on armor and equipment. His reckless invasion of Iraq and lack of basic planning for its aftermath have cost our troops dearly. It will take a decade for the military to recover from the damage he has inflicted on it. It will take longer than that for many military families.