PRESTOPUNDIT

The OC Register's Steve Greenhut explains why George Bush is a disaster for an America retaining any meagre semblance of the Founder's vision of limited government. Quotable:

By almost any measure, George W. Bush has abandoned limited-government conservatism ...

the president, even though I believe him to be a decent man, is busy expanding government power at a pace that would have been unthinkable even under Bill Clinton's horrible administration ... We need to be hardheaded and evaluate this president in the same way we evaluated Clinton, Jimmy Carter and other presidents ...

Government must be limited. Growth in government is not good, because government is based on coercion. Individuals do a better job spending their own hard- earned money than government, which lavishes its ill-gotten gains on special interest groups and constituencies that whine the loudest ...

Compared to this ideal, President Bush is a disaster. Even compared to other modern conservative politicians, he has been a huge disappointment. Compared to this ideal, President Bush is a disaster. Even compared to other modern conservative politicians, he has been a huge disappointment. In fairness, the president has [done some things right]. But mostly it has been one sellout after another ..

This president has not vetoed a single bill, which means he has signed into law every big-spending project that has come down the pike. Federal spending, even on non-military matters, has soared ...

under President Ronald Reagan, non-defense discretionary spending fell by 13.5 percent but increased by nearly 21 percent under Bush II. How is that for a contrast? ...

It's time for those who had supported the president to make their criticisms heard.

Also, don't miss Doug Bandow's "The Conservative Case Against George W. Bush" -- the cover story of this month's American Conservative.