By: E&P Staff It started innocently enough, with an op-ed in this past Sunday's Washington Post, written by Richard A. Viguerie, a leading figure in the conservative political revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, generally described as a "direct mail genius." His opinion piece was only the latest from a conservative icon to charge that President Bush had betrayed his conservative base.
But Viguerie went a little farther, urging conservatives to stop donating to the Republican National Committee.
"White House and congressional Republicans seem to have adopted a one-word strategy: bribery," he argued. "Buy off seniors with a prescription drug benefit. Buy off the steel industry with tariffs. Buy off agribusiness with subsidies. The cost of illegal bribery...pales next to that of legal bribery such as congressional earmarks."
Continuing his assault, he appeared yesterday for a Post online chat, writing or saying at one point, "It is not entirely true that Bush has betrayed everyone. The 1% of his voter support that came from big business corporate America - he's been truthful to them. They have gotten the legislation, the appointments; I can't think of any issue that they have strongly supported where Bush has opposed them."
He also agreed with a reader who predicted decades of ruin caused by the Bush team. "It may be that America may never recover from the financial bankruptcy facing us," Viguerie wrote.
This inspired a direct response from the White House, as described by Viguerie in a press statement today:
"Apparently the White House's response to my article in the May 21 Washington Post is to send out an e-mail from Peter H. Wehner, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives, consisting of six quotes by me criticizing Ronald Reagan during his presidency.
"That's a lot easier than trying to respond to my arguments. That's a lot easier than trying to explain away the many examples I give of how Bush has betrayed the conservative movement. And that is standard operating procedure for this White House: Put the spotlight on the president's critic, rather than respond to the critic's arguments.
"Peter, I plead guilty to your implied criticism of me. I am, indeed, a consistent conservative. I put loyalty to conservative principles above loyalty to the Republican Party or a politician. . . .
"One final word, Peter. I knew Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush is no Ronald Reagan.
"Bush's presidency follows in the tradition of Big Government Democrats and Republicans like Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, and George H. W. Bush. That is not a conservative line-up!"
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