Republican Calls Bush "Lousy President"

Some of you living outside the state of Texas may not know Tom Pauken. Pauken (pictured) is currently the head of the Texas Workforce Commission (that's what we call the unemployment office here in Texas). He is also the past chairman of the Texas Republican Party (1994 thru 1997), and can take at least partial credit for making Republicans the majority party in Texas.

He is definitely a die-hard conservative (although he leans more toward the traditional conservatism of Barry Goldwater than the neocon views of Karl Rove and Grover Norquist). His conservative and Republican credentials are impeccable, and anyone who tried to call him a liberal, or even a moderate, would undoubtably be laughed out of the state.

Pauken was also a friend of the Bush family, and has known George W. Bush since he was a "young man". I say all of the above because Pauken has written a book (called Bringing America Home), and I wanted everyone to understand these are the words of a true conservative and a life-long Republican.

In his book, he is harshly critical of how today's conservatives (and Republicans) have squandered the "political capital" left them by Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. He also has some rather harsh words for George W. Bush's presidency. Pauken writes:

"George W. Bush might have made a terrific Major League Baseball commissioner, but he was a lousy president of the United States."

"The Republican Party needs to become, once again, a party guided by basic conservative principles. We need to think about more than just the next election -- or what the polls say we should do. Instead, we need to make decisions based on what's good for our country in the long term."

I do not agree with the conservative politics of Mr. Pauken, but I appreciate his honesty and believe he is right. Today's Republican Party has abandoned traditional conservatism for a belief in bigotry and hatred, a desire to impose theism, a catering to corporate giants at the expense of small business, and a crusade to spread "democracy" at the point of a gun.

Regarding Bush, Pauken told the Houston Chronicle that Bush, even as a young man always seemed more interested in baseball than in "issues". He felt that Bush had been "pushed" into politics.

Again, I think he is right. I don't believe George W. Bush was an evil genius, although he did some evil things as president. I believe he was a clueless C-student who was used by others (Cheney, Rove, etc.) for his name and resources, so they could push their own demented agenda on the world. I don't think even today that Bush realizes the suffering and harm his presidency caused for America.