Bush to vote for Hillary

Finally, here is proof that when it comes down to it, there really isn't any difference between the Republican establishment and the Democrats. From the New York Post:

George H. W. Bush will cast his vote for a Democrat in November — Hillary Clinton, the wife of the man who defeated him in 1992 — rather than support the man who vanquished his son, Jeb Bush, in this election, according to a new report.

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, daughter of Robert Kennedy, posted a Facebook photo of her with the former Republican president and former Republican National Committee chair with this caption: “The President told me he’s voting for Hillary!!”

A spokesman for Bush did not deny the report.

“The vote President Bush will cast as a private citizen in some 50 days will be just that: a private vote cast in some 50 days,” said Jim McGrath, according to CNN.

Modern political historians tend to discount the elder Bush as an ideological blip, preferring to see Ronald Reagan as the father of modern conservatism (with appropriate hat tips to William F. Buckley and Barry Goldwater).

However, I take a more cynical view: When Reagan endorsed Bush as his successor, he also handed over control of the party to him. Then when Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 1994, that effectively ended any influence he might have had going forward.

In reality, Newt Gingrich's "Contract with America" was the last gasp of Reagan-styled conservatism. When Newt was removed from the role as Speaker of the House, Reaganism died.

Finally, George W. Bush's presidential election placed control of the Republican Party in the hands of neoconservative wing of the party, which was the ideological offspring of the elder Bush. Thus ended the Goldwater/Buckley/Reagan conservative style espoused by the Republicans.

Neoconservatism, also known as compassionate conservatism, was the political ideology of the Bushes, and is a knee-jerk response to the Democrats' charges of Republicans not caring. Sadly, the compassionate conservatives have watered down conservatism to the point that it is almost no different than the calorie-free (read: thought-free) progressive socialism of the Democrats. Ironically, compassionate conservatives like Paul Ryan still get branded as right-wing radicals even when their proposals aren't much different than what the Democrats offer.

So when you hear that George H.W. Bush is going to vote for Hillary Clinton, don't be shocked. Every Republican could call themselves a Democrat tomorrow, and you might not notice a difference.