REFLECTIONS UPON THE PASSING OF
PRESIDENT GEORGE HERBERT WALKER BUSH
“BUSH 41”

6 Dec. 2018

Dear Friends and Patriots,

George H.W. Bush is gone. Bush 41. Dead now. Done. Off to whatever fate God has in store for him. He’s His to judge now, not ours. Ours is to reflect upon the impact the man had upon each of us, and on the nation collectively.

I will freely admit I was a G.H.W. Bush fan for many years. In 1980 I was pulling for him to be the Republican Party nominee, not Ronald Reagan. I thought Bush had the better resume’ and could make the government work better. I liked Reagan, but thought he wasn’t quite ready for prime time. Was I ever wrong!

When Reagan picked Bush as his V.P. running mate I was like many, or maybe even most in the country – surprised. I didn’t quite see it coming. But, I think Reagan saw Bush as a capable guy who could do the V.P. job standing on his head. Maybe he’d rather have him next to him than somewhere on the outside. Was Reagan just keeping a potential enemy close, or did he view Bush as a good stand-by in case the worst happened to him? Will we ever know?

Bush didn’t do much that was uniquely noteworthy as V.P. Very few V.P.s do. Oh, he did utter a few of his congenitally confusing misspeaks. There’s a gene that runs in the Bush family that seems to make them prone to sounding like pure idiots at times, and G.H.W. definitely had it. His oldest boy, W. has it too, only worse.   Those misspeaks didn’t hurt Bush. In a way the public seemed amused and oblivious to them, as if they’d come to consider them entertaining, not off-putting. One doesn’t laugh off a former CIA director, former Republican Party Chairman, former ambassador to China, and former Congressman. Yes, G.H.W. Bush was all of those things, and no one to laugh at.

People always gave Bush creds and kudos for his service in WWII; after all, he was the youngest fighter pilot in the entire US military, and he managed to survive being shot down and spending days adrift in the Pacific. Those are things no one could take away from him or criticize. He was also given lots of credit for being a successful entrepreneur in the oil business, for having a great marriage to a special woman, and for raising some pretty good kids; George W. being the only possible exception for a long while.

The point I’m trying to make is that up to the time G.H.W. Bush was elected President on his own, I had no reason not to admire the guy; to be that steadfast fan. Oh, I forgot – he was from Texas, too! Yes, it’s absolutely true he was a carpetbagging Connecticut Yankee, but Texas had forgiven him that sin back in the early ‘60s and embraced him as a favored step-son. Besides, I have no inherent prejudice against carpetbagging Connecticut Yankees, so it would have mattered little to me either way.

I was a little startled by the nomination acceptance speech Bush gave at the Republican National Convention in 1988. It was his “Read my lips – No New Taxes!” pledge that really rocked me. I thought at the time that was awfully bold. But, I also thought he might actually mean it.   It’s not like I thought Bush was an actual conservative. But for once he was trying to sound like one.

During the entire time Bush 41 was in office I was a steadfast supporter. I thought he had a great team in place in his administration, and seemed to surround himself with hard-working, capable people. But, there were signs there I should have heeded; signs that Bush was no Reagan and wasn’t at all what I took him to be.

The fault was mine, really. I had grown tired and took my eyes off politics in those years; busy paying attention to my own life. I was in the early stages of my third or fourth career, depending on how one counts. I was working over 80 hours each week, and I stopped paying attention to what was going in government. I had little excuse, though, since I was working just 30 miles from the White House for the first year of 41’s administration, and only 4 miles away for the remaining three.   It’s not like things were happening 1,000 miles away. And, I had a daily subscription to the Washington Post, so the tools were there for me to keep a close eye on things. But, I didn’t. The end result of not paying attention was G.H.W. Bush was many years out of office before I figured out half of what his administration was about.

I do remember when he had to eat that stinking tax bill the Democrats foisted on him. Was it a sign of weakness that he yielded; or should that have been a big hint? He would say he compromised, but I didn’t see that he got anything for his cooperation, other than being politically weakened. The Democrats were in charge of constructing a budget, but couldn’t for the life of them figure out how to get all they wanted and still keep the deficit from ballooning. After all, every cent of their budget was needed for something they deemed important, and more would have been better. The only possible way they could meet all the absolute rock-bottomed “needs” of the American people was with a tax increase. At least, that was their story. Bush blinked. The Democrats quietly cheered. They always do. Bush didn’t quite get that “compromise” has one definition he understood, but the Democrats used an entirely different one. To them, compromise means “I get what I want, and you get whatever I decide to give you.” It’s “quid” with only a cosmetic “pro quo.” I hope you understand I’m giving 41 benefit of doubt. It could very well be he was party to the entire con on the American tax payer. We’ll never actually know.

Later on Bush committed another error during debate on a gun control bill.   He knew better than to yield on the Second Amendment, but agreed to a high capacity magazine ban.   It was a really dumb bill. I remember Bush’s speech where he announced he’d agreed to an import ban on “those insidious clips.” It was a low point. It embarrassed me that he allowed himself to look so stupid. No Commander In Chief should have uttered those words.

I remember the election of 1992, too. Some things I remember very well. Remember the debate where he looked at his wrist watch? I was formally trained in debate. I was taught to ensure I took off my watch, had a pen or pencil that didn’t go “click,” and to empty my pockets before walking on stage. When Bush looked at his watch I groaned. I knew what the press would say. Something like “Bush was impatient” or “Bush signals he has better things to be doing with his time.” I’m certain it was just a reflexive thing on his part. Or, was it? It wasn’t a good visual, regardless. He took a hit on that one.

Then, there was the debate in Florida where the Democrats had a plant in the audience. The question asked by her was truly obscure. I understood it, but also knew no one outside the “wonk corps” would. The question posed for both Bush and Clinton asked how their future administrations proposed to deal with the Caribbean Basin Initiative. The Caribbean Basin Initiative created free trade zones in the island nations to bolster their economies and make them less dependent on tourism. Bush went first and started off his response with “The Caribbean Basin Initiative is a very complex topic that most people have a hard time understanding . . .” I really groaned on that one. One thing a politician should never infer is the voters aren’t capable of understanding an issue. The Caribbean Basin Initiative was all international macro-economics, and Bush was 100% correct, but politically it was a rookie mistake. He never actually gave a response to the question. Clinton made himself look like a hero by responding that the Caribbean Basin Initiative was of vital importance to the economic stability of the region and he would ensure a Clinton administration would do everything possible to ensure its success. It was when I heard the simple clarity of Bill Clinton’s response that I realized the question had been planted. Today I still wonder if Bush muffed his answer as part of a pre-arranged ploy or was actually caught off guard. Again, we’ll never know.

My opinion of G.H.W. Bush didn’t change, though. Clinton won the election and Bush rode off into his glorious sunset. I thought very highly of him. I thought he had grace and class and had represented the taxpayers and voters, himself, and his party well.   I was a bit confused during the Obama administration when I saw 41 agree to team up with Bill Clinton to coordinate the relief effort in Haiti. Those two seemed to get along all too well. What was up with that? I chalked it up to his grace and class, even though part of me wondered how he could consort with a confirmed lowlife like Clinton. Like I said, I was confused.

It wasn’t until I was writing my first book, The Battle for America’s Soul, that my confusion dissipated and Bush 41 came into focus for me. In one section of the book I wanted to do a consideration of each President from Theodore Roosevelt up to Barack Obama and justify pigeon-holing them as either progressive or not progressive. In starting out I realized my evaluation needed to have objective criteria to minimize or eliminate my own personal biases. I decided the best way to justify my positions was to look at the legislative record during each administration; to highlight those Presidents who pushed progressive programs and legislation. When I got to Bush 41 I understood the magnitude of the mistake I made when he was in office; realizing my entire opinion of the man was shaped not by what he’d done, but by what I’d allow myself to buy into. When confronted by the objective facts of his administration there appeared no choice other than to put him into the progressive camp. I will recount for you exactly what I wrote, then add a few current thoughts. The following is directly excerpted from my book, second printing, pp. 194-195:

George Herbert Walker Bush – Affectionately known as “Bush The Elder,” or simply as “41,” President Bush expanded the bureaucracy’s size and scope of authority through passage of the American’s with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, re-authorization of the Clean Air Act, the Immigration Act of 1990.

Oh, yes, there was that “Read My Lips: No New Taxes! pledge he somehow was snowed into reneging on. Breaking his pledge was a progressive move, though possibly made out of ignorance.

What may not have, and should not have been done out of ignorance was George Bush affixing his name to The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the companion document to the progressive master plan, Agenda 21.   Few even today know of Agenda 21. Fewer still know the US signed The Rio Declaration, and that it was George Bush who did the signing.

While I may agree that GHW Bush was a “mild” progressive, there was little about him that would have merited an attribution of libertarian or even conservative. The best attribution I might be willing to consider assigning to him is “East Coast Country Club Liberal Republican.” That’s a more gracious way of saying “mild” progressive.

When I wrote that book entry I had newly arrived at understanding the Bush family as progressives. My opinion of them has altered a bit since.

Today I reflect back and recall that it was GHW Bush who put out an emergency call in 1991 for the government to find and hire people who understood how to speak Arabic; people who best understood Muslims and Arab culture. If you want to know who opened the doors of federal service and invited thousands of members of The Muslim Brotherhood in, look no further than President 41.   He did that after we’d disengaged from Iraq, post Desert Shield and Desert Storm. It seemed a logical move at the time, and besides, the Holy Land Foundation bust wasn’t carried out until December 2001, so it appears logical to assume no one in 1991 understood The Brotherhood as a terrorist-enabling organization.   Then, again, perhaps our intelligence agencies knew all along. It’s not like they would ever tell us.   In a way it makes sense to say Bush 41 paved the way for Barack Obama’s eventual rise and success at ascending to the Presidency. His administration began the conditioning of America to accept Islam as a religion of peace, and Muslims as vital partners in the Global War on Terrorism.   Even in 1991 we were expected to think of Middle East turmoil as disputes between religious sects and unpredictable dictators.

The legacy of G.H.W. Bush and radical environmentalism has yet to be fully explored. Those who understand the push for the New World Order (NWO), with the United Nations in the lead, know that radical environmentalism is the false pretext being used to push the world toward a single dominion. When Bush 41 signed the US up as an active participant in Agenda 21 he was committing our nation to aid in its own destruction. As a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) we should have expected such things of him. The CFR is the most significant enabler of the NWO in the world, and has been for at least 60 years. Very little of Bush’s participation in CFR activities has ever been made public.   We do recall, though, the famous New World Order speech he gave to a joint session of Congress in 1991. He was the only President to ever use that term openly, though his vision of a NWO appeared to be very Amero-centric. He did indicate a vision that the NWO would evolve to become an economic-dominated alignment, not political or military.

Today I consider the entire Bush clan to be progressives and those of you who’ve read my opinions on that as far back as the 2016 election campaign season will recall I advised against considering Jeb Bush as the Republican Party nominee. I will restate my reasoning that, “Jeb Bush will take you to the exact same destination Hillary Clinton wants to go, just at a slower rate.”   That pretty much sums up my opinion today. I felt confirmed in that belief when “Mama” Bush, aka Barbara, declared the family would vote for Hillary instead of Donald Trump – and most of them did. No right-minded conservative or libertarian could have ever in good conscience vote for Hillary Clinton.   The fact that the Bush family seemingly abandoned life-long ties to the Republican Party over campaign remarks by Donald Trump told me all I really needed to know. Today I wish to revise my assessment of 2013. I no longer consider them “mild” progressives. They’re as progressive as anyone else; just better about hiding it. Some small part of me grieves as I admit it, but I’d never vote for any member of that family again.

There is a valid question that comes to mind when dealing with the death of President Bush 41. It’s a question I’ve posed for many, many years now. Can a person be a good, or possibly even great human being and still be a progressive? How is that possible? This is the core dilemma in my thoughts of Bush, the man. It causes me a bit of inner conflict. But, I believe the correct answer to be “yes.” It’s possible to be a good and decent human and still represent an obnoxious philosophy. There are actual dangers in that. It’s hard to run up against someone you think is kind and decent and caring and then find them to be a secret major player in the camp of your enemy. That’s what G.H.W. Bush was to me. As an individual you’d have to travel long, hard roads to find someone with the traits he promoted, that “kinder and gentler” American. He promoted the NWO and all it brings with it, but he did so out of a belief it was a better option for mankind. He was wrong in that belief, and now he has to deal with God over the question, not me or any of us.

          Now you know of my thoughts of G.H.W. Bush and his family. Superficially they’re a great and special family. But, when you look deeper you find them to be a moral improvement on the Clintons, but philosophically not much better than either the Clintons or the Obamas.   Evidently they are all birds in the same New World Order, globalist elite flock. I am fooled no more.

          So, rest easy and well, Mr. President George Herbert Walker Bush. Rest, and await your judgment day. Just be thankful God is merciful. If it was me or many thousands like me who had the opportunity to judge you, I don’t think you’d see nearly as much mercy as you’ll likely get from Him.

In Liberty,
Steve