A friend of mine recently asked me who I thought would win the Republican presidential nomination in the year 2000. Steve Forbes (or Malcolm Forbes Jr.) came my immediate reply.<\/p>\n
I know: Texas Governor George W. Bush Jr. is currently the Republican front-runner, the popular favorite. But I don\u2019t like Mr. Bush. He strikes me as too much of a moderate Republican centrist, much like his old man, who raised taxes and never cut government spending.<\/p>\n
George Bush Jr., for example, speaks of his own brand of–are you ready for this?–\u201dcompassionate conservatism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oh, oh, watch out. Look out. It\u2019s a red flag screaming \u201cDANGER AHEAD.\u201d For whenever the word \u201ccompassion\u201d is uttered in politics, it means someone is planning to rob you–to raise your taxes and redistribute your hard-earned wealth. It is a clear-cut signal (alarm) that the irresponsible, liberal, do-gooder welfare state will be expanded even further, through feel-good politics.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Dole, of course, is still another popular presidential contender. But what does she have to offer? Only that she is a woman–and, of course, it might be nice to have the first woman president of the United States. Beyond that, what specific positions does she uphold?<\/p>\n
But here again: women tend to be much more compassionate than their testosterone-enhanced counterparts. So we essentially have the same problem as before, as Mr. George Bush Jr.: the haunting specter of so-called \u201ccompassionate conservatism.\u201d Except that Mrs. Dole, as a woman, might prove to be far more compassionate with other people\u2019s money than Mr. Bush, as a man, would ever care to be.<\/p>\n
Which explains why I like Mr. Malcolm Steve Forbes Jr. so darn much. You see, Mr. Forbes is a rich, pro-growth, tax-slashing, limited government, libertarian, flat-tax Republican. Forbes is a successful, all-American private businessman. Unlike the vast majority of career politicians, he is not out to rob anybody. He merely wants everyone to be richer, according to his or her abilities; and he wants big government to get the hell out of the way, so that every American citizen can achieve precisely that: the elusive American Dream.<\/p>\n
Forbes would be great for the CNMI. He\u2019d leave us the heck alone and allow us to prosper with a free market economy. Forbes doesn\u2019t buy into any of this insane trade protectionism or this job-killing minimum wage politics.<\/p>\n
Pat Buchanon, while clearly not a welfare state-peddling compassion creep, would murder us as president. He\u2019d kill our garment industry. Headnote 3 (a) would be the first to go. Pat, in his own right-wing isolationist way, would probably be twice as bad as any left-leaning, labor union Democratic president.<\/p>\n
Pat, whom I have had the opportunity to meet in person, would close the doors to free trade and send the global economy into a tailspin, into perhaps another Great Depression–all in the name of \u201csaving American jobs\u201d and \u201cAmerica first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yes, Steve Forbes is our man–and we don\u2019t even have to send him money to support his political campaign. He has his own money. Now, how can you top that?<\/p>\n
Subscribe to Forbes magazine: \u201cCapitalist tool.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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