Some conservatives are realizing they don't have to be cultists

For some conservatives, the blind, mindless, slavish, unquestioning worship of George W. Bush can no longer be justified (why they thought it could is anyone's guess, but we welcome all comers to consensus reality, regardless of their past indiscretions.

Nolan Finley, the Detroit News:

It was suggested last week that I turn in my conservative credentials because I thought Michael Brown ought to be fired for the way he bungled the initial response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

If hanging on to those credentials means I have to blindly defend everything President Bush does, then, fine, I'll give them up. That's a bigger job than I want.

If being conservative means I have to turn a blind eye to government mismanagement and incompetence just because a Republican is running the show, then I'll take a hike.

Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, screwed up the response to the New Orleans tragedy. He caught a bad case of the slows. His dawdling and the ineptitude of local and state officials cost lives. Friday, Bush yanked him back to Washington, but the damage was done.

It ought to be OK for conservatives to say that. But the conservative movement's principles have given way to partisanship. The words "conservative" and "Republican" are now interchangeable, and it's more important to protect the party than to hew to core values.

One of those principles for conservatives is that government ought to be as efficient and responsive to customers as private business. What private business would excuse the level of indecisiveness Brown displayed to blind-side the chief executive?

Brown allowed the Katrina mess to bite the boss in the backside, and that's unpardonable. But Bush's initial response was to do what he always does -- stubbornly stand by his man. Loyalty is a terrific quality. But loyalty to incompetence is inexcusable.

Republicans ought to think twice this time before falling in line behind the president in defense of the Katrina response.

The country watched firsthand the images of the suffering people of New Orleans waiting, waiting, waiting for help. Excuse-making and blame-spreading won't mitigate the damage done to Bush, but it will increase the likelihood of the taint covering everyone else in the party.

Bush claims to be a buck-stops-here guy. He can't be that and continue to dodge responsibility for the screw-ups of his administration.

Finley is absolutely right. There's nothing "patriotic" about applauding the incompetent actions of a boob. It's OK to be wrong. It's OK to admit you wanted to trust that the office would make the man better than he was. It's OK to admit you wanted to believe he knew what he was doing.

But continuing to justify the actions of this administration because of fear of being wrong just doesn't make any sense.

(Hat tip: Skippy)