As brilliant as Greenwald’s post is, I think he misses the point. The fundamental political philosophy of the GOP right now is the acquisition and maintenance of power at any cost. Every tactic they have pursued — from politicizing the Justice Department to massive spending hikes — has been designed for the sole purpose of keeping them in power. That’s why I don’t believe that Bush was serious about his Social Security reform package and why he never really pushed it very hard. That’s why I don’t believe he would ever endorse the Fair Tax. It would take too much power away.

And that’s the key to understanding this Administration. The Emperor has no clothes. Bush says a lot of things that are designed to sound good to conservatives. But these are all just ploys to get our support. In the end, he and his cronies will turn their reason upside down and backward if it supports them. If you look at his actions instead of listening to his words, you will see the naked political ambition.

As an example of what I’m talking about, Cato points out that Mr. Torture John Yoo has been caught contradicting himself. When Clinton sought executive privelege to stop investigations into his shennanigans, Yoo — and most of the Right — screamed bloody murder. Now that Bush is doing it, they think it’s OK. They’re going for the Clinton tactic of saying these are “pointless investigations” and “non-scandals” and the President should be allowed to “do his job”.

They have no principles. Only politics.