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(Tax) Break  Sleazy legislation demonstrates Bush's lack of
ideological principles.  September 24, 2004|JONATHAN CHAIT  One
of the things we Bush haters like to say to each other, over
lattes with NPR in the background, is that the current president
makes us nostalgic for George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and
Richard Nixon. Non-Bush haters have trouble understanding this
point. Is this GOP president really that much more conservative
than other GOP presidents? Well, yes, he is. But the main
problem is less his conservative principles than the frequent
absence of any ideological principles whatsoever.  One telling
episode began last year, when, because of a World Trade
Organization ruling, Congress had to eliminate a $5-billion-a-
year export subsidy. The obvious thing to do was pocket the $5
billion and make a dent in our quite large budget deficit. Of
course, the GOP-controlled Congress decided instead that every
dollar saved would be devoted to t