George Bush Sr. in Newt!, by Dick Williams

On Immigration: 1989: Vetoed letting Tiananmen students overstay visas

Gingrich's first skirmish was over foreign policy--Bush's veto of a bill that would have allowed Chinese students to stay in the US after their visas expired. The brutal suppression of protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 had been seen across America. Chinese students' lives were put at risk as soon as they returned home. Supported by Gingrich, Republicans joined Democrats in attempting to override the veto, and Bush administration official Source: Newt!, by Dick Williams, p.124 Jun 1, 1995

On Principles & Values: OpEd: Governed with views of Congressional Democrats first

While George Bush was serving his eight years as vice president to Ronald Reagan and awaiting his big chance, the GOP changed. The Conservative Opportunity Society and emboldened moderates had turned to Gingrich for strategy and tactics, if not always for leadership. It isn't clear that Bush ever understood the trend. As president, he governed with the views of congressional Democrats first on his priority list. To pass legislation, Bush had to get Democrats on board. Too often, House Republican sensibilities became an afterthought.

Most of those House Republicans were Reaganites, another group the Bush White House took great pains to exclude from policy making. The younger Conservative Opportunity Society members were known derisively around the White House as "bumper-sticker conservatives."

Source: Newt!, by Dick Williams, p.123 Jun 1, 1995

On Tax Reform: "Read My Lips" did not promise to cut taxes

Bush had made his famous tax pledge at the 1988 Republican convention. "Read my lips," he proclaimed, "no new taxes."

The contentious young Turks in the House were focusing on domestic policy and social issues. They wanted a capital gains tax cut, enterprise zones for cities, and tax fairness for families. Bush may have promised not to raise taxes, but he had not promised to cut them.

In White House Daze, Charles Kolb was rougher. He spoke for most Conservatives when he wrote: "With this one assertion [violating the no-tax pledge], Bush squandered not only his capital but also his credibility. Democrats now knew for a certainty that he would compromise with them on even his most fundamental 'beliefs.'" It was a blow to the middle class, many of them Reagan Democrats that would doom the Bush presidency. Public cynicism would skyrocket and voter participation would decline.

Source: Newt!, by Dick Williams, p.123&125 Jun 1, 1995

The above quotations are from Newt! Leader of the Second American Revolution, by Dick Williams. Click here for other excerpts from Newt! Leader of the Second American Revolution, by Dick Williams. Click here for other excerpts by George Bush Sr.. Click here for a profile of George Bush Sr..
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