This one pains me. I voted for “Dubya.” Twice. Bush began cuddling up to Democrats—literally—not long after he left office. Why? Was this an attempt to save a tattered legacy in the wake of his failed policies in the Middle East? Or was it a quid pro quo with Democrats who were increasingly demanding he be prosecuted as a war criminal? Perhaps that cuddle with Michelle Obama wasn’t for nothing: her husband’s justice department granted Bush final immunity in 2012.

Whatever the reason, Bush is a collaborator. His speech in Shanksville, Pennsylvania last month memorializing the dead on the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks was as collaborationist as it gets. In it, the former president said:

And we have seen growing evidence that the dangers to our country can come not only across borders, but from violence that gathers within. There is little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home. But in their disdain for pluralism, in their disregard for human life, in their determination to defile national symbols, they are children of the same foul spirit.

Given the larger context of this speech in which Bush somehow thought it appropriate to criticize Americans on a day when they mourned the massive loss of American life, it becomes clear that this was not a reference to Antifa or Black Lives Matter, groups that have repeatedly demonstrated that they are violent extremists driven by the “foul spirit” of Marxism. Bush was essentially comparing the January 6th protesters with the 9/11 hijackers. Byron York called it an endorsement of a “Rachel Maddow-esque argument.”

Indeed.

See More Conservative Collaborators

Larry Alex Taunton is an author, cultural commentator, and freelance columnist contributing to USA TODAYFox NewsFirst ThingsThe AtlanticCNN, and The American Spectator.  In addition to being a frequent radio and television guest, he is also the author of The Grace  Effect and The Gospel Coalition Arts and Culture Book of the Year, The Faith of Christopher Hitchens. You can subscribe to his blog at larryalextaunton.com.

WAIT! Do you appreciate the content of this website? We are a nonprofit. That means that our work is made possible and our staff is paid by your contributions. We ask you to consider supporting this important work in an ongoing basis or, if you prefer, perhaps you will drop a few buck in our “tip jar.” All contributions are tax-deductible.