Trump 2 vs. Bush II

Interesting question here: How much has the GOP changed since Bush II? Some, but not as much as one might presume.

1.) Modest tax cuts (compared to JFK and Reagan): Same, with both pretending they were much bigger than they were.

2.) Profligate spending and debt: Both terrible-- as the GOP forfeits the label "conservative" and ironically, increases future taxes tremendously.

3.) Cultural/social issues: Not as much emphasis now, but the social faction is still passionate-- in contrast to the terrible Dem alternatives here. We are in Aaron Renn's "negative world", but we could be sliding back toward the "neutral world", esp under an articulate social conservative-ish GOP prez candidate in 2028.

4.) Military interventionism (the primary subject in the article): Looked like a big yes after Trump 1, but now, not under Trump 2. Bad news: This Bush-ian characteristic will probably continue to be Trump's primary form of governance-- along with EO's-- as his lame-duckism grows.

5.) Trade Restrictions: A big drop here with Trump's incoherence and whatever else he's trying to do here. But given its evident fruitlessness (even by the standard of its advocates), will its surface logic stand?

6.) Style: The biggest difference with Bush-- more populism, along with a willingness to accept crass and "unpresidential". Going forward, I'd guess most of the populism stays (since the Dems have abandoned that field by working so hard to crush the WP&MC in style and substance), but the crass gets corrected.