Bush, Cheney Will Be Reagan-esque

Vice President Dick Cheney told conservative activists Thursday he and President Bush will govern in the tradition of Ronald Reagan, who remains wildly popular with the group.

Cheney, speaking at the winter meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference, promised quick action on a much-debated missile defense system, urged quick passage of tax cuts and pledged to create a more civil tone in Washington.

“The president’s tax cut is pro-growth, and America needs it now,” Cheney said. “It lets overcharged taxpayers keep more of their own money, giving our economy the boost it needs.”

The tax cut was the hot issue at the CPAC meeting. Several conservatives said earlier in the day the $1.6-trillion tax cut over 10 years that Bush has proposed is the minimum the country needs. Bush had been scheduled to address the gathering, but the group was told he couldn’t make it because of his trip to Mexico on Friday.

Cheney reminded the conservatives that Reagan addressed their group two decades ago about the challenges before them, not about the Republican election victory.

“Twenty years later, thanks to his leadership, the world we live in is much as he envisioned it, with Americans enjoying the fruits of a long economic expansion, and freedom expanding with it around the globe,” he said.

“The last time Americans received major tax relief was in 1981,” Cheney said. “Since then, taxes have been inching their way back up.”

Cheney pledged the administration would rebuild the military power of the United States, and he promised to push ahead with the missile defense system.

“At the earliest possible date, this administration will build and deploy a defense against ballistic missiles,” Cheney said. He said the military will be restructured “to make our forces lighter and easier to move, harder for our enemies to find and more lethal in action.”

He restated Bush’s recent pledge to spend $5.7 billion to improve military pay, training and housing.

Cheney said the administration would aggressively pursue its principles, but “would show a decent regard for other points of view.”

“We take seriously the responsibility to be honest and civil,” he said. And he told the crowd that the administration has hundreds of young “Americans from different backgrounds and different walks of life.”

Earlier in the day, conservatives said they were wary when they first heard candidate Bush talk about reaching out to Democrats and label himself a “compassionate conservative.” But they say they’ve been delighted with what they have seen from the new president.

“When he began the campaign, there was a great deal of skepticism,” said David A. Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, the main sponsor of the conference, which is attracting about 3,000 activists.

“He just found a different way of saying the same thing. We don’t care if they call it bleu cheese,” Keene said.

Bush has shown “how easy it is to hornswoggle liberals,” said Anne Coulter, an author and political commentator. “All you have to do is go around calling yourself nice. He just treats liberals like small children having nightmares. Darn if it didn’t work.”

House Majority Whip Tom DeLay of Texas welcomed the chance to speak at the conference.

“They’ve been looking for compassionate conservatives,” said DeLay, nicknamed “the Hammer” for his persuasive abilities in the House. “I’m a compassionate conservative, durn it. Conservatism is compassionate.”

DeLay said amid all the talk of bipartisanship in Washington, it is important “to remember the difference between bipartisanship and appeasement.” He said conservatives “have never tolerated hypocrisy and deception.”