The rich vs. Bush (and social cons)

Robert Novak reports (from an elite gathering in Aspen) that the ultra-rich are turning on George Bush:

For two full days, George W. Bush was bashed. He was taken to task on his handling of stem cell research, population control, the Iraq war and, especially, Hurricane Katrina. The critics were no left-wing bloggers. They were rich, mainly Republican and presumably Bush voters in the last two presidential elections.

The Bush-bashing occurred last weekend at the annual Aspen conference sponsored by the New York investment firm Forstmann Little & Co. Over 200 invited guests, mostly prestigious, arrived Thursday night (many by private aircraft) and stayed until Sunday morning for more than golf, hikes and gourmet meals. They faithfully attended the discussions presided over by PBS’s Charlie Rose on such serious subjects as “global poverty and human rights” and “the ‘new’ world economy.” The connecting link was hostility to President Bush.

[…]

I was surprised that the program indicated the first panel, on stem cell research, consisted solely of scientists hostile to the Bush administration’s position. In the absence of any disagreement, I took the floor to suggest there are scientists and bioethicists with dissenting views and that it was not productive to demean opposing views as based on “religious dogma.” The response was peeved criticism of my intervention and certainly no support. (emphasis mine)

Now I obviously think there are sound reasons for being peeved with President Bush’s performance in office, to say the least. But I think one thing this highlights is the ongoing tension between the super-rich donors and supporters of the GOP and the socially conservative base. In particular, the divide over “life” issues.

There is a long history of the rich supporting population control and eugenics, with abortion-on-demand as a key plank in the platform. Big foundations like Ford and Rockefeller are well-known for their support of groups like Planned Parenthood. And rich individuals such as Ted Turner and George Soros are very involved in the population control efforts of the UN. To put it mildly, this puts them at odds with the social conservatives who support the President on these issues.