"Where the Bushes are concerned, liberals and conservatives should be on the same side."

Mahablog has a well-written essay on The Betrayal of Conservatism:

American conservatism has always been characterized by the desire to be able to make one's own choices, while at the same time limiting other people's choices.
 
On the other hand, America needs conservatism. As Mr. Byrk says,

American conservative politics championed private property, an institution sacred in itself and vital to the well-being of society. It favored limited government, balanced budgets, fiscal prudence and avoidance of foreign entanglements.  
It is a good thing to have people in government who respect property rights, who want to be tight with the people's money,  and who drag their feet about going to war. We could use more of such people right now. When both liberals are conservatives are true to their own principles, they balance each other. Liberals counter conservative tendencies to ignore injustice in favor of maintaining the status quo. Conservatives curb the tendency of liberals to rely too much on government programs to solve problems. Sometimes people do need to work things out themselves.
 
The problem with what passes for "conservatism" today is that it's reactionary.  The wingnuts care less about traditional conservative principles (younger wingnuts probably couldn't even tell you what those principles are) than about lashing back at liberals.  Liberals in their eyes are reckless people who will force Americans to respect multiculturalism and ecumenicalism and all progressivism since the McKinley Administration.
 
In other words, wingnuts have no principles of their own. They believe in whatever will stop social and civil progress, period, because they fear social and civil progress.  If they have to stomp out republicanism itself  itself to be safe from the hated and feared liberals, they will do so.
...
But it's important to remember that traditional conservatives, although we may disagree with them on many issues, are not the threat to our nation that the wingnuts and neocons and Bushies are. Where the Bushies are concerned, liberals and conservatives should be on the same side.