Bush 41 Republican — 1990 budget deal, Gulf War, ADA, FIRREA

Doctrine — stated goals and content

Managerial-conservative governance that prioritised fiscal consolidation and international order over ideological purity. Four doctrinal pillars: (a) fiscal consolidation — the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (signed 5 November 1990) introduced the Budget Enforcement Act PAYGO rule, raised the top individual rate 28%→31%, added a 10% luxury tax and 5¢/gallon fuel tax; violated Bush's 1988 "read my lips: no new taxes" pledge and fractured the Republican coalition (Gingrich voted no). (b) Financial-system repair — FIRREA (August 1989) abolished FSLIC, created Resolution Trust Corporation, ultimately resolving 747 thrifts at ~$124B direct taxpayer cost. (c) International order-management — Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm, January-February 1991) funded ~$61B mostly by allied payments; CFE Treaty; START I (July 1991); German reunification. (d) Rights and regulatory expansion — Americans with Disabilities Act (signed 26 July 1990); Clean Air Act Amendments 1990 creating SO2 cap-and-trade; Civil Rights Act 1991. Stated school: moderate Republican pragmatism (Eisenhower-Ford tradition) + Wall Street centrism. Left-right: centre-right with heterodox moments — tax-raising, regulation-expanding, and internationalist. Popularity: November 1988 won 53.4% vs Dukakis 45.6%; 426 EV; Gallup approval peaked 89% (February 1991, Gulf War victory) — the highest ever recorded at that time — then collapsed to 29% (July 1992) under the 1990-91 recession; November 1992 lost to Clinton 37.4% vs 43.0% (Perot 18.9%). Coherence: traded the no-taxes pledge and 1992 re-election for fiscal-glide-path PAYGO, ADA-style expanded civil rights, and a negotiated post-Cold-War order — a bet that governance trumped ideological signalling.