Posted on 06/22/2007 9:43:52 AM PDT by blam
Bush defends freedom, even for Jeff Sessions
Friday, June 22, 2007
By BRIAN LYMAN Capital Bureau
President Bush repeated common themes of his presidency at a fundraiser in Mobile on Thursday, saying the United States must stay in Iraq, the government must cut taxes and Republicans like Jeff Sessions must stay in the U.S. Senate.
"We are facing ideologues with a vision of how they want the world to look," Bush told a crowd of about 850 people at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center. "They can't stand freedom. They can't stand the idea of people expressing their vision in the public square."
The fundraiser -- which benefited Sessions, R-Mobile -- capped a whirlwind day trip to the state by the president and first lady. Bush appeared at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Athens early Thursday afternoon, where he toured the facility and spoke on the energy bill, which contains policies he likes and doesn't like.
But Bush took a more gentle than pointed tack toward the Democratic majority controlling debate on the bill, even though one provision, which would make oil price gouging a crime, has attracted a White House veto threat.
"I urge the Congress to be realistic about the bills they're talking about and get it done," Bush told about 200 employees of the Tennessee Valley Authority's newly reopened Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant.
In the morning, first lady Laura Bush visited Spring Hill College, where she spoke to members of Team Focus, a program that links volunteers with fatherless boys.
President Bush's plane touched down at Mobile Downtown Airport shortly after 4 p.m. In a span of less than four minutes, the president greeted eight members of a welcoming committee, gave a President's Volunteer Service medal to Medical Society of Mobile County President Debbie Gardner at the foot of the airplane steps and jumped into the presidential limousine.
The motorcade then traveled straight to the convention center, passing sightseers and 20 to 30 protesters on Water Street, representing groups calling for the impeachment of the president and those opposed to an immigration bill before Congress.
Sessions is a vocal critic of the president's immigration plan, which would grant upwards of 12 million illegal immigrants lawful status under certain circumstances and tighten border security. Bush has not shied away from criticizing Republicans who oppose it. A sign carried by one demonstrator read: "No amnesty this session, thanks to Jeff Sessions."
Bush acknowledged the differences between the two men in his speech. "We both agree that there's a problem," the president said. "The question now is how best to fix it."
He also recalled a Texas legislator who said that having two people in a legislature who agree 100 percent of the time would make one of them unnecessary.
"Well, he's necessary in the United States Senate," Bush said of Sessions, "and I'm proud you're here to back him."
Sessions, who introduced the president to a standing-room-only ballroom, praised the president's service and his commitment to securing America, particularly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"He showed the world our nation would not stand by silently while our nation was threatened," said the senator, who is up for re-election in 2008.
Bush also invoked 9/11 in his 25-minute speech, most of which was devoted to the administration's policies in Iraq. The president said the United States needs to stay in Iraq to protect a young democracy.
The president also invoked a frequent justification of the war in Iraq: that fighting there is necessary to keep terrorists from attacking the United States. "The only way to protect the American people is to stay on the offense and face them overseas so we don't have to face them here," he said.
However, Bush also said he told Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki last week that the Iraqi government had to "do the hard work, the political work to get the job done."
The president also took a swipe at congressional Democrats as he praised low taxes as a way of keeping the economy growing.
"Jeff Sessions understands that," Bush said. "The best way to keep the economy growing is to ensure Democrats don't run up taxes. And they want to."
Bush did not cite specific examples but spoke broadly of "new spending" Democrats were advocating that he said could not be paid for, even with tax increases on the wealthy.
Bush's visit was the first non-weather-related presidential visit to the area since Gerald Ford visited Mobile for a campaign stop in 1976. Bush briefly visited Mobile in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina, and toured Baldwin County in 2004 after Hurricane Ivan.
Bush signed autographs and shook hands in the ballroom after the speech before flying out of Mobile on Air Force One at 6:31 p.m.
The president sounded hoarse at Browns Ferry and in Mobile. In Browns Ferry, Bush joked that he would keep his remarks short to prevent people from passing out in the steamy room.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
I love Sessions. One of the few bright lights left in the Senate. He is spunky, intelligent, articulate, honest, and totally dedicated to serving America.
BUMP!
Bush is trying to stroke Sessions. I hope Sessions doesn’t fall for it.
There is very little at this point Bush has to say about anything which interests me. Aside from destroying Republican chance sni 2008, he is a political non-entity at this stage of the game.
Bama ping for the finest U. S. Senator in Washington, D. C.
I wonder if Bush noted the irony of his words. The Administration and the Congress have been engaged is secret negotiations on amnesty bill provisions designed to keep the provisions from the public eye and with little time for analysis and debate. They are engaging in tactics to deceive the public and frustrate the will of the majority of American citizens. Some Senators have even expressed frustration at talk radio, constituent pressure and expressed the desire that something needs to be done about talk radio.
You are so right — this was a backdoor deal completely that did not see the light of day until right before it was brought up and then it was so long that even on the weekend Senators were not sure what was in the bill.
This smacks of hypocricy!
He and his staff did a bang up job in exposing the major flaws in this bill. Must have taken a real effort to read and analize a 1000 page POS.
Sounds like he is talking about himself and other one world globalists.
Ditto.
Rep. Sessions demonstrates how to disagree civilliy. More than I can say for some.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.