Bush reaches out to conservatives to quell revolt

Forbes ^ | Feb. 20, 2004 | Adam Entous

[FairOpinion]

WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The White House has been reaching out to conservative groups to quell a rebellion over government spending and budget deficits, hoping to shore up President George W. Bush's political base in an election year.

Conservative leaders who have taken part in private White House meetings in recent weeks said on Friday officials have promised to all but freeze non-defense spending, and assured them Bush will follow through on his threat to veto major highway legislation if Congress refuses to scale it back.

The price tag on a six-year highway and transportation bill stalled in the House of Representatives is $375 billion while a Senate highway bill calls for spending $318 billion. The White House has proposed a $256 billion measure.

"Bush has been very attentive to the critique from the right," said Stephen Moore, president of the Club for Growth, a politically powerful conservative group -- offering tentative praise where once he talked openly of a brewing rebellion.

But if the White House does not follow through, said Heritage Foundation vice president for government relations, Michael Franc, "all bets are off."

"This is not something you can address with a handshake, a pat on the back and an invitation to the White House. You address it by actions," he added.

The White House is used to being attacked by Democrats, but it came as something of a shock when fellow Republicans broke ranks over growth in government spending, hurting Bush at a time when his job approval numbers were already falling.

Conservatives from the Cato Institute criticized the president for overseeing a nearly 25 percent surge in spending over the last three years -- the fastest pace since the Johnson administration of the mid-1960s.

Others singled out his failure to lay out concrete plans to reduce the federal budget deficit, projected at a record $521 billion this year. Even some of Bush's Republican allies in the House warned of a backlash against his budget priorities.

In what one administration official called a "concerted effort," senior White House officials have been meeting with Republicans in Congress to smooth over their differences.

Joel Kaplan, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, has been meeting with conservative groups, an aide said. The effort may be paying off.

"Stung by a lot of the criticism from the right, Bush is going to be steadfast about sticking to his spending targets," said Moore, who warned in January that a rebellion among conservatives was brewing.

Now Moore says, "They clearly are trying to reach out. I think the complaints of conservatives have been heeded."

Heritage analyst Brian Riedl once described the mood of conservatives as "angry."

Now Riedl says, "I think the White House is definitely moving in the right direction," though he added, "There's a lot of work ahead of them."

William Niskanen, the chairman of the libertarian Cato Institute who advised former President Ronald Reagan, said he has personally not seen much of an outreach effort. "We'll have to see" what the White House does, he said.

[FairOpinion]

A similar statement:

"But George McGovern also could boast that he was "a decorated combat pilot in World War II," while his opponent "was stationed far from battle," and McGovern nonetheless lost 49 states, largely because the voters thought him weak on national security. Kerry may not project a similar image of weakness, but the record he has compiled in the three decades since he left Vietnam is more dovish than that of any Democratic nominee since McGovern."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1083514/posts

[MEG33]

Thanks for posting what Kerry calls a smear and is otherwise known as the truth about Kerry's record.

He wants to debate Vietnam? No,he just wants you not to mention his voting record.

He is weak on defense and he can't handle the truth.He is a danger to the health of the nation.

[onyx]

Right! Thanks for that!

[B4Ranch]

"We have not suspended Habeas Corpus however. "

We have come as close as we can to ignoring it without actually suspending it. Hence the lack of enforcement of "certain immigration" laws.

To me this is severe sign that we are in trouble.

[Cold Heat]

Golly, I just noticed that the tag(just put it in) was cut off. The quote originated from a guy named Ambrose.

--Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"

[FairOpinion]

Then there is the one about Benedict Arnold, who was a war hero with distinguished service for several years, until he betrayed the country. According to the Kerry-standard we should be calling Benedict Arnold a war hero, and ignore his treason.

[onyx]

Silly me, I thought it was our Ambrose.

[onyx]

Right. Some people here have taken to calling Kerry, Benedict. Personally, I prefer Ho-Chi Kerry or Hanoi Kerry. Given the dumbing down of the electorate, we're lucky if a measurable number of voters will know about Hanoi Jane, let alone Benedict Arnold.

[Moonman62]

The highway bill also raises the gas tax and that will ruin Bush's campaign before it starts. They will have to pass it over a VETO but that will still bring some hurt on Bush, 'couldn't control his own people' ya know...

And it really doesn't matter. All the damage concerning government growth has already been done. A veto would only be a token gesture, especially since it's almost certain to be overridden.

[BooBoo1000]

Just wait until gasoline goes over $3.00 per gallon, it is already $ 2.00 per gallon in Las Vegas/ At the $ 3.00 mark the people will be marching on Washington with hay hooks, and swords. Anyone in office now will be fair game.

[FairOpinion]

I kind of like "Benedict Hanoi Kerry". I don't remember who came up with that.

But you are right, most people probably wouldn't know who was Hanoi Jane and Benedict Arnold.

I saw some of those "on-spot" interview with "the man on the street" and it's unbelievable how little people know about anything.

[Cold Heat]

I tried to cut and paste the quote to fit with the proper attribution, but I could not.

So I changed the tag.

[tubavil]

Dolts. Try jobs, the economy, and illegals.
Spending is way down the list.

[onyx]

Help me out here FO. How high has gasoline been in Southern CA?

Over $2.40 a gallon.

BooBoo = I disagree with your scenario. If anything, high gas prices play into the hands of the GOP and the democrat's refusal to tap our rich fields in Alaska.

High gas prices also seem to refute the democrats' charge that the Irag war was blood for oil.

[onyx]

That's a good one too.

[Tempest]

bump, for later reading.

[Moonman62]

The actual Reagan may have issued an amnesty for illegals, but the Ideal Reagan would have done no such thing. So unless Bush packs freight cars full of gardeners and dishwashers and dumps them off at the Mexican border, some voters will just sit this one out.

But Reagan had no precedent of failed amnesty, Bush does. And saying we have to deport everyone is being dishonest. Just moving in the right direction by defending our borders, deporting the lawbreakers, and admitting that these people are breaking the law would satisfy most people from all over the political spectrum.

[FairOpinion]

The reason for concern over high gas prices, is that it could impact the recovering economy, which would not be good for Bush.

But as far as I can see, people don't seem to be that concerned about the gas prices per se.

[ARCADIA]

The price tag on a six-year highway and transportation bill stalled in the House of Representatives is $375 billion while a Senate highway bill calls for spending $318 billion. The White House has proposed a $256 billion measure.

$375B...$315B...$256B...who cares. If any of these guys had any real concerns about spending they would kill this thing and spend $zero. GW continues his goofy duck walk; big on rethoric and small on substance.

[JohnnyZ]

The highway bill also raises the gas tax and that will ruin Bush's campaign before it starts. They will have to pass it over a VETO

There's no way Congress overrides Bush's veto. None.

Especially for Don Young's asinine gas tax idea.