Posted on 03/12/2006 7:51:39 AM PST by SmithL
Washington -- The Republican rebellion that President Bush smacked into with the Dubai ports deal was the tip of an iceberg of Republican discontent that is much deeper and more dangerous to the White House than a talk radio tempest over Arabs running U.S. ports.
A Republican pushback on Capitol Hill and smoldering conservative dissatisfaction have already killed not just the ports deal but key elements of Bush's domestic agenda, and threaten GOP control of Congress if unhappy conservatives sit out the November midterm elections.
The apostasy in some quarters runs to heretofore unthinkable depths.
"If I had a choice and Bush were running today against (Democratic President) Bill Clinton, I'd vote for Bill Clinton," said Bruce Bartlett, a former Reagan administration Treasury Department official whose book, "Impostor: How George Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy," is making the rounds of conservative think tanks and talk shows. "He was clearly a much better president in a great many ways that matter to me."
Bartlett may lie at the extreme, but his critique taps into a strong undertow -- reflected in a sharp drop in Bush's support among his typically solid Republican base, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Friday.
"Bush's compassionate conservatism has morphed into big government conservatism, and that isn't what the base is looking for," said David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union. "The White House and the congressional leadership have got to reinvigorate the Republican base. In off-year elections ... if your base isn't energized, particularly in a relatively evenly divided electorate, you've got more problems than you think you have."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
throw in Open borders, shipping jobs overseas, Nafta -cafta , expanding Dept of ED and keeping energy and labor well Mr Bush has made it clear..RINO
They have been saying this or similar since '94. Without new ideas the dims are still floundering.
I guess the Congress is no longer involved in the budget process? So much for separate but equal branches.
Well, where could money be saved?
Amen!
Moving to stanch the damage, Bush called last week for Congress to grant him a line-item veto to prevent members from redirecting money in spending bills to their pet projects, a practice known as earmarking that has achieved notoriety under the GOP.
Six years too late!
Better late than never. They should have stood up to him 6 yeras ago.
One small problem ... the Legislative branch spends, not the Executive. Note how the MSM helps them shift the blame. Yes, GWB has certain spending priorities (as did Reagan) that run up spending but Congress refuses to execute the offsetting cuts and it is all the President's fault. Nice little scam, isn't it?
Maybe so,
but vote for Clinton?
I think not!
Well, going to a different theme -- if Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) isn't chopped down to 100th of its effect that regulation alone will cause many disasters, harm and ruin.
Vote Libertarian. They are the only sane choice. If the GOP runs McCain and the Dems run Hitlery conservatives lose. So "throw" your vote away on what you want anyway, sane government.
People had better understand that when a lib mentions too much "spending", they MEAN TAXES ARE NOT HIGH ENOUGH!
LLS
libertarians will NEVER win a National election.
LLS
Like I said on another thread: Congress critters create huge bureaucratic nightmares then badmouth the results. They all act like innocent bystanders.
Gosh! Silly me! I thought all appropriations bills originated in Congress. I guess it's just been too long since my school days. Wait...let me check...nope, nothing's changed. I'm still right.
Perhaps Congress should be angry at itself...just a little.
..throw in Open borders, shipping jobs overseas, Nafta -cafta , expanding Dept of ED and keeping energy and labor well Mr Bush has made it clear..RINO
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True -- but the Bots still don't get it. You did leave out "globalist", but it is implicit.
"Without new ideas the dims are still floundering."
So the republican slogan for '06 is: "vote for us, we're not as incompetent as those other guys"
....truly inspirational.
Do the phrases "new tone in Washington" and "no vetoes" mean anything to you?
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