Posted on 03/16/2006 11:56:08 PM PST by EternalVigilance
President Bush's troubles with congressional Republicans, which erupted during the backlash to the Dubai seaport deal, are rooted in policy frustrations and personal resentments that GOP lawmakers say stretch back to the opening days of the administration.
For years, the Bush White House and its allies on Capitol Hill seemed like one of the most unified teams Washington had ever seen, passing most of Bush's agenda with little dissent. Privately, however, many lawmakers felt underappreciated, ignored and sometimes bullied by what they regarded as a White House intent on running government with little input from them.
Often it was to pass items -- an expanded federal role in education under the No Child Left Behind law and an expensive prescription drug benefit under Medicare -- that left conservatives deeply uneasy. What Bush is facing now, beyond just election-year jitters by legislators eyeing his depressed approval ratings, is a rebellion that has been brewing since the days when he looked invincible, say many lawmakers and strategists.
Newly unleashed grievances could signal even bigger problems for Bush's last two years in office, as he would be forced to abandon a governing strategy that until recently counted on solid support from congressional Republicans.
*snip*
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
And that's what's so incredibly frustrating in all of this. In the CPAC Straw Poll before this most recent one in Memphis, Tancredo had taken 5th place and beat out Mitt Romney. He wasn't invited to the convention in Memphis. Does that surprise anyone?
Not that I even think that Tancredo would be the man for the job, but he'd sure as heck fire up debate, and the GOP leadership doesn't want that. Despite the fact that it would catch fire with voters across the country, they're afraid and want the big business bucks.
Real conservatives like Mike Pence get thrown under the bus while the dandy RINOs ride off into the sunset.
This border issue is killing me. Until we get a real conservative in the White House, nothing is going to happen. Ever. There has to be leadership from above that gets the wheels rolling. Or we get hit with a terrorist attack, and then maybe something happens, simply because the backlash against doing nothing would be too much wasted political capital.
Either one would be not only acceptable, but positively electable. That they're being actively stepped-on by the beltway types irks me to no end.
"they're afraid and want the big business bucks."
And are perfectly content to see their country turned into a 3rd world dung-heap to remain in power. Guess they don't really care of what material the proverbial hill is constructed, so long as they're appointed king...
God Bless President Bush!
You're right, Thune does owe the President a lot. However, the President also needs Thune's support to get his initiatives through the Senate. It's really a two-way street.
You're right, Thune does owe the President a lot. However, the President also needs Thune's support to get his initiatives through the Senate. It's really a two-way street.
"He considers them all part of the Washington culture that is all talk and no action"
--- You know, after medicare epansion, ever increasing Bush federal budgets etc, I really miss the days of gridlock when it really was all talk and no action
It's too early in the day for you to be so drunk. I don't see that anyone is engaging in anti-Bush activity on here. They are seeking a conservative president. That's something that New England "W" is far from.
“The tipping point for many lawmakers was last year's debate over the Bush plan to restructure Social Security by offering personal savings accounts. For years, House Republicans had sent word to Karl Rove, Bush's top strategist, and others that any efforts to dismantle the Social Security system could prove disastrous to them. Regardless of the merits, the legislators would say, older Americans vote in high percentages in congressional races and would likely punish the party if it tinkered with the popular program.”
To be fair to President Bush, this was a case of a gutless Congress, afraid to take on the gray graspers. In this case the president was trying to achieve a conservative goal but was blocked by Congress.
Would the vitriol be anything like claiming her opposition was sexist?
ping
"we have Oil but have limited refining capability"
Is it really true that we have limited refining capability? I read some where that big oil companies have actually shut down refineries in the past in order to BOOST the bottom line. Can anyone tell me the facts surrounding this?
The refineries that we have here, are currently operating at full capacity, but can't keep up. This is because of the lack of ability to upgrade the facilities due to environmentalist interference.
That same interference has also prevented the construction of new, modern refineries that would step up production. There is legislation in the works that would allow the construction of new refineries but the Democrats have blocked any such progress. Any new refinery construction takes from 5 to 8 years before the finished product is able to be available for the public.
The high cost of fuel is the result of supply and demand dynamics, not price manipulating. The Oil companies only net a 26% profit and must have that margin to survive. Any surplus profit they make, goes directly into the cost of exploring for new reserves, which is extremely expensive in relation to the current price.
I like the heck out of Pence. I'm a 'Tom' guy, because he's from Colorado, and I believe in supporting the 'home-team', but I'd vote for Pence just as readily.
A Mike/Tom '08 ticket would be the best thing that could happen for this country, and the Republican Party in my book.
Oh, so these traitors felt "uneasy", did they . . .
This is great. We have a liberal president in Bush and Respendicans in Congress who feel "uneasy" that they feel they are "forced" to vote for Marxist legislation.
We have a liberal Respendican in the White House and Respendican Congressmen with no balls.
We have been screwed like never before.
I agree with most of what you've said about W. Like it or not (I don't) he campaigned on the Medicare drug benefit. To not have followed through on it would have been betraying his own principles.
My largest disappointment with W has been the explosion in spending and his failure to use the veto power to do anything to control it. I think this was a strategy on his part to show deference to the very Congress that now claims he's "high handed". I'm also a little mystified about why, in a time of war, Bush couldn't allow some taxes to be increased.... even if it's just political cover by hitting the extremely wealthy.
Good post.
Why is that, exactly? We can build world-scale chemical plants just as big and complex in 2-3 years... including permitting time. Are Petroleum Engineers just slower? :-)
Otherwise, everything you've said about the reasons for capacity limitations is absolutely true.
I remain astounded at the level of discourse on Free Republic. Sure wish I could think of snappy comebacks like that!
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