Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here
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 ...
Conservative activists took plenty of the same kind of hits over the last few years.
But when the Pentagon targeted Ellsworth for closing, Thune's complaints to White House senior officials were coldly dismissed, according to people familiar with the conversations. "Why are you whining?" was how one person familiar with the session paraphrased the White House response.
To John Thune's credit, he didn't take it...he fought 'em.
Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here
So, your message to Thune is 'quit whining!'.
Hmmm...I think you're mentioned in the article! /s
What?
It is the height of arrogance and the depths of stupidity, to tell a newly minted United States Senator, whose vote you are going to need to pass important legislation, to 'quit whining' about an issue that is critical to his state and his people.
That attitude has not been unusual in this administration, unfortunately.
So your message is Thune should stopping representing the people of South Dakota...they didn't elect him and he has no business representing them.
Actually this Jim VandeHei nails every point of the story and how it relates to the Bush adminstration recent struggles and poor public opinion ratings. Not only does Bush&Comopany ignore the press, they ignore the GOP controlled Congress too. LOL Republicans are finally seeing that Bush has used them to pass spending increases on education, transportation, agriculture and energy that have busted the budget for non-defense related discretionary appropriations. At the same time, welfare and entitlment spending has gone through the roof under Bush. The new prescription drug program for seniors places Bush in the same class with LBJ and Medicare, and FDR with Social Security. All advocates of big government.
No kidding.
Here's the thing, though: Reading this article it's easy to see that it's really the 'moderates' (read: liberals) who are trying to make hay out of the President's current difficulties.
They accurately describe the problems, and then offer their insane fix: more liberals advising the Commander-in-Chief.
The right course for George W. Bush? Fire Andy Card and everyone who comes close to thinking like him. Then hire every hardcore conservative he can apologize enough to to gain their support. :-)
Then govern like a conservative for two years.
No matter how far he gets, at least he'll get to have a whole lotta fun! LOL...
no he did what he had to do, he was record saying that he would vote against John Bolton for the UN. But he ended up being appointed. To hold a grudge is another thing.
An attempt at the world's record for fitting the most RINOs in one paragraph...
:-)
maybe Thune sould try getting an oil refinery or something up there.
If he tried, would this WH tell him to 'quit whining'?
I believe the WH had the idea of turning retired bases into refineries. It would make some jobs, and we do need more refineries.
So the White House takes congress for granted, and congress takes the voters for granted. Me sees a trend here!
Ellsworth is a dream site for an AF base. Can't really get too much closer to the center of the continent. Also, there is almost unlimited land and airspace.
And it's pretty hard to beat Rapid City as a host.
You betcha. :-)
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