Posted on 11/11/2006 4:08:13 AM PST by MadIvan
On the morning after the mid-term elections, a humbled President George W Bush called it "a thumping".
But yesterday he described the disastrous result for the Republicans, when Congress turned from Republican red to Democrat blue, as a "great opportunity".
His aides were briefing that he now had the chance to build a domestic policy legacy and use his final two years in the White House to prove that politicians could get things done in Washington.
After a White House coffee meeting yesterday, Mr Bush chuckled as Senator Dick Durbin, part of the new Democratic leadership in the Senate, joked: "I do want to say thanks personally to the president and vice-president for their conciliatory gesture by wearing blue ties today.
"From our side, we think that is a symbolic indication."
Conservative Republicans and wary Democrats fear that Mr Bush might indeed try to steal the Democrats' clothes. "They talked about issues that people care about, and they won," he told the senators.
As a lame-duck president after years of poor relations with Democrats who were bitter about being frozen out of the decision-making process, turning opportunity into legislative reality will be one of the biggest challenges of Mr Bush's political career.
The message from the voters was that they rejected one-party rule in Washington and wanted to see whether divided government could lead to the kind of results Mr Bush was unable to achieve when Republicans were the kings of Capitol Hill.
Having been swept into power on the backs of their condemnation of a "do-nothing Congress", there will be pressure on Democrats to demonstrate that they can do business with Mr Bush. The president will want to leave office with achievements under his belt and use his power of veto sparingly.
"The Democrats should adopt a good government strategy rather than a take-no-prisoners strategy," said Senator Birch Bayh, a Democrat who served in the Senate for 18 years.
He believed that Republicans in Congress would adopt a new approach. "They've gotten the signal that people didn't like what was going on, that the well was poisoned. They're not going to be bomb throwers."
In 1996, President Bill Clinton and a Republican-controlled Senate and House of Representatives introduced a welfare reform Bill that became a landmark piece of social legislation. Both parties claimed credit for it. Republican presidents have also signed legislation sent to them by Democratic houses of Congress.
To the dismay of conservative Republicans, Mr Bush has already indicated that he agrees with the Democratic proposal to raise the minimum wage. But the centrepiece of his last 24 months in office could be a comprehensive overhaul of America's immigration laws.
His desire for tough border security measures combined with opportunities for many of America's 12 million illegal immigrants to become citizens is shared by more Democrats than Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Gardner Peckham, a senior aide to Newt Gingrich, speaker of the House after the Republican takeover of Capitol Hill in 1994, said: "Democrats will have to be very careful not to appear like they're looking backwards and wanting retribution.
"They won't want to look like they're the source of the problem. But they're not going to want the president to look good on any of these issues. The prize is the White House in 2008. Control of Congress is great, but without the White House you can't control the agenda."
Immigration, he suggested, would be "an interesting test" of whether genuine cooperation was possible.
Nice thoughts and hopefully not wishful thinking.
I had always fantasized that the President was bluffing on 'Comprehensive' Amnesty for 20+ million illegals because he knew Hastert and Delay would keep it off the floor, which they did.
I had wishful thoughts that the President was 'triangulating a bluff'. But as I saw the sincerity of Tancredo and knowing that Bush Elder is a first order Globalist, I came back to reality.
The President, if he has any conscience of his allegiance to his Party will politely rebuff his father's directions and turn to help conservatives win back Congress. Again probable wishful thinking.
Well, extreme, maybe, but not silly.
My point is: Let's be careful about excusing the President when he fails to lead because of popular opinion. That's a pretty slippery slope. The minimum wage issue is important to the small business owner. And, small business is a vital part of our economic engine.
I am hopeful that divided government does what it does best - nothing. The American public is never safer than when Congress is out of session. The less meddling and regulaing that Congress can achieve, the freer we will all be.
Minimum wage laws passed by politicians who never had to make a payroll in a real business are 'gifts' to the voters. Gifts given from the pocket of small businesses. Bush will not fight it. Every voter wants to know, "What will you do for me?" Few voters think for the "good of all". It's a losing battle. The voters in this country want to be taken care of. Oprah takes care of her audience. Politicians take care of their voters.
"Impeachment for SPP (The Security and Prosperity Partnership) would be fine with me."
The time in NOW for the Republican party to unite in putting an end to the Open Borders Lobby, in spite of Bush's plans to move it forward. The security and sovereignty of our country depends on our motivation to do so. We cannot allow the OBL to dictate our future by passing their agenda in the spirit of bipartisan compromise, something the Pres of LaRaza has gleefully announced will happen now that Republicans are 'licking their wounds' from the loss.
"I voted for him twice...stuck by him thru all the shi'ite with overspending, Iraq rebuilding, open borders and so on...but enough is enough. No more compassionate conservatism and no more Bush family."
As did I. And so it would seem that the Bush family has succeeded in their intent:
"Our biggest challenge will be to separate my uncle from the rest of the Republican Party."
“‘This is a President who represents the diversity of our society, who we can count on to change the Republican Party to represent our views.’" … He told the rally his mother had instilled him the values of Cesar Chavez, the Chicano activist who fought for the rights of migrant farmworkers in the United States. ‘She told me we have to fight for our race, we have to find the leaders who represent us,’ he said in fluent Spanish.’
Right back atcha George P.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/865000/images/_865697_10_300.jpg
I fear Bush's "Great Opportunity" is American disaster.
>>Instead of blaming the President why don't you make
>>arguements to your fellow voters against the minimum wage.
I do so all the time. GWB has the bully pulpit, and is in a position to persuade others. Is it too much to ask that he remind the public of basic economic principles, to counteract the lib obfuscations?
The minimum wage is an unconstitutional usurpation of power by the feds. But since people believe that the federal government has this power, anyway: Raising the minimum wage does not make poor people better off, but it does trigger COLAs in union contracts. This will simply raise prices (i.e. inflation) while adding no net economic value.
He said that in his press conference. He does NOT understand anything real about economics. He is a self proclaimed Keynesian which is a school of nonEconomics that studies and promulgates the ways that government can obtain and "justify" control over the economy for the purpose of controlling society.
My big concern is AMNESTY for illegal aliens
Amnesty after paperwork is still Amnesty.
Exactly.
Where are those quotes from?
>>>when the minimum wage is raised, democrat constituents are the ones hurt; so, why should a republican fight it?
This is not true. Small business would be a natural GOP constituency if the GOP leadership could articulate basic economics. Raising the min wage will hurt small businesspeople the most.
You could say by wearing blue the President and VP were sending a signal that they are not going to let the media or dems "steal" anything else. :0)
Actually it surprises me that not more Republicans are upset with being stated as coming from red states after all elsewhere in the world that would be socialist.
So to me and the rest of the Conservative world blue ties are very much OK and to me and I suspect most people in the world have much more association with Conservatives/Republicans than Democrat. You could say a smart move. Keep it up Mr President and your able Vice President.
Another I voted for him 2 times but.
He is the same man you voted for in 2000 and 2004 (if you did) and has more principles than most.
He like the rest of us is human and may say and do things that are not 100% correct but think of the alternative well in a way you have the alternative and he is the one that is going to suffer more as a consequence.
You people are the ones wimping out not the President.
LOL
That would require keen insight. GW is lacking in this department. The game is over.
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