Posted on 08/05/2008 4:20:38 PM PDT by kristinn
A House Republican leader is lambasting President Bush on his decision not to call Congress back into session to deal with the energy crisis.
In a legislative update sent to GOP members and staff on Tuesday, Republican House Policy Committee Chairman Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.) accused "Beijing George" Bush of throwing House Republicans "under the bone-dry bus" on his way to the Olympics in China.
House GOP leaders last week called on Bush to convene an emergency session ofCongress, but the White House said such a move would not make a difference because Democrats would not call for an up-or-down vote on offshore drilling legislation.
McCotter, known for his frank and sometimes unusual political opinions, was not pleased with that decision. His memo stated, "Today, in his final term, the wildly unpopular President George W. Bush boarded Air Force One bound for the Beijing Olympics and a meeting with his chum Hu Jintao, the dapper ruler of a nuclear armed, communist dictatorship. ... Perhaps our Compassionate Conservative-in-Chief will bring our absent Democrat Congress some 'Made in (communist) China' souvenir t-shirts: 'Bush went to Beijing and all I got was this lousy five week, paid vacation.' "
The memo ends, "Bon Voyage, Mr. Bush! House Republicans will fight on for America!"
Asked for comment, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said, "Let me be very clear: we support what the House Republicans are doing. They are doing the right thing by shining a light on this issue. There should be no mistake about that. Unfortunately, simply calling Congress into session isn't going to guarantee that Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi [D-Calif.] will give a vote on the bill.
"Democratic leaders need to hear from their constituents, from the American people, who support expanding domestic drilling by overwhelming majorities. We want clean votes on these issues, and the best way for that to happen is if Democrats bring up a bill that addresses these issues, like the Interior appropriations bill. If congressional Democrats listen to their constituents, they will put these issues on the floor for votes when they return."
I can’t blame him either. The thing is this: Bush can bring them back, he says he can’t make them vote, but what he can do is make them stay until it is time to go back to work. When the President calls an emergency session he controls when the house adjourns. So, if they don’t vote they don’t get a vacation and Bush should have called one for that reason alone, just to show Pelosi she isn’t the only one with power.
“McCotter, known for his frank and sometimes unusual political opinions...”
Translation: He’s a moron.
So WHAT? Is that what we've been reduced to...guarantees? Whatever happened to just doing the right thing?
Remind me never to get in a foxhole with these people...sheesh...
I’m surprised the rank & file republicans have been as pliant as they’ve been, as bad Bush has been for the GOP. They’ve paid a steep price for their loyalty.
Ouch....
He is giving voice to alot of our frustrations, but he is walking the tightrope here with this blast imho.
I don’t cotton to it personally, although I understand it. The liberals will run with this all through the Olympics while B. Hussein Obama unveils his multi-million dollar ad blitz.
Not good but perhaps deserved.
Short run, okay. In the long run things might've been a lot different. I remember a couple weeks back, when Bush called for off shore drilling. Oil prices started to drop and haven't stopped since. Come on, Dubya. Excuse me, come on Josh Bolton!
Cr*p.
It's a golden opportunity to focus the spotlight on a major election issue, and Bush has blown it.
If he called a special session and Nancy Girl refused to let them discuss drilling or to vote on it, the media would have had a hell of a time sweeping it under the rug, pretending that nothing was happening, and and continuing to blame George Bush and Dick Cheney for high priced gas.
When congress re-convenes in September, however, the election will be in full swing, there will be other items in the news, the new TV programs will be starting up, and Nancy and her media pals will have no trouble at all keeping drilling proposals out of the spotlight.
Can you imagine if every house pubbie was there in the session and the GOP were united there. Pretty hard to downplay by the media no matter what.
Not only that, but it would signal to the oil markets and the prices would probably drop some more.
I sympathize with McCotter, but the timing has to be right. This has to continue for at least a week for all Americans to become aware of what’s going on. Don’t forget, the MSM is doing their best to bury this. If you don’t believe me look at some of the comments on other threads where Freepers are frustrated the MSM isn’t picking the story up. But let not your heart be troubled (a little Hannity lingo here) Pelosi has told vulnerable Dems to go ahead and tell their constituents that they support drilling. This has given Pence the opportunity to force the Dems hands, if you support drilling..sign the petition to bring the bill up on the floor. If they fall for it, then Bush can force Congress back in session and the Dems would HAVE to have an up or down vote.
Bush may be a lot of things, but dumb is not one of them and he’s letting the Dems have enough rope to hang themselves. My only hope is there continues to be a ground swell of public outcry pushing for a vote.
The reason Bush isn't making the call is simple. If Congress goes back into session, Pelosi will adopt something like the so-called "compromise" of the gang of 10 or whatever, which a bad bill. A little bit of drilling on the Shelf and a whole lot of goodies for the Dems. Bush can veto the bad bill, but then the media will blame him and not the Dems for no drilling. Or he can sign the bad bill and the public will think problem solved.
The key here is to keep the spotlight on the Dems and make them back down on drilling or keep working the issue and keep the Dems bleeding in the polls.
How about the House having 14 years to pass a drilling plan and not doing anything, even when we had control of the Senate in 2002. Maybe Pres. Bush expects Congress to take responsibility for tasks they are in charge of.
Well, if we stuff his mailbox full, perhaps he’ll reconsider after he returns from Beijing. I can understand why he would not want to call thel House back into session while he is out of the country. Let this simmer for a while and when the people are as mad as hornets, call Nancy back into session. That gives time for Congress to get back to their constituents and hear how mad they are. To call them back too soon means that the people will have forgotten all about this by November.
PS. This Rep. from Mich. is my kind of man!
Given the Presidents’s lack of popularity anywhere in the country he should remain as far away from a GOP minority trying to recreate an identity with the American people and from a GOP candidate trying to get elected in a year when the GOP brandname couldn’t sell firewood in a Minnesota winter.
A grassroots groundswell to back the Reps is much better. Let the people shout down the Dems.
Kudos to McCotter for calling him Beijing Bush
But, of course, the liberal RINOs and the ChiCom friends here dont like it.
Too bad so many here and in White House has more loyalty to Communist China than to the USA
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