Cuomo Presses Democrats to Take On Bush (BARF ALERT)

AP ^ | 1/7/2003 | AP

[TLBSHOW]

Cuomo Presses Democrats to Take On Bush

WASHINGTON - Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo is pushing the Democratic Party to sharpen its differences with the Republicans on issues such as tax cuts and Iraq.

Cuomo, responding to the Democrats' dismal showing last November, said the party lost the Senate and failed to win the House because it didn't offer an alternative to President Bush (news - web sites) and the GOP.

"We virtually ceded the terrorism and Iraq issue, and then we didn't make the case on the tax cut because some Democrats had voted for it," Cuomo said in an interview. "You didn't make a really strong case on the domestic issues. Those domestic issues gave Al Gore (news - web sites) more votes than George Bush. We could have done that again but we walked away from the issues."

Cuomo was beginning a series of speeches on the Democrats' future with a nationally broadcast luncheon address at the National Press Club Tuesday. Cuomo said he made a similar speaking tour after the Republicans captured both houses of Congress in 1994.

Cuomo is one of many party leaders trying to chart the Democrats' post-November course. Long identified with the Democrats' liberal wing, his 1984 convention keynote address made him one of the party's brightest stars and an oft-touted candidate for president in both 1988 and 1992. Cuomo declined to run both times, and then lost his bid for a fourth term as governor of New York in 1994.

Democratic consultant Glenn Totten said the party needs to draw a line with the GOP.

"Democrats have to begin to stand for the principles of the Democratic Party," Totten said. "They can no longer be the Me-Too Party. If Bush was butter, they tried to be margarine. And nobody buys margarine when they can buy butter."

Cuomo took aim at the Bush tax cut plan, which the president was detailing in a speech in Chicago Tuesday. That plan could cost $670 billion over 10 years. Democrats have argued that the plan is skewed to benefit the rich.

Cuomo said the Bush tax cut should be frozen until the federal budget runs a surplus again, and the money used to cut taxes for working-class Americans who would buy goods and services produced by business, boosting corporate profits.

"Millionaires don't need any more spending money; these workers do, and they will spend it buying goods and services and helping businesses," Cuomo said.

On Iraq, Cuomo urged Bush to find a peaceful solution, perhaps working with friendly Arab nations to send Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) into exile.

"Here is a difficult irony for me: I'm praying that the president is able to end Saddam's reign, neutralize him, without a war," Cuomo said. "If he does that, he will be one of the most popular presidents in history. He'll be much more difficult to defeat. Then we'll make our best case on the domestic issues."

[TLBSHOW]

HERE IS WHY THEY DON'T WANT A WAR WITH IRAQ!


"Here is a difficult irony for me: I'm praying that the president is able to end Saddam's reign, neutralize him, without a war," Cuomo said. "If he does that, he will be one of the most popular presidents in history. He'll be much more difficult to defeat.

[Puppage]

Why don't the rats take on TELLING THE TRUTH?

[TLBSHOW]

I wish they would but that isn't the rats nature, he did at the end of the story tell the truth. I was shocked!

[cyncooper]

I briefly paused on a talk show last night--I think it was Donahue--and Cuomo was a guest. The topic was why liberals don't have successful talk shows. (And there was some republican guy sitting at the table, but I didn't stick around to hear what he had to say). Here was Mario's pronouncement:

Conservative thought is written in crayon

Liberal thought is written with a finepoint quill pen

That is when I clicked...

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Guess Rush has the big, 64 color box of Crayolas...

[TLBSHOW]

Liberal thought is written with a finepoint quill pen

LOLROF

THATS BECAUSE THEY ARE STUCK IN THE PAST!

[alloysteel]

Cuomo exhorting the Democrats to "take on Bush" is much like Adolf Hitler, in his bunker in late April 1945, calling on his army commanders to "counterattack" and "defeat the Allies". The remnants of the Democrat party is in a position similar to that of the Third Reich, in which commands may be issued, but there is nobody out there on the front lines capable of carrying out the orders.

If the Democrats ever expect to be a viable national political power again, they got a LOT of rethinking and rebuilding to get started on.

[cyncooper]

LOL!

[riversarewet]

"...tax cut should be frozen until the federal budget runs a surplus again."

---

They say things like this knowing full well part of the problem with the economy is the high tax rates.

President Bush is not going to listen to them, and we will get some tax relief, how much is the only question.

[johnny7]

"Here is a difficult irony for me: I'm praying that the ... USA suffers more 911s. That NK runs over our 37,000 soldiers like a steamroller.

That China invades Taiwan and dominates the Pacific. Only then can we challenge the evil Bush!”

That's what MARIO meant. What a puss-bag!

[jerod]

Once again, Bush has out-smarted the Dems with his stimulus plan .

The Democrats have come up with a short term solution to a long term problem. The Bush plan is more comprehensive and sensible, and it will save Americans more money while boosting the economy over a longer period of time.

As for the Democrats. They should stop blaming conservative radio host for their loses and take a look in the mirror. They're a bankrupt party with no soul and a former leader who has left a legacy of failed foreign policies, and of self centered scandals which detracted attention away from his own handling of the economy. The current economic woes were generated by Clinton and his lack of control over the stark greed and corruption of the 1990s, because he was too busy being Bill Clinton.

Mario and the rest of the RATS will never understand this, until it's too late.

[AmishDude]

For the record, Mario the Pious didn't run for president in 1992 because he thought he would have lost against GHW Bush's sky-high approval ratings.

He is the textbook definition of "pompous ass".

[cyncooper]

Someone started a thread with a link to the transcript of the show and I see in reply #3 someone makes note of the exact quote that I was recalling and paraphrasing:

"(CUOMO) We don’t have counterparts on the liberal side.
DONAHUE: Why is that, Governor?
CUOMO: Well, because we believe in subtlety. We believe in telling the whole truth. We don’t want to exaggerate.
You see, look, they write their message with crayons. We use fine-point quills. We get a little bit more, I think-intellectual is not the right word."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/818402/posts

[TLBSHOW]

What fools the rats are!