BUDGET INCREASE FOR THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT OF THE ARTS

The Drudge Report ^ | 01-28-2004 | Matt Drudge

[Captain Peter Blood]

BUSH TO SEEK BIG BUDGET INCREASE FOR NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS... Laura Bush plans to announce the request -- for the largest increase in two decades -- on Thursday... Developing...

[WOSG]

"Congress is partly to blame, but bush is leading the conservatives towards the mushy middle on too many things, rather than leading the moderates to the conservatives position" "You're unfamiliar with the phrase, if the Mountain won't come to Mohammad, Mohammand must go to the Mountain?Same concept. Not difficult to see the concept, is it?"

The analogy only works under the presumption that moderate positions are immovable objects that conservatives must aling with .... WRONG! We are Conservatives precisely because we *know* there is a better way to do things - following Conservative principles.

Rather than pander to other voting groups that dont support him anyway, Bush should be articulating the Conservative position on things and making the Conservative case for our ideas. In other words, he needs to be less like his Dad and more like Reagan. A President has a bully pulpit to move people (not that they need to even be moved on illegal immigration , 70% want tougher enforcement). He should quit using it for new spending proposals and start using it for conservative principles. Congress and conservatives like me would stamp and yell and cheer for that kind of stuff.

[WOSG]

NEA increase bad? Yes. Stupidity? yes. Colossal? A $15 million increase in a $2.2 trillion budget is literally a drop in the bucket. It's 0.0007% of the budget.

I frankly was far more offended that Bush signed off on Daschle's huge farm bill of $200 billion cost, or the $1 billion we are giving to border hospitals for illegal alien health care in the prescription drug bill, or the $20 billion ethanol subsidy, etc.

Most offensive are how the Democrats say that after a 40% increase in Dept of Education funding, we are 'underfunding' this dept and how NCLB act is 'unfunded'.
It insults the intelligence.

[Don Joe]

That medicare plan put Bush in the history books as the first Republican President to create a new federal welfare entitlement program.

Oooh! Now he's got a legacy!

[WOSG]

National security is my nunber one issue. I understand that my realistic choice is between President Bush and a U.N. ass-kissing, soft-on-terror Democrat. If you want to call that voting out of fear, go ahead.

Our choice is Bush or a U.N. ass-kissing, soft-on-terror, tax-us-back-into-recession, pro-prebornhuman-killing, anti-traditional-marriage and pro-gay-marriage, pro-ACLU-judges-anti-common-sense-judicial-conservatives, pro-palestinians, pro-trial-lawyers-anti-tort-reform, hiking taxation and spending Democrat. This would leave us so culturally and economically devsatated anyway our lack of national security will be moot.

[WOSG]

I like your tagline !!!

Hope you like mine!!!

[Don Joe]

You are using every populist sound bite in the book. I have nothing against populists; I do however have a real problem with them attempting to hide behind the conservative banner. Now down to business. You want Bush defeated. In that area you are in the same camp as the liberals. You are, by definition, a member of the opposition.

He's part of the base. That defines him as part of the opposition, by your definition, quoted in my tagline below.

If your sentiments merely echo Master Rove's sentiments -- and I for one believe they do -- then it's a "Reagan in reverse" scenario, i.e., "I didn't leave the Republican Party, the Republican Party left me."

In other words, you and Master Rove may view us as "the opposition", but in reality, you (you, Tex, and Master Rove) are the true opposition. You are opposed to us, you are opposed to that which the Republican Party putatively stands for, and, you are opposed to the United States of America.

So, with that in mind, "the base" owes your boy exactly what he owes us.

[Don Joe]

What's your problem? R-Deficits are OK now. Didn't you get the memo?

Cut him some slack. Of course he got the memo. We all did. It's just that sometimes it takes a while to pick yourself off the ground, get your bearings, and find a mirror, so that you can read the memo.

That's the problem with delivering memos via boot-heel stomped into our faces.

[Don Joe]

I'm pretty sure most Christians would consider "f___" a bad word, even in 2004.

Compared to "Piss Christ" it's pretty mild.

So how come yer boy is sending twenty million of our dollars to the Piss Christ Agency?

[Don Joe]

I feel your pain. I really wish I could enthusiastically support someone, but Bush is making it impossible.

Then do the next best thing: enthusiastically support no one.

Sit on your vote. Ignore the "President" column on the ballot. When they tally up the votes, and see that there are beaucoup more ballots cast than there are votes for President, they'll get the message.

And you can bet your bottom dollar (if you've still got it by the time Master Rove is finished with us) that they will be looking at those numbers after the election.

[WOSG]

"What happens is that the GOP was flooded with opportunists Dems after the 94 election. Our governor Rick Perry being a prime example. He's got an R by his name but he is really a D."

Oh please. That is nonsense. Perry switched in the 1980s, was and is a conservative, helped balance the Texas budget without a tax increase, helped pass prop 12 (lawsuit reform), got 3 pro-life bills passed in 2003 and helped on redistricting. He's pro-death-penalty, supports Texas values, and is more conservative than the other powers that be. JMHO.

"I almost gave up on the Republicans after they left Newt out to dry over BS ethics charges. That little episode did open my eyes to what scum the GOP leadership really is. Finally, the GOP had a leader that would lead and fight for our Republic and the GOP dumped him."

Also wrong... the ethics charges was a scam the Democrats ran ... Republicans didnt give up on Newt, Newt resigned after having a bad election cycle in 1998 that almost cost the GOP the House.

"My feeling is that we need to teach the GOP another lesson, like the one administered in 88, yea we got Bill Clinton as a result but we also got control of congress resulting in gridlock. Gridlock is far better then a socialist GOP, which is what we have now. So I will watch and wait and then make up my mind. Everything is on the table as far as I am concerned, even voting Dem at the top in hopes of grid lock."

Wrong a third time. leaving the GOP teaches the GOP the "lesson" that you are NOT a reliable voter and NOT worth trying to pander to ... so they go pander to moderates and libs.

If you want Conservatives in power, vote for the most conservative alternative. Vote for conservatives in primaries and vote for republicans in general elections.
Be active and stand your ground. And dont waste your time, energy, and talent in dead ends - like 3rd parties or FR debates with Buchananite/Losertarian/DU/3rd-party trolls!!

[Don Joe]

I don't see anyone making a good case for why President Bush is proposing all this junky spending.

It's simple. Master Rove told him to propose it.

I'd really be surprised if this was different from any of his other boners, after all.

[WOSG]

Is your favorite USSC Justice Antonin Scalia?

He's mine.

He's Bush's too.

Want more like him?

We wont get more like him with Kerry as Prez. We'll get ACLU lawyers like Ginsburg destroying the Constitution.

"Republicans are as bad or worst than the Rats at ignoring the Constitution."

Hogwash. All the awful Judicial rulings come from the Clinton or carter appointees.

[Don Joe]

If FR had been around during Reagan's presidency, they would have bashed and trashed,sliced and diced him as badly, if not worse. Today, they praise Reagan to the skies,` because they don't know a damned thing about his two terms in office.

Nice try, but no cigar. Back to Spin 101 for you, toots.

These are the same people that went to the wall for Bushie four short years ago.

[WOSG]

I voted "lesser of two evils". This time I lost the bet.

----

So you claim Al Gore would have been better than Bush these last 43 years?!?

Oy! What a DUmmy!

[aristeides]

Harry Blackmun (a Nixon appointee) wrote the Roe v. Wade opinion. Whizzer White (a JFK appointee) was one of the dissenters.

[Don Joe]

Reagan gave illegals BLANKET AMENSTY

Yeah, and he regretted it too, and said so.

Oops, there goes your whole argument. Dang, I hate when that happens.

[Don Joe]

Like it or not, there will always be a fringe element of people in the world and the NEA continues to cater to the extreme.

Well like it or not, there are a lot more conservatives than there are "fringe". So who's gonna cater to us?

Oh, that's right. I forgot. We're the "base". Bush owes us nothing. See my tagline for proof.

[Don Joe]

George W. Bush is THE best choice in this election.

BZZZT!

Bad logic. You lose.

"Least-worst" is not equal to "best".

Better luck next time. (Hey, that's what I'm hoping for.)

[Don Joe]

This is hardly a make or break issue.

Straw.
Camel.
Back.

This is hardly the only issue.

[My2Cents]

Excuse me, but your are stepping on my personal conviction. I believe that Bush IS the best choice in this election. YOU, on the other hand, have a more cynical take on the choices. Optimism is my choice; cynicism is your choice. You stick with your perspective, and leave mine unmolested.