Bush, Daschle Spar over Homeland Security Agency (Bush want freedom to fire government employees )

Reuters ^ | August 15, 2002 | By Arshad Mohammed

[newfreep]

If an employee is not doing his job...fire his ass! These socialists think a gov't job is forever and they need to be bitch slapped to gain a sense of reality in the real world.

Sheesh, what maroons the Rats are and anyone who supports them on this issue!

[Elkiejg]

Here's my response to Raicot (sp?) response to the spew from Terry McAwful in Vegas:

Re: Democrats Plot November Strategy (GOPUSA News)
The article responding to the Carville/DNC plan for the upcoming elections was fine as far as an academic response. However, what is needed is more "fight fire with fire" approach from ALL GOP spokespersons. The response to the lies of Carville/McAuliffe/DNC so far has been luke warm at best. Gentlemen, it's time to take off the gloves and forget "turning the other cheek" - if you don't, you will find the GOP has lost the House and Senate after the next elections. The American public backs President Bush - BUT - we're tired of playing nice guy all the time. It's time to stand up to the bully DNC and start calling a spade a spade.

[rwfromkansas]

I would say a late September address to teh nation about this would be a good thing if the Senate appears not to approve the version Bush wants. This would have a good impact in the election.

[pattycake]

The ability to fire an employee on the spot ... Those are powers that no president has had

He needs the power to move people around, government workers know they can't be fired and they are dumb as posts, The President needs flexibility in this area, look at the new govt screeners at the airport, still dumb as posts and now know they too cannot be fired. What an incentive to do a better job --- NOT.

[arkfreepdom]

I love the smell of demowits on the defensive in the afternoon...or anytime. Great move GW.

[rwfromkansas]

Pretty much anything he says is posted at the WH website, so surely it will be there.

He needs to get airtime on the networks and address the nation about this and explain how the Democrats are obstructing. Then, if it continues, he needs to do so in late September yet again to remind the voters. Then again in mid-October if necessary.

[FranklinsTower]

The dims cannot possibly think this is a winning issue can they? If they want to slug this one out, they will LOSE BIG TIME!

[Robert_Paulson2]

perhaps "a festering cancerous lesion on the arse of a bloated and rotting pig carcass.... " might form a better word picture for the "mini-me" previously called "daschole" around these parts.

what a jerk he is.

[JulieRNR21]

Also watched the President's speech & I echo your comment that he was on fire.....HOT HOT HOT....it was a joy to behold.....and the audience was most appreciative!

[princess leah]

Let's see - the other day he says a resounding "NO" to spending $5.1 billion pork money and now he tells South Dakota with JOhnson and Daschle standing right there that there senators are NOT looking out for the interests of US Americans! WOW - if this is a sign of what Bush intends to say this fall YAHOO! Bring it on! IT's ABOUT TIME!

[Darlin']

"I need the flexibility to be able to look at the American people and say we're doing everything we can to protect the homeland against an enemy that hates us," Bush said forcefully to an audience that included Daschle. - snip - The president hopes Thune will beat Sen. Tim Johnson, who also attended the speech, helping the Republicans retake the Senate and tossing Daschle from the majority leader's office.

"I appreciate you leadership and your friendship," Bush told Thune at the start of his speech"

Hehehehe. That's my gutsy president. :)

Without that flexibility we are back at square one it is ludicrious to even consider exemptions.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Dasshole has been trolling for invites to these Presidential events. Note to the Dass, be careful what you ask for.

[Edmund Burke]

..."he needs to be able to move people around..."

How about transferring the poor performers to the Artic National Wildlife Refuge that little Tommy is so hot about? There must be a need up there for several thousand workers to make a thorough and complete survey of the place and find out exactly what is there and then come up with suggestions on how to preserve it.

[billybudd]

Yes, I agree, gov't employees shouldn't be given a free ride - if they're not performing, they should be fired. However, this process must be open, there must be specific reasons given for the firing, and it must be open to congressional review. Otherwise, if the president (or his team) is the only one making hire-and-fire decisions, then he can use this power to assert absolute arbitrary control over the dept., and the homeland security dept. is turned into his personal department, unaccountable to anyone else. This is the danger.
Besides this, I don't like the idea of consolidating independent agencies, which are accountable both to president and congress, into one hierarchy which is only accountable to the president. Why do you think Bush is asking for "greater flexibility" in managing this new dept.? Bush is attempting to create an imperial presidency, and no conservative is questioning any of it, because conservatives (some) are still under the delusion that Bush is one of "them".

[MeekOneGOP]

Bush, Daschle Spar over Homeland Security Agency
(Bush want freedom to fire government employees)

Excerpt:

With the stern granite faces of four presidents gazing down from the Mount Rushmore monument, Bush suggested the Senate was placing dangerous limits on his ability to protect the nation through the planned 170,000-strong agency whose creation he proposed after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"I need the flexibility to be able to look at the American people and say we're doing everything we can to protect the homeland against an enemy that hates us," Bush said forcefully to an audience that included Daschle.

Daschle, who stood listening with his hands folded in front of him as Bush spoke, later accused the president of seeking "dictatorial powers," particularly in the freedom to fire government employees and the right to move money around the government without congressional approval.

< snip >

In his speech, Bush said the Senate's homeland security bill would take away an authority held by every president since Jimmy Carter to exempt agencies from collective bargaining requirements if this were in the national security interest.

He also said it would impose bureaucratic rules that would slow down hiring people for the new department, would make it difficult to reward them with bonuses for good work and prevent the government from moving money around to fight new threats.

While saying Congress was making some progress on the legislation, Bush said: "I'm a little worried about some of the noise I hear. I don't want our hands tied so we cannot do the number one job you expect, which is to protect the homeland."

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my General Interest ping list!. . .don't be shy.

[MeekOneGOP]

See excerpt on post #35......

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my President Bush ping list!. . .don't be shy.

[floriduh voter]

I LOVED the speech. The President expanded upon his Iowa speech today with TD and Tim Johnson there but with John Thune introducing the POTUS.

On Fox just now, I saw a dem commercial against THUNE being aired. It was so absurd for the dems to blame JOHN THUNE for the drought. I think a drought is similar to a hurricane. Should we have blamed former Governor Lawton Chiles, deceased, for Hurricane Andrew?

Following the dems'line of reasoning, Republicans control the weather. LOL

[SoDak]

You saw an anti-Thune commercial on a national broadcast?

[hattend]

BTTT

[floriduh voter]

It was a portion of a news report about South Dakota and Fox Cable News Channel showed a clip of a commercial that stated something to the effect that JOHN THUNE was responsible for the drought. Kind of like the inference by the NAACP that Dubya killing the guy all over again because he was against the hate crimes legislation.

Maybe that dem commercial hasn't aired yet in SD?