Posted on 01/09/2003 11:28:53 PM PST by kattracks
Edited on 07/12/2004 4:00:19 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
President Bush yesterday accused Democrats of using "class warfare" to disparage his tax-cut plan.
He said opponents would exclude millions of middle-class taxpayers for being "the wrong people," as charged by Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, South Dakota Democrat.
Highlighting his economic-stimulus proposal with a visit to a small flag-manufacturing company in Alexandria, the president said excluding groups of taxpayers because they are more successful or wealthy is inherently unfair.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
You may be interested in this article, BTW, Norm:
Mark Steyn: Can America Be Serious?
. . . Whether Kim Jong-Il would still have decided to go in for a couple of rounds of No Dong braggadocio is harder to say. (No Dong’s the name of his missile, by the way.) But in doing so he’s given endless pleasure to the legions of anti-American Europeans and anti-Bush Democrats, all now solemnly huffing about the ‘inconsistencies’ of the President’s approach to the axis of evil: why is Bush so hot for war with Iraq, which hasn’t yet got weapons of mass destruction, but not with North Korea, which already has?* * *
. . . On Wall Street in the old greed-is-good days, they used to call hotshot traders BSDs — Big Swinging Dongs. That’s what Saddam is: the Big Swinging Dong of Araby. And, say what you like, it seems to impress George Galloway. By contrast, North Korea is literally the No Dong state. Take a look at a satellite picture of the peninsula by night: South Korea ablaze in electric light, the North in darkness. In Far East Asia, North Korea’s the hole in the doughnut.
Entrapment by Bush:
He plays Democrats for fools,
and they always rise to his bait
Excerpt:
The "Twist." The twist to this strategy is that the Bush Administration also intends for its appearance of weakness to provoke criticism from the political right as well. For example, last week at the Daily Standard, Fred Barnes griped "Somebody tell the Bush White House that Republicans now control the Senate….Somehow the idea got planted at the White House that a watered-down tax cut, less susceptible to Democratic attacks, would be better politically for the president." It seems to me that this has two important psychological effects. First, seeing the president attacked from the right emboldens the Democrats, making them all the more likely to pounce. Second, when the president actually releases a plan that has plenty of conservative ideas, the right heaves a great sigh of relief, and becomes energized and eager to do battle for Bush. Not surprisingly, in Tuesday's National Review Online Larry Kudlow gushed, "President Bush has surprised everyone with his decision to propose a big-bang economic growth package."
The Bush Administration has used this strategy at least since last year, when it rolled the Democrats on the War Against Iraq. In that instance, the Administration leaked stories that Bush was hesitating about going to war with Iraq. This prompted many on the right to complain; most notably Bill Kristol and Robert Kagan at the Weekly Standard zinged Bush for "Going Wobbly." Sensing an opportunity, the Democrats went on the attack in late summer. Then-Minority Leader Dick Gephardt said the President needed to "make the case to Congress and the people," while Senator Joe Lieberman said Bush must "speak to the American people [and] ask Congress for authorization." They had walked right into it.
Shortly after September 11, Bush made the case in speeches to the American people and in front of the United Nations. He reiterated his support for regime change in Iraq, using force if necessary. He also mollified moderates by giving the United Nations one last chance to deal with Saddam. Support for military action surged to near 70% in most polls. Finally, he asked Congress for a resolution authorizing the use of force. Again, the Democrats were stuck. Either vote against the resolution and alienate moderates, or vote for it and anger their base. The strategy yielded big dividends on election day.
Will the Democrats ever get wise to this? Perhaps. More likely, they will persist in their view that Bush is a dimwit who continues to get lucky. Thus, they will continue to misunderestimate his strategery.
The President lied and said 60% of Americans would benefit there is no way.
I smell a rat........ anyone else get a whiff of it?
Finally, he asked Congress for a resolution authorizing the use of force. Again, the Democrats were stuck. Either vote against the resolution and alienate moderates, or vote for it and anger their base. The strategy yielded big dividends on election day.Will the Democrats ever get wise to this? Perhaps. More likely, they will persist in their view that Bush is a dimwit who continues to get lucky. Thus, they will continue to misunderestimate his strategery.
Hah! The Rats think they're so smart, but, really, they're the idiots.
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