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Senate stunner for W tax plan
New York Daily News ^ | 1/10/03 | KENNETH R. BAZINET

Posted on 01/10/2003 2:23:55 AM PST by kattracks

WASHINGTON - President Bush's $674billion economic plan hit a wall in the Senate yesterday when moderate Republicans and centrist Democrats signaled it may be dead on arrival.

Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) said he'll vote against the package, joining at least four other GOP senators who hinted Bush's plan needs changes to win their votes.

"My fears have been borne out," said Chafee, who voted against Bush's $1.35trillion tax cut in 2001 because he feared it would bust the federal budget. "I can't see giving away any more of our revenues, which we're doing in tax cuts."

Chafee and Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced legislation to block scheduled reductions in the top income tax rate as long as the government runs a budget deficit.

Four other Republican senators - Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, John McCain of Arizona and George Voinovich of Ohio - also criticized the Bush plan.

Collins, who supports parts of Bush's plan, said his proposal to eliminate taxes on stock dividends - the heart of the Bush plan - "deserves further scrutiny."

"I would like to see further tax cuts targeted toward middle- to lower-income taxpayers who would be likely to put the money back into the economy," she said.

Snow and Voinovich told White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card during a closed GOP meeting yesterday that they have problems with the stimulus package.

The GOP has a razor-thin 51-49 majority in the Senate, so five possible defections likely would doom Bush's plan.

"It's going to be dramatically changed," a top GOP Senate source declared. "What you see now is not what you're going to get."

Adding to the turmoil for White House head-counters, most of the 12 Democrats who supported Bush's 2001 tax cut are not on board this time around. Centrist ringleader Sen. John Breaux (D-La.) called the tax cut "good politics but it is not necessarily good policy."

Just days after ceding control of the Senate to the GOP majority, Senate Minority leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said, "I'm pretty sure they don't have the 51 votes."

A GOP source said the only Democratic defection the White House can count on is Georgia lame-duck Zell Miller, who is not running for reelection.

"The big dynamic is that the moderate Democrats are not going to cut the White House slack this time," the GOP source said.



TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
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1 posted on 01/10/2003 2:23:55 AM PST by kattracks
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To: kattracks
Start taking names today. When these folks run again, they run on their own money. The party should not extend to them one red cent. They party should instead run true conservatives to compete with them. And they party should tell their constituants why.

Top of the list? Johnny Dumb Lately McCain.

2 posted on 01/10/2003 2:26:23 AM PST by DoughtyOne ( Hillary Vader is at it again.)
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To: kattracks
"I would like to see further tax cuts targeted toward middle- to lower-income taxpayers who would be likely to put the money back into the economy," she said.

Would the "wealthy" put their money under in the mattress? Where do these people learn their economics?

3 posted on 01/10/2003 2:29:04 AM PST by Straight Vermonter
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To: kattracks
Moderate Republicans....YUK!

Orrin Hatch cut a deal with Leahy to give him 50% of the udicial Committee budget when the Democrats were only entitled to 33%!!!! Moderate Republicans...YUK!!

Senator Frist needs to do something to Hatch!! And we need to do something about Chaffee. Anyone have his phone number??

4 posted on 01/10/2003 2:29:27 AM PST by Claire Voyant
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To: kattracks
We need some folks calling for STRONGER measures - like spending reductions.
5 posted on 01/10/2003 2:31:45 AM PST by The Raven (Is this here because of Chairman's note to JimRob?)
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To: DoughtyOne
Screw the Republican Party....

Only direct donations to individuals... lets start getting rid of the dead weight. This is a good method to determine who the RINO's are and who the Republicans are. I knew that it was to good to be true.

6 posted on 01/10/2003 2:33:40 AM PST by Dick Vomer
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To: kattracks; Mudboy Slim; sultan88
"I can't see giving away any more of our revenues, which we're doing in tax cuts."

I'm glad you put this quote in bold, Kattracks.
It shows the unabashed audacity & utter contempt some of these elected representatives have for the people of this country.

7 posted on 01/10/2003 2:36:25 AM PST by jla
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To: DoughtyOne
Absolutley. At a time when the democrats have declared war on W, Republican Senators who go against Bush's agenda at this critical juncture,i.e. controlling the Senate, are no better than Jim Jeffords.
8 posted on 01/10/2003 2:37:04 AM PST by cardinal4
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To: Dick Vomer
Dick, I am no longer a Republican. I joined the reform party in 2000. That being said, are you saying you don't want the economic package, the tax cuts to take effect? Fiscal conservancy is something we both can back I'm sure. These stimulus packages will get us back to a surplus IMO. I support them. That's the reason I'm for sticking it to those who would deny them to us.
9 posted on 01/10/2003 2:39:59 AM PST by DoughtyOne ( Hillary Vader is at it again.)
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To: cardinal4
That's my take as well. Look, this is a fiscal conservative issue. I'm not a hugh supporter of Bush for every decision he makes, but this does make sense. I will support him stridently when he does the right thing.
10 posted on 01/10/2003 2:41:32 AM PST by DoughtyOne ( Hillary Vader is at it again.)
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To: kattracks
This was to be expected.

Senator McCosnowchaff will have an extraordinate amount of power over the next couple of years.
11 posted on 01/10/2003 2:48:00 AM PST by kidd
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To: kattracks
"I would like to see further tax cuts targeted toward middle- to lower-income taxpayers who would be likely to put the money back into the economy," she said.

A lot of middle class Americans have their savings in CDs. Before the GWB presidency, there were rates to be had at over 6%. Now, even the good ones are just a shade over 4%. That's a 50% loss in interest when CDs are renewed. It's devestating to Seniors who use that interest in order to balance their budgets or provide some extra income for non-essentials.

So, logic would be that the tax cut should be on CD interest...if it's really meant to help middle class Americans who have suffered with the Bush economy.

As far as any cuts, though. The last one didn't save the economy. The bracket reductions are still in place. I think it might be an economic mistake to cut more taxes when government expenditures are going up.

12 posted on 01/10/2003 2:48:13 AM PST by grania
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To: kattracks
And the Demopubs surface their ugly heads once again.
13 posted on 01/10/2003 2:48:35 AM PST by gulfcoast6
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To: DoughtyOne
Bush may have to compromise to pass tax plan
"The package needs a lot of scrutiny,'' said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. ``I'm pleased he has come up with an economic plan; the question is, what should be in it? I would have chosen different elements.''

Even one of Bush's most reliable Democratic allies, Sen. John Breaux, D-La., is critical of the package and bearish on its prospects. Bush and his allies ''cannot pass it like it is,'' Breaux said. ``They are going to have to move on a lot of things.''

''It's going to be very tough to get it through the Senate,'' said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, a member of the Senate GOP leadership. Bush ``put out what he believes is right, what his wish list is. There's going to have to be compromise.''

Despite Bush's sense of urgency about the economy, congressional leaders say it probably will be months before a version of the plan can clear Capitol Hill.

But other Republicans say there is less enthusiasm for the new Bush plan in the GOP rank and file than there was for the 2001 bill, which cut taxes by $1.35 trillion.."

14 posted on 01/10/2003 2:49:24 AM PST by Uncle Bill
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To: DoughtyOne
Sad times indeed.
We would have done better had the dems kept control of the senate.

NOBODY has the balls to bust chaffee, snowe, mccain or any of the liberal sellouts of our "conservative" party... after all It's THEIR money... you see it in quotated living black and white... via the mouth of saint chafee.

If we cannot win our agenda with the house the senate and the white house... what's the use.

We may as well surrender to the mexicans, arabs and north koreans... as we obviously have to our old whitehaired liberals, posing as republicans in the Senate, without even a fight.

These guys should be politically castrated by noon tomorrow... and us just get back to the fact that we have NO majority anywhere. Bush is not conservative on social issues, immigration or the expansion of the federal government. The senate is not conservative, even 25 percent. The house is, but what difference does it make, when the president signs laws that are socialist holdovers from the last democratic controlled Senate. Laws that could be simply vetoed out of existence, never to see the light of day again...

but hell now, they passed it, they got kicked out of control, andnow BUSHY is going to ram it to us anyhow... "aka the greenie wetlands law" for example today.

you and I disagree on immigration, but compared to bush, you and i have less than two degrees of separation. WHAT'S going on here?

George morphing into his dad?
Does he not remember what compromise with these turkeys on social spending and stuff did to his dad? Despite the fact that his dad, ostensibly, won the desert shield thingie?

Can conservatives be so stupid as to tolerate this?
apparently so. :-(
15 posted on 01/10/2003 2:49:53 AM PST by Robert_Paulson2 (clintonsgotusbytheballs?)
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To: DoughtyOne
It's time to start twisting arms.

W needs to call each of these idiots over to the WH for a chat.

16 posted on 01/10/2003 2:54:15 AM PST by GEC
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To: Straight Vermonter
If the head ditto's recent rants are correct and 70% of the economy is driven by consumer spending then a cut for the top bracket makes no sense because whatever benefit accrues to net for that bracket is hardly likely to be spent at Home Depot whereas any cut in my rate gets spent at CompUSA.
17 posted on 01/10/2003 2:58:45 AM PST by RWG
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To: kattracks
Whatever happened to LOYALTY? And putting the ego trips, the strutting around for the TV cameras to impress your constituents, aside for a few crucial months?

And that smug little, tousled_hair blowing in his face, Chaffee twit from Rhode Island? Disgusting, palling around on TV with Diana Finestein.

18 posted on 01/10/2003 2:59:25 AM PST by dennisw (http://www.littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/weblog.php)
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To: Uncle Bill
None of us get everything we want. Even if it isn't exactly the right thing, it would go a long way towards it.

I hate to say this, but the only reason these folks want months to work on this, is so that they can take all the time they want to pad the legislation with graft for the folks back home.

Anotherwords, we'll spend a bundle to get tax savings realized. This is just exactly what the Democrats did when Reagan pushed through his tax cuts. Federal revenues skyrocketed, but spending grew faster. Looks like a case of "here we go again." How sad and utterly frustrating.

These Republicans should hang their heads in shame. We have both houses and still the party can't do a damned thing right.

19 posted on 01/10/2003 3:04:38 AM PST by DoughtyOne ( Hillary Vader is at it again.)
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To: Robert_Paulson2
Indeed. The senate needs a good enema. Repealing the 17th Amendment looks better and better to me.

I know it's not possible on a federal level, but the California Republican leader announced that he would personally file recall papers on any Republican in the legislature who caved on not raising taxes.

I would like to see Frist take charge on this right off the bat. You know, cut a few hearts out or something...

20 posted on 01/10/2003 3:04:41 AM PST by snopercod (Repeal the 17th Amendment!))
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