Bush's 2007-2008 Doctrine: Don't Sign Anything and Blame it on Congress
| By Ben Yelin - Dec 8th, 2007 at 4:14 pm EST |
I just read something on politico.com that almost made me punch the wall in disgust. Bush has been nagging Congress in speeches to do several things:
1. Fund his failed war. 2. Pass a budget that includes his cuts in valuable social programs. 3. Pass an Altnerative Minimum Tax fix that is not paid for.
The House had passed a war funding bill with a withdrawal timeline, although the bill died in the Senate. Senate Republicans killed an AMT fix that is paid for by raising taxes on Hedge Fund Managers (the richest people in the country). So, it's not like Congress was sitting idly by.
Today, the Democrats offered a compromise, knowing that Bush has the power to deny any legislation that comes to his desk. They offered to cut the budget by 11 billion dollars, fund the war with no strings attached, and pass an AMT fix that does not raise taxes. I was initially angry that the Democrats had capitulated and sold out on these important issues.
THEN, I had to wipe my eyes when I saw that Bush threatened to VETO this compromise package. The Democrats basically compromised on EVERYTHING, but the President is still stubbornly rejecting them.
Why is he being such a stubborn loser (to speak colloquially)? First of all, he has nothing to lose. He will be gone in a year and won't have to face voters who lost jobs because of his budget cuts or those who have relatives who died in his disastrous war. Second, if he compromises, he loses his zinger about how the Democrats run a "do-nothing" Congress, and "aren't fulfilling their duties to the American people." Third, he can count on the fact that most Americans don't pay attention to the processes of our Government. If someone sees that legislation is not getting passed, they don't care who is obstructing it. Finally, he can reclaim the mantle of "fiscal conservatism" that he never had in the first place. (Nevermind the fact that he never ONCE vetoed a spending bill before this year, even though they were regularly over his requests.)
My advice to everyone, is to pay attention to what you could have had this year if the President hadn't been so rigid in his ideology. We could have a comprehensive energy bill that rolls back irresponsible subsidies to oil companies. We can have an SCHIP bill that covers 10 million of America's children. We could have a Labor-HHS Appropriations bill that restores cuts to vital programs. We could have an Iraq War that would be winding down, instead of one that is still gearing up.
All of this proves that President Bush is like the spoiled child who gets everything from his parents, but still complains that he's not getting more. You could give him a pound of chocolate ice cream and he'd throw it against the wall because he wanted two pounds. Hopefully, next year we can elect an adult to serve in the White House.
1. Fund his failed war. 2. Pass a budget that includes his cuts in valuable social programs. 3. Pass an Altnerative Minimum Tax fix that is not paid for.
The House had passed a war funding bill with a withdrawal timeline, although the bill died in the Senate. Senate Republicans killed an AMT fix that is paid for by raising taxes on Hedge Fund Managers (the richest people in the country). So, it's not like Congress was sitting idly by.
Today, the Democrats offered a compromise, knowing that Bush has the power to deny any legislation that comes to his desk. They offered to cut the budget by 11 billion dollars, fund the war with no strings attached, and pass an AMT fix that does not raise taxes. I was initially angry that the Democrats had capitulated and sold out on these important issues.
THEN, I had to wipe my eyes when I saw that Bush threatened to VETO this compromise package. The Democrats basically compromised on EVERYTHING, but the President is still stubbornly rejecting them.
Why is he being such a stubborn loser (to speak colloquially)? First of all, he has nothing to lose. He will be gone in a year and won't have to face voters who lost jobs because of his budget cuts or those who have relatives who died in his disastrous war. Second, if he compromises, he loses his zinger about how the Democrats run a "do-nothing" Congress, and "aren't fulfilling their duties to the American people." Third, he can count on the fact that most Americans don't pay attention to the processes of our Government. If someone sees that legislation is not getting passed, they don't care who is obstructing it. Finally, he can reclaim the mantle of "fiscal conservatism" that he never had in the first place. (Nevermind the fact that he never ONCE vetoed a spending bill before this year, even though they were regularly over his requests.)
My advice to everyone, is to pay attention to what you could have had this year if the President hadn't been so rigid in his ideology. We could have a comprehensive energy bill that rolls back irresponsible subsidies to oil companies. We can have an SCHIP bill that covers 10 million of America's children. We could have a Labor-HHS Appropriations bill that restores cuts to vital programs. We could have an Iraq War that would be winding down, instead of one that is still gearing up.
All of this proves that President Bush is like the spoiled child who gets everything from his parents, but still complains that he's not getting more. You could give him a pound of chocolate ice cream and he'd throw it against the wall because he wanted two pounds. Hopefully, next year we can elect an adult to serve in the White House.
!
Comments are closed for this post.
My representative is toting the party line by saying that he does not support impeachment because it detracts from other more important issues that will move our country forward. Surely you didn't think that we were going to pass any progressive legislation, did you?
The inability of Congress to pass any meaningful legislation is their own fault since none of them have the courage to disobey Pelosi and introduce legislation to impeach the president. Inaction is apparently a bipartisan issue.