Bush punks entire Dem party...again

[sampsonblk]

Title is mine.

Bush, Obey spar over late federal budget

WASHINGTON - Tensions are running high between the Republican White House and the Democratic Congress over a stopgap spending bill lawmakers will have to pass because they have not finished the 2008 budget...

An exasperated Rep. David Obey, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, chided President Bush for a speech Monday in which he urged Congress to pass the budget bill free of anything the president considers objectionable...

Obey, who will have a hand in writing the temporary spending bill, said Bush was publicly demanding something the Democratic Congress has already agreed to do...

“At a time when we should be looking for ways to resolve our differences it serves no one’s interest, least of all the country’s, for the president to try to manufacture a disagreement when there is none," Obey said...

In his remarks Monday, Bush also warned Democrats about plans to send him a final 2008 budget that spends $22 billion more than he requested. "Congress has the power of the purse, the authority to pass tax bills and set spending levels. The president has the authority to reject unwise or excessive taxes and spending.

Unless Congress has a two-third majority, it must come to an agreement with the president if it wants to get a bill enacted," Bush said.--/-/--

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070924/GPG0101/70924088/1206/GPGnews

So basically 'fuck you, pay me - on time.' Or put more nicely, the Dem congress is just a punching bag for Bush. No one apparently has the courage to mention to Bush that he can't get a dime unless he comes to an agreement with the Congress.

On paper, it works both ways. But not with our current leadership.


From another article on the same topic:

'If they think that by waiting until just before they leave for the year to send me a bill that is way over budget and thicker than a phone book, if they think that's going to force me to sign it, it's not.'
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iuZ0n7iVCTnik8vRwCQLt-nUIqow

This guy is willing to go to the wall if necessary. Even if it means the government rtuns dry, he won't sign something that isn't exactly what he wants. He doesn't care what it takes, he isn't going to compromise with our side. We need a GW Bush.

[acmavm]

1. You want to know the biggest oxymoron in the Americanized English

language today?

Democratic leadership.

[babylonsister]

2. FWIW, Obey and Hoyer did respond:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1890244&mesg_id=1890244

[sampsonblk]

4. Yep, so did Reid.

[rodeodance]

3. With this simple comment-Bush is betting all Repugs will stay with him.

Unless Congress has a two-third majority, it must come to an agreement with the president if it wants to get a bill enacted," Bush said.--/-/--

[BOSSHOG]

5. Let him and boner shut down the government - gingrich set the precedent

[sampsonblk]

6. Yet Bush can't get anything enacted either.

Its time to start thinking about what we can do to them, instead of what they can do to us.

Bush can't get a dime unless he comes to an agreement with the Congress.

[Double T]

7. This is an opportunity for the DEMS to stand up to bush and force HIM......

to be the BAD GUY with the veto pen; turn the tables on HIM!!

[Prophet 451]

8. Of course not

To the right, "compromise" means "doing what I say". I think it was Grover Norquist (one of the founding fathers of the modern right) who said: "Bi-partisanship is just another word for date-rape". Bush is the embodiment of the modern right (and to an extent, of modern society but that's a different thing): He's only interested in working with others when it gets him exactly what he wants. He's the "Decider", the "Commander-in-Chief" (the Fuhrer?), no-one is allowed to tell him what to do.

Remember the furore he caused because the Dems filibustered a few of his more truly offensive judicial nominations? Suddenly, it was undemocratic and unpatriotic to do anything more than rubber-stamp lifetime appointments (never mind that the Repubs filibustered far more when in minority) and when the Dems backed down (as they always do), Bush packed the courts with the most egregious, genuinely activist (i.e. actively twisting the law rather than making a decision the right dislikes) judges since Judge Pickles.

Bush's mission from the start, in every policy area, foreign and domestic has been the same: No compromise, no negotiation, do what we say or we'll destroy you. In domestic affairs, he even has a cute theory called the "unitary executive" that says he can do whatever he likes. In psychology (hobby of mine), this can often be an indicator of some serious malfunction. Essentially, he's a swaggering bully and the fact that (rightly or wrongly) he represents your nation to the world is a very big part of why the US is so globally hated right now.

I fear your president has deep, deep mental problems that go far beyond his addiction to booze.

[sampsonblk]

9. I share your fears

At the same time, he came along at just the time that we as a party were vulnerable.

Bush seems to believe that he can always win if he sticks to his guns and does not give an inch. Ordinarily, that isn't true in politics. Sometimes, you have to accept half a loaf. That's the way it works.

But in this instance, Bush is actually right. With the cast of characters lined up to oppose him, Bush actually can always win. And he actually doesn't have to accept half a loaf, if he sticks to his guns long enough. He's had no real opposition to speak of.

[Prophet 451]

10. Always the way

To an extent, that's true of most dominant political leaders. Thatcher was lucky enough to have a Labour party that seemed determined to self-destruct, Blair had the same thing in reverse.