Hoekstra criticizes Bush for division - Lawmaker urges bipartisanship

[maddezmom]

Source: FreePress/AP


BY TODD SPANGLER FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER


WASHINGTON - A key Republican member of Michigan's congressional delegation criticized President George W. Bush on Tuesday for not developing better relations among Democrats, saying they could have come in handy with the administration facing almost daily pressure on a growing number of fronts.

"This is a relationship business," Rep. Pete Hoekstra, a Holland Republican, told the Free Press on Tuesday after he said on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" that Bush has never appreciated the importance of relationships with the opposition party.

"It's too late," he said. "This is the stuff you do when you're riding at 80%" favorability ratings.

A CBS/New York Times poll taken this month showed Bush's favorability rating at 30%.

Hoekstra, the ranking Republican member of the House Intelligence Committee, also had strong words for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI officials for bungling the ousters of eight federal prosecutors and alleged abuses of the Patriot Act in terrorism investigations, respectively.




Read more: http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=73185

[Robbien]

1. Where was Hoekstra on bi-partisanship before Nov '06

No where.

He and the other GOPers had no plans on sharing power by offering bi-partisanship.

On Gonzales, Hoekstra is only upset that the bungling of the purge got into the news. He says not one word about purging itself or that the Just Us system of non-GOPers being a bad thing.

[roamer65]

2. 2008 getting a "little too close for comfort", Peter?

:evilgrin: