Robert Kuttner (BG): White House Facing Revolt Within GOP

[Dudley_DUright]

IN JUST A FEW weeks the political tide has turned dramatically against President Bush. His popularity ratings have dipped below 50 percent. His policies are under fire on the Iraq war, the economy, and the budget mess. Moreover, Bush is facing an escalating revolt from within his own party. A little-noted indicator is that Republican senators and House members are no longer willing to take unpopular votes merely because the White House demands them. Lately the administration has lost several key votes that were billed as Republican tests of loyalty: Moderate GOP legislators defected on administration plans to privatize air traffic controllers and make special security training for flight attendants optional. This week, embarrassed Republican floor leaders in the House will send the bill back to committee rather than lose a floor vote.

Republican House leaders had to pull one administration bill allowing "comp time" as an alternative to overtime pay. A majority of senators blocked a second scheme to disqualify more workers from receiving overtime pay.

At least 90 Republican congressmen of all stripes are resisting White House efforts, on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry, to block cheaper prescription drug imports from Canada. In order to win narrow House passage of the administration's Medicare amendments, the GOP leadership agreed to a separate vote on drug importation, which carried by a wide margin. Now the administration is trying to reverse this loss via the back door by disparaging the safety of drug imports.

Conservative House Republicans joined with liberal Democrats in narrowing assaults on civil liberty and due process in the so-called Patriot Act, which was rushed through Congress after the attacks of 9/11. In the appropriations bill for the Justice Department, the Republican House added language opposed by the administration limiting searches of libraries and warrantless snooping of people's homes.

more...

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1001-01.htm

[liberalhistorian]

1. All together now:

Nah Nah Nah Nah, Nah Nah Nah Nah, Hey, Hey, Hey, GOODBYE!!!!!!!!!!

[Girlfriday]

2. Great post Dudly!

The worm is turning.....but I'm afraid to late for some of the RW's to hang on to thier seats.

[Dudley_DUright]

10. Thanks

I wanted a Molly Ivins column to be my 3000th post, but I screwed up and missed by one, so I search long and hard for something equally as good and this is what I found. :-)

[Not a robought]

3. That excuse they keep dredging up about

the safety of drugs from Canada can't be guaranteed is f*cking ridiculous because it's the same pharmaceutical COMPANIES on that side of the border with headquarters in the US.

This misadministration must think the American people are a bunch of f*cking brainless amoebas.

[liberalhistorian]

4. That's exactly what they think of us,

unless we have endless tons of money and give a lot of it to them!

[mike_c]

6. no, really-- Canada is a backwards third-world country where they...

...cook up their pharmaceuticals in rusty old bathtubs and stills made from discarded automobile parts. You must hate America....

[bigwoody]

8. Is that you Rush? I love the smell of sarcasm in the afternoon!

:wtf:

[lindashaw]

7. I haven't heard of any Canadians dying from these drugs, have you?

[teryang]

5. Interesting economic comment

<Third, many Republican legislators are appalled at the cost of the three immense tax cuts that the White House demanded. The nation is on the edge of a real fiscal crisis. It's one thing to bestow tax breaks on business allies; another to create so much red ink that interest rates head skyward and the dollar tanks. >

Actually interest rates haven't headed skyward. That is why the dollar is tanking. This is the effort of central banking ideologues to keep their corporatist regime in power. Interest rates are being kept artificially low to prop up a shaky economy on the verge of collapse. Once the November elections are over they will go skyward and the economy will implode.

[camero]

13. Interst rates aren't going anywhere

But mortgage rates are rising becuase long term rates are rising.

[Dover]

9. TROUBLE! With a capital 'T' and that rhymes with 'G'

and that stands for GOP. Trouble, trouble, trouble.....

[Skittles]

11. oh, NOW they're starting to revolt?

and all it took was the endless deaths of soldiers, the loss of millions of jobs, skyrocketting defecits? Damn, these people make me SICK.

[benfranklin1776]

12. They are a tad bit behind the learning curve are they not?

But "that vision thing" and "that compassion thing" have always been something of a problem for them.