The Hill: ‘Me too, pal,’ says Bush, hanging up

[NewJerseyDem]

It can't be too fun to be a republican congressman these days. You don't do every single thing Bush wants you to and the leadership punishes you like your a complete traitor.

http://www.thehill.com/news/120303/bush.aspx

Conservative Republican frustration over the failure of the Bush administration and the House Republican leadership to restrain federal spending has boiled over in recent days, producing a rare confrontation between GOP lawmakers and party leaders.

The internal conflict, fueled largely by recent passage of the $78 billion Iraq reconstruction effort and the $400 billion prescription-drug benefit for senior citizens that squeaked through the House on Nov. 22, came to a head last week when President Bush abruptly terminated a phone conversation with a Florida Republican who refused his plea to vote for the landmark bill.

Well-placed sources said Bush hung up on freshman Rep. Tom Feeney after Feeney said he couldn’t support the Medicare bill. The House passed it by only two votes after Hastert kept the roll-call vote open for an unprecedented stretch of nearly three hours in the middle of the night.

Feeney, a former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives whom many see as a rising star in the party, reportedly told Bush: “I came here to cut entitlements, not grow them.”

Sources said Bush shot back, “Me too, pal,” and hung up the phone.

[Octafish]

1. Ruthless pragmatism.

Those not with the toad swarm are cut off from the food of politics, money. More than likely, Feeney the young fascist will be looking for work come 2004. Probably end up a PHARMA lobbyist.

BTW: The Little Turd from Crawford has such class, too. It shows his old man taught him everything he knows. Staffers who'd argue with Poppy would get cut off with, "If you're so smart, how come you're not president?" Click.

[PurityOfEssence]

10. Well that was precious; never heard that one

Senior truly is a creepy old prick. That's just the kind of thing I'd expect him to say.

[sistersofmercy]

2. Why would anyone think otherwise, bush* using proper etiquette?

That's as about as likely as bush*, well, using proper eniglish.

[rumguy]

3. Yeah gotta love it

ya know the freeps don't know which side to be on...

I think heads are exploding over in Freeperville.

[Rose Siding]

4. But at least he was wearing his suit jacket

in the oval. :eyes:

[BrewerJohn]

5. Exactly!

Get with the program, Tom! We're not doing it the straightforward, honest way, we're doing it the
sneaky, lying way! Didn't you get the memo?

[punpirate]

6. Feeney just didn't get it....

By voting _for_ the Medicare bill, the Medicare system will be defunded, over time--it's built into the bill. That is what will destroy it as an entitlement. In the meantime, it creates deficits large enough eat away money from the Social Security trust fund in the form of government loans which will never be paid back to the system. Robbing Peter to pay Paul will chew up both Medicare and Social Security.

It's all in the grand plan, folks.

Cheers.

[John_H]

7. When bush screws Feeney by fucking over projects in his district.

The dems should get all over it.

[AP]

8. Can anyone decipher Bush's statement?

Is he saying something clever and ironic? Is it a double entendre? Or is it just something came out of his mouth and meant nothing?

[maggrwaggr]

9. I think he meant the bill is intended to destroy medicaire

and that's why the repubs should vote for it.