WASHINGTON - (KRT) - "President Bush, who often refers to "that crowd in Washington" with near derision, found himself performing an act of political contortion Thursday night.
Government was no longer the problem. Government was now the solution. Federal spending was not to be curtailed. Record federal spending would have his full backing. Deferring to the judgment of governors and states simply would not do. The job of rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina was one that only the federal government could properly oversee.
<snip>
Tardy perhaps, and freighted with potential problems even within his own Republican Party, the president's recovery plan called for a new alphabet soup of government initiatives (Gulf Opportunity Zones, Worker Recovery Accounts, an Urban Homesteading Act) that sounded like pages taken from the New Deal. Stung by charges that the government might have been slow to respond because of racism, he even emphasized the need for, in effect, minority set-aside programs to be a major part of the rebuilding.
<snip>
An additional challenge will be to hold on to his core supporters, many of whom are strong fiscal conservatives who chafe at the notion of record deficits. Those same supporters are not likely to want to give up hard-won tax cuts or sweeping changes in Social Security, both linchpins of the president's pre-Katrina domestic agenda. Indeed, Bush may be about to find out if those supporters are loyal to him personally or to him merely so long as he is the vessel for their agenda..."
More:
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/12657804.htmUnfortunately, you have to sign up to read the entire article. If you want to do so, use a fake address with any yahoo email addy you can think up. It works for me.
Some of the Freepers' thoughts:
"I agree. I certainly voted for him both times (NO WAY was I going to vote for Algore or John F-ing Kerry).
That said, I've been EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED in his constant rolling over and allowing the Dems to run over him. I now know it is because, deep down, he IS ONE OF THEM."
"And as a result, the GOP has be watered down with people that really do belong in the Democratic Party, but think that the Party is too far to the left even for them."
"I live in a more exposed area than they do, but I don't expect you to have to bail me out when we get washed away. I know the risks that I am taking and am capable of looking after myself. Isn't that what freedom and independence encompass? Where in the Constitution do you find a national umbilical cord?"
Interesting mix over there. I think Shrubbie lost major points last night.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1485813/posts#comment?q=1
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