A Party in disarray - with no clear message

[Coexist]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060310/ap_on_go_co/congress_budget;_ylt=AiMlqKEQW2zmjluzKtBcDeqyFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

Budget Faces Uncertain Senate Prospects By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer
Fri Mar 10, 7:20 AM ET

<snip>
WASHINGTON - Even though Senate Republicans are forgoing a new and contentious round of tax cuts and have dropped President Bush's plan to curb Medicare costs, their budget proposed for next year still does not have enough votes to pass.

<snip>
"I'm not going in with the votes, I can tell you that much," Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg, R-N.H., told The Associated Press. "There's a high level of angst and indecision out there."

For starters, five Republicans opposed to oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have warned Gregg they'll probably oppose his budget plan on the floor if it includes a provision to permit ANWR drilling to advance via the filibuster-proof budget process.

<snip>
Democrats castigated Gregg's plan, saying it would produce those lower deficits only by leaving out the long-term costs of the war in Iraq and the price of establishing Bush's Social Security personal accounts and failing to address the ever-increasing impact that the alternative minimum tax is having on middle-class taxpayers.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060310/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_ap_poll;_ylt=AjqHqecWRT6w0yQ705lUuV.yFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

Bush's Approval Rating Falls to New Low
<snip>
"Obviously, it's the winter of our discontent," said Rep. Tom Cole (news, bio, voting record), R-Okla.

Republican Party leaders said the survey explains why GOP lawmakers are rushing to distance themselves from Bush on a range of issues — port security, immigration, spending, warrantless eavesdropping and trade, for example.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060310/ap_on_el_pr/republicans;_ylt=AjR6ZvnfthR.Fmjv6XsWB0myFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

Republicans Looking Beyond Bush to 2008
<snip>
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Restless Republicans are already looking beyond the embattled Bush presidency to the 2008 campaign
The delegates were voting in an informal "straw poll" to test the popularity of White House hopefuls including those in attendance — Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) of Arizona, Sen. George Allen (news, bio, voting record) of Virginia, Sen. Sam Brownback (news, bio, voting record) of Kansas, Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee.

But the balloting will have no lasting impact unless Frist, who has packed the Southern Republican Leadership Conference with supporters, hurts his presidential aspirations with a poor showing. McCain planned to urge his backers to write in President Bush's name as a show of support, a move that could further dilute the straw poll's significance. The dynamic to watch is how far the speakers and conference attendees distance themselves from Bush or the Republican-led Congress while urging the party to return to its conservative values.

Despite controlling the White House and Congress for most of the past five years, many Republicans feel both have fallen short on a number of issues including tax reform, fiscal responsibility, immigration, Social Security and family values.


... nice.

[BlueManDude]

1. The numbers don't lie

GOPers can spin the national media all they want - but the facts and the raw numbers are what they are.

[Ksec]

2. The tax "reform" was a sham

It was simply a giveaway to the top 2% income bracket. My taxes have risen under them. Im paying more for local state and property with the GOPs "tax reform"

[Trillo]

3. "establishing Bush's Social Security personal accounts"?

Wasn't that dropped? Are Democrats still considering it?