lily
01-03-2007, 03:44 PM
What a load of crap! Bush is so afraid now that his rubber stamp is gone and Democrats won't be as intimadated as the Republicans were. Just an hour ago he was on TV again asking like a spoiled child for something that he was already refused. His line item veto. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16445649/)
Bush calls on Democrats to work with him
‘Political’ legislation will lead to stalemate, he says in op-ed column
Updated: 2 hours, 16 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - President Bush, facing a Democratic-controlled Congress for the
first time, is urging lawmakers to work with his administration and warning
that “political statements” in the form of legislation would result in a
stalemate.
“Together, we have a chance to serve the American people by solving the
complex problems that many don’t expect us to tackle, let alone solve, in
the partisan environment of today’s Washington,” Bush wrote in a guest
column for The Wall Street Journal posted on the newspaper’s Web site
Tuesday night.
“To do that, however, we can’t play politics as usual,” he said. “Democrats
will control the House and Senate, and therefore we share the responsibility
for what we achieve.”
Bush, while sounding a tone of bipartisanship on the eve of the new session
of Congress that begins Thursday, repeated long-held positions on the war in
Iraq, tax cuts and other issues often criticized by Democrats. He has vetoed
only one bill, but he reminded readers that the Constitution calls on the
president to use his judgment in deciding which bills to sign into law.
‘Next two years can be fruitful’
“If the Congress chooses to pass bills that are simply political statements,
they will have chosen stalemate,” Bush wrote. “If a different approach is
taken, the next two years can be fruitful ones for our nation. We can show
the American people that Republicans and Democrats can come together to find
ways to help make America a more secure, prosperous and hopeful society.”
Bush planned to meet with his Cabinet to discuss domestic priorities on
Wednesday and to court key lawmakers at a social reception that evening. He
is under pressure to announce a new Iraq strategy, although officials say he
is still making decisions and will not reveal any changes this week, and is
expected to say he is sending additional U.S. troops to Iraq.
Wednesday’s schedule represents Bush’s official return to work after a
Christmas vacation at his Texas ranch. Bush spoke at the funeral of
President Ford on Tuesday but remained out of sight the remainder of the
day.
In a seismic shift of power, Democrats will claim control of both the House
and Senate on Thursday for the first time in 12 years. Eager for their turn
at power, Democrats have complained that Bush has kept them at arms length
and has not consulted on key decisions. Even a senior Republican, Sen.
Richard Lugar of Indiana, said on Sunday that Bush has been inclined “to not
take Congress very seriously” on Iraq policy.
Bush invited about a dozen members of Congress — Democrats and Republicans
alike — and their spouses to a reception Wednesday evening. Officials said
it was a social gathering, not what Bush was talking about last week when he
said he planned more consultations with Congress before announcing a new
Iraq plan. The consultations will take place later, officials said.
Minimum wage increase?
In recent weeks, Bush has signaled a willingness to go along with a
Democratic priority for raising the minimum wage, if it is accompanied by
tax and regulatory relief for small businesses. Bush also has suggested that
progress could be made on an immigration policy overhaul, including a way
for some illegal workers to move toward citizenship. That was stymied this
year primarily by conservative Republicans who favored a get-tough-only
approach.
In the Wall Street Journal column, Bush cited as a priority helping Iraq
gain full control over its affairs.
“We now have the opportunity to build a bipartisan consensus to fight and
win the war,” he wrote.
Bush said he would submit a budget in February that would make tax cuts
permanent and lead to a balanced budget by 2012, which he contended would
put the country in a better position to tackle the challenge of changing the
Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid programs. He also said he would offer
his own plan for dealing with pork-barrel spending by Congress and ask for a
line-item veto.
White House spokesman David Almacy said that Bush has used the forum of a
newspaper guest column, or “op-ed,” at least four other times during his
presidency: to commemorate the first anniversary of the 2001 terror attacks;
to promote his re-election in 2004; to mark his second inaugural, in 2005;
and again in 2005 to note the U.S. response to the Indian Ocean tsunami.
Bush calls on Democrats to work with him
‘Political’ legislation will lead to stalemate, he says in op-ed column
Updated: 2 hours, 16 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - President Bush, facing a Democratic-controlled Congress for the
first time, is urging lawmakers to work with his administration and warning
that “political statements” in the form of legislation would result in a
stalemate.
“Together, we have a chance to serve the American people by solving the
complex problems that many don’t expect us to tackle, let alone solve, in
the partisan environment of today’s Washington,” Bush wrote in a guest
column for The Wall Street Journal posted on the newspaper’s Web site
Tuesday night.
“To do that, however, we can’t play politics as usual,” he said. “Democrats
will control the House and Senate, and therefore we share the responsibility
for what we achieve.”
Bush, while sounding a tone of bipartisanship on the eve of the new session
of Congress that begins Thursday, repeated long-held positions on the war in
Iraq, tax cuts and other issues often criticized by Democrats. He has vetoed
only one bill, but he reminded readers that the Constitution calls on the
president to use his judgment in deciding which bills to sign into law.
‘Next two years can be fruitful’
“If the Congress chooses to pass bills that are simply political statements,
they will have chosen stalemate,” Bush wrote. “If a different approach is
taken, the next two years can be fruitful ones for our nation. We can show
the American people that Republicans and Democrats can come together to find
ways to help make America a more secure, prosperous and hopeful society.”
Bush planned to meet with his Cabinet to discuss domestic priorities on
Wednesday and to court key lawmakers at a social reception that evening. He
is under pressure to announce a new Iraq strategy, although officials say he
is still making decisions and will not reveal any changes this week, and is
expected to say he is sending additional U.S. troops to Iraq.
Wednesday’s schedule represents Bush’s official return to work after a
Christmas vacation at his Texas ranch. Bush spoke at the funeral of
President Ford on Tuesday but remained out of sight the remainder of the
day.
In a seismic shift of power, Democrats will claim control of both the House
and Senate on Thursday for the first time in 12 years. Eager for their turn
at power, Democrats have complained that Bush has kept them at arms length
and has not consulted on key decisions. Even a senior Republican, Sen.
Richard Lugar of Indiana, said on Sunday that Bush has been inclined “to not
take Congress very seriously” on Iraq policy.
Bush invited about a dozen members of Congress — Democrats and Republicans
alike — and their spouses to a reception Wednesday evening. Officials said
it was a social gathering, not what Bush was talking about last week when he
said he planned more consultations with Congress before announcing a new
Iraq plan. The consultations will take place later, officials said.
Minimum wage increase?
In recent weeks, Bush has signaled a willingness to go along with a
Democratic priority for raising the minimum wage, if it is accompanied by
tax and regulatory relief for small businesses. Bush also has suggested that
progress could be made on an immigration policy overhaul, including a way
for some illegal workers to move toward citizenship. That was stymied this
year primarily by conservative Republicans who favored a get-tough-only
approach.
In the Wall Street Journal column, Bush cited as a priority helping Iraq
gain full control over its affairs.
“We now have the opportunity to build a bipartisan consensus to fight and
win the war,” he wrote.
Bush said he would submit a budget in February that would make tax cuts
permanent and lead to a balanced budget by 2012, which he contended would
put the country in a better position to tackle the challenge of changing the
Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid programs. He also said he would offer
his own plan for dealing with pork-barrel spending by Congress and ask for a
line-item veto.
White House spokesman David Almacy said that Bush has used the forum of a
newspaper guest column, or “op-ed,” at least four other times during his
presidency: to commemorate the first anniversary of the 2001 terror attacks;
to promote his re-election in 2004; to mark his second inaugural, in 2005;
and again in 2005 to note the U.S. response to the Indian Ocean tsunami.