Bush pushes for spending control

CNN ^ | Janu8ary 3, 2007

[KantianBurke]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Wednesday asked the Democratic-controlled Congress to give the White House line-item veto power to control spending.

As he prepares to deal with an opposition Congress for the first time, Bush is also asking lawmakers to extend tax cuts.

Bush made the requests in a Rose Garden statement and in an opinion column published in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal.

The line-item veto would allow the president to cut specific spending from legislation without vetoing the entire bill.

In the opinion piece, Bush warned that the Democrat-controlled Congress risks stalemate if it resorts to "politics as usual" and tries to "pass bills that are simply political statements."

[Mo1]

So he didn't even bother trying, is that what you're saying?

Gee .. I don't recall saying that

But hey, thanks for putting words in my mouth

[savedbygrace]

It appears I was mistaken - I thought you had some suggestions, and an explanation for why President Bush has presided over the largest ballooning of federal spending of any administration without exercising his veto pen to control it.

But you've made it clear you have neither.

[Mo1]

And you have made it clear that you would rather just complain about Bush for the next 2 years then do something

[Non-Sequitur]

But hey, thanks for putting words in my mouth

No problem. Perhaps you can point out when President Bush vetoed a spending bill or submitted a balanced budget proposal.

[KantianBurke]

Actually, he's correct.

Source and quotes:

http://www.heritage.org/research/healthcare/bg1849.cfm

"The true significance of the latest CMS estimate is that this number is the taxpayers’ first glimpse of the drug entitlement’s enormous cost, which will soon grow dramatically as the baby-boom genera­tion retires. These drug costs will aggravate the already enormous unfunded liabilities of the entire Medicare program. For example:

"Taxpayers will face an estimated $29.7 tril­lion in unfunded Medicare liabilities. Accord­ing to the latest Medicare Trustees Report, the estimated total of unfunded Medicare benefits increased by $2 trillion in just one year. Taxpayers will pay trillions of dollars to cover the Medicare drug costs. The latest Medicare trustees’ estimate of unfunded drug entitlement liabilities alone is $8.7 trillion over a 75-year period."

"Taxpayers will pay an increasing share of their income taxes just to keep Medicare afloat. Under current law and assumptions, Dr. Thomas Saving, a former Medicare public trustee (his term expired after the 2005 Trust­ees Report was issued), estimates that the pro­gram will consume 25 percent of all federal income taxes by 2020 and 50 percent of all federal income taxes by 2040."

[KantianBurke]

ping to ur previous post.

[ClaireSolt]

The annual deficit is now running at only 2.1 percent of GDP, well below its height three years ago of 3.6 percent of GDP. But that’s not the case Krugman and the Democrats will make. They will frame their position in terms of “Mr. Bush’s irresponsibility,” when it’s Bush who deserves the credit for getting today’s deficit to a level lower than its average of the 1990s, when it was 2.2 percent of GDP. ....And it’s not just the Democrats who won’t give the GOP any credit. Many conservatives are convinced that the GOP lost control of Congress last November because of excessive spending. But the reality is that the GOP has bequeathed to the Democrats budget deficits that are trivial, both by historical standards and by the evidence of interest rates'

Or, watch out for trolls. They will lie and trick you every time.

[savedbygrace]

First, you have NO idea what all I've done during the past six years. The letters, the phone calls, the Emails. Or before that, trying to break into the Republican Party apparatus. It's rigged against being changed from the inside. But you'd know that if you had ever tried it.

You seem to think President Bush is above criticism, and that if someone criticizes him, that's all they're doing. You are wrong on all counts.

[Mo1]

You seem to think President Bush is above criticism, and that if someone criticizes him, that's all they're doing.

Never said he was above criticism

The problem is .. that's all I ever hear from some folks

I'm tired of it .. it's like listening to my mother inlaw

[Mo1]

Many conservatives are convinced that the GOP lost control of Congress last November because of excessive spending

I agree with your post .. but also we can't ignore many of the spending on the stupid pork projects that was stuck in big important bills

[savedbygrace]

Well, I'm not one of those 'folks'. I have specific criticism of President Bush, and I will continue to complain about those issues. But that's not all I do or all I post on FR. I support him on other issues, on FR and elsewhere.

So, don't lump me in with these unidentified 'folks'.

Now that's settled, so how about replying to the specifics I'm been asking about, please?

[A_perfect_lady]

Thanks for the line-item recap. I just couldn't recall what happened, and no one summarizes like Freepers!

[ClaireSolt]

I was deeply disappointed to learn that they thought that was what we wanted. Not I.

[Clinging Bitterly]

I'm pretty sure the majority of congress critters remain in favor of extending the tax cuts, but politics being what they are, the few, including the Democrat leadership and some Republicans, will do all they can to regain the money to spend, retroactively if possible.

Whatever the outcome, we can rest assured Republicans will be blamed.

Now - as far as this "spending control" goes, every series Presidential candidate in my lifetime has run with that issue as part of their campaign, and all who have been elected have at least pretended to fight for that while in office. Except one it seems.

And here is another True Thing: Every single piece of legislation to come out of the upcoming Congress is going to have something in it, germane to the parent legislation or otherwise, that is bad for America, courtesy of the Democrat leadership, and not a single one of those bills will have passed without Republican votes.

With all of this in mind, I think we should take up a collection and order a pallet of Sharpies (that would be somewhere near 108 gross or 15,552 of them), specially engraved with "VETO PEN", and send them to the President. Maybe he'd get a clue then.

[Clinging Bitterly]

...trying to break into the Republican Party apparatus. It's rigged against being changed from the inside. But you'd know that if you had ever tried it.

Just so you know, there's at least one other person here who knows what you say is true.

[Eric Blair 2084]

Buck Wild offers a scathing critique of the Republican Party and explains how its abandonment of limited government principles jeopardize the future of the Grand Old Party and the nation. Through gripping narrative and trenchant analysis, Stephen Slivinski tells the surprising story of the GOP's unfortunate transformation, revealing how and why Republicans have: -become the biggest spenders in Washington since Lyndon Johnson. -abandoned the keystone principles that catapulted them to power in the first place. -betrayed taxpayers and fiscal conservatives. -planted the seeds of their own undoing in the coming elections. Buck Wild tells the story of how the Republican Party lost its head and also explores urgent questions about the fate of limited government, including whether conservatives within the GOP can save the party from itself before it's too late. A fight for the heart and soul of the Republican Party is brewing. Buck Wild explains how the GOP reached the breaking point and what it means for the future of the party and American government.

[Eric Blair 2084]

but also we can't ignore many of the spending on the stupid pork projects that was stuck in big important bills

So why did it take a bunch of tax and spend liberals led by mommy Pelosi to finally put an end to it. Now we actually look like the party of Big Gubmint and pork barrel spending. Pence tried for years to do away with it but was universally ignored by our/his own party.

[ChildOfThe60s]

In other news, a herd of winged unicorns has been sighted roaming the streets of Georgetown.

[Eric Blair 2084]

With all of this in mind, I think we should take up a collection and order a pallet of Sharpies (that would be somewhere near 108 gross or 15,552 of them), specially engraved with "VETO PEN", and send them to the President. Maybe he'd get a clue then.

Bingo. That's basically what he threatened today in his op ed piece in the WSJ. If the Dims go down that road he has promised a stalemate. I guess he finally found the veto pen in the waste paper basket next to the overturned coffee grinds.

[Mo1]

Now that's settled, so how about replying to the specifics I'm been asking about, please?

I have answered it .. the line itme veto is one way
Watching what Congress is doing is another
Informing the average joe is yet another thing to do
Letters and calls to Congress don't work to well because they get hammered with spam (not your's) from many different lobbyist and groups

Another way is not to lump the whole GOP into one complaint .. because not all of the GOP is a problem
Go after the trouble makers
And most of all .. we have to also recognize that there are time we will have to compromise to get something done .. because something is better then nothing

The problem with my last comment is that many don't want to compromise .. it's all or nothing

And in the end .. we end up with nothing