George Bush
Posted on 01/28/2006 6:47:42 PM PST by Libloather
Bush to Deliver State of the Union Amid Partisan Division
By Jim Malone
Washington
27 January 2006
President Bush delivers his State of the Union address Tuesday to outline his policy objectives for the year ahead. But at the moment, there appears to be a great deal of disunity between Republicans and Democrats over issues like national security, congressional corruption and the Supreme Court.
George Bush
Over the past week, President Bush has mounted a vigorous defense of a domestic surveillance program being conducted by the National Security Agency that he says targets communications with suspected terrorists.
"The program is legal, it is designed to protect civil liberties and it is necessary," said Mr. Bush.
Democrats complain that the president may have broken the law when he bypassed a 1978 statute that requires a court warrant before the government can engage in domestic spying.
"This is a very serious discussion of the balance between liberty and security," said Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi of California, the leader of Democrats in the House of Representatives. "Our founding fathers understood it very well. They wrote it into the Constitution. We take an oath to uphold that Constitution."
Several recent public opinion polls suggest the president may have the upper hand in the political debate over domestic eavesdropping.
For example, a New York Times/CBS News poll found 68 percent of those surveyed support eavesdropping without a court warrant of people considered suspicious by the government. But only 28 percent support the monitoring of phone calls and emails that is aimed at ordinary Americans.
Republicans believe most Americans will support the president's efforts to monitor suspected terrorists while many Democrats contend Mr. Bush has begun to infringe on civil liberties.
Jack Abramoff
Another issue that could figure prominently in this year's midterm congressional elections is the budding corruption scandal involving former high-powered Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Abramoff has admitted trying to bribe a member of Congress, and there is growing concern that the scandal could involve several other lawmakers who accepted political donations and favors either from Abramoff or his clients.
Recent polls suggest a growing number of Americans have a negative view of Congress because of the scandal, and Democrats believe voters could hold Republicans accountable in November, perhaps jeopardizing Republican control of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Harry Reid, center, at Democratic political event to outline agenda for reform in Washington
"In his speech, the president needs to tell the American people what he is going to do to end the culture of corruption and lay out solutions that will make America stronger," said Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate Democratic leader.
Republicans point out that some of the donations in question went to Democratic lawmakers and the Abramoff scandal really points out the need for lobbying reform in Washington.
Lawmakers from both parties have put forward reform proposals that would limit gifts and travel paid for by lobbyists.
"We clearly have seen very, very great problems and the present laws have been violated and we know that there needs to be a way to address the concerns that have been raised all the way across the spectrum," said Republican Congressman David Dreier of California.
University of Virginia political expert Larry Sabato says there will be more pressure on congressional Republicans to enact reform since they are the party of power in Washington.
"So that the Republicans can say, you see, we have taken care of this problem ourselves, you do not have to vote for our opponents, the Democrats, in order to clean up the mess," he explained. "If they do not take that action, I think they are handing the Democrats an enormous stick with which to beat them over the head during the general election campaign."
Samuel Alito
The other example of the political divide at the moment is the confirmation battle over President Bush's choice for the Supreme Court, federal appeals Judge Samuel Alito.
Judge Alito appears on track to be confirmed with only a handful of Democratic votes in the Senate.
Historically, Supreme Court nominees who were considered qualified could usually count on bipartisan support but that seems increasingly unlikely in an age of sharp and at times rancorous political divisions.
That isn't exactly breaking news...
The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 100 million people.
What isn't told....is the increasing split between some of the Republicans...and other Republicans...IMHO...
I heard on a radio news report this morning....that at that Davos soiree that Kerry was at....there was forum about "human rights"...and lo and behold, along with Jack Straw and representatives from other nations...
WHO was the lone US participant???
Well, one POTUS candidate, John McCain...and, did he use his time castigating BAD countries for their atrocities...the terrorists for be-heading and kidnapping innocent people in Iraq....the outlaws in the Sudan, the Congo...elsewhere???
NO...NO...he spent his timed CASTIGATING THE US for the "continued abuse and torture of prisoners at Gitmo"...
Yes...my friends...I dare say, there is a contingent of Republicans that are running contrary to what Bush's agenda is in trying to fight terrorism...and, just about everything else he is trying to accomplish.
Luckily, Specter decided to use some of the sense God gave him...to actually work to get one of Bush's nominees confirmed....but, not before making deals with the devil...and having it drawn out into a nasty, fight.
What in the hell is wrong with Voice of America. Their job is supposed to be to give the world a positive impression of America, not to run our country down and attack the administration in foreign countries.
I don't see too many VOA articles here, but almost all of them have a leftist, defeatist tone.
Yet another agency that Bush has failed to clean up from its clintonoid corruption. Five years in office, and clinton is still effectively running these agencies.
And yet some people that claim to be "conservatives" suggest we suck up a McCain presidency because the Dem alternative would be worse? Forget that attitude of defeatism in the first place, What's the saying certain '60's rejects like? "Hell no, we won't go"? Sums up my feelings about anyone trying to push that unstable egomanical whackjob on me as a saner choice than Hillary or any Democrat. He's worse. He's worse because having a damn R by his name excuses him to do more than any "conservative" would stand by and allow a Democrat to do.
I don't believe for a MINUTE that the MSM sponsered campaign to pick the GOP candidate means only McCain and Rudy can win. McCain will lose if he's the candidate for one thing. But the little known secret is just about anyone, minus that "maverick", has the edge to win and I'm not compromising my conscience to usher him to office. I wouldn't do it for Clinton, and I won't do it for McCain.
However, say he were nominated? I'd work to kill his campaign and them nominate Blackwell in '12.
The opinion piece here? Just the usual pre-dawn State of the Union MSM hack job portraying their fear of the President speaking unrestricted to the American people again. Everytime he does that he knocks out a few months chalked up of lies.
NSA the public is on the President's side.
Alito the public is on the President's side.
Abramhoff the public couldn't care less, and those that think about it, think it affects both parties. The only people interested are Dem activists, yellow bellied Republicans in Washington, and certain blogs trying to insert their choice for Delay's job the same way they did with Lott that resulted in Frist (great accomplishment on their part.....) and claiming this is akin to Miers. One problem? Miers was a true grassroots effort. It wasn't ginned up by a few blogs claiming to speak for "conservatives" on this issue. A Congressman admitted as much when he expressed frustratedly in a quote to a paper, I think it was Foley? That people weren't calling. They were more interested in other concerns. Surprise, surprise.
Yep, I'm divided from the Democrats, and there's no way in Hell we're getting back together.
North America - or South America?
_ That's PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSHpress_2_2>
Great take on the article...
Mark Levin was WAY down on McCain on Friday night...he said that anyone the says that McCain is strong on national defense...is lying.
He said that the fact that McCain cares more about the treatment of the terrorists in Gitmo...than the US military, is indicative that he isn't...and his constant griping about the "torture" that our troops supposedly are committing, puts our country, therefore, our military MORE at risk...
Mark said...one thing that indicates this, laughable as it may be....that during one of McCain comments about the abuse...he stated "I don't care if the prison is in Des Moines, Iowa, or Guantanamo Bay, Cuba...."
Mark said, no one in their right mind would even hint at putting a prison full of terrorists in the USA...but, McCain doesn't care...
You get the idea...Mark Levin is livid, like you...over McCain's antics...and it is WRONG that he is the "front runner" for 2008...
Thanks for the post.
Thankfully, McCain is never going to be President.
I liked that thread the other day: "The next President will be Rudy Giuliani".
I could live with that.
I heard a discussion about Guiliani the other day...and the person (I forget who)..that was talking said that even though Guiliani had a hugh UPSIDE because of his reputation as "America's Mayor"...
The fact that he is not pro-life, not anti-gay marriage..and other liberal causes..
PLUS...he said there are a lot of pictures of him in dresses for some kind of functions...and pictures of him in the Gay Day parade in New York...etc...that the dems would exploit to the hilt...
All of that makes me think that IF we wanted him...it could only be as VP...IMHO.
I certainly will not vote for McCain or any other Democrat wannabee.
Well, front runner in the polls and MSM.
Front burner in the sense he was going to sweep the Republican primaries in 2000. ;-)
Hope Levin becomes even more vocal, that Rush keeps becoming more vocal, not that those two aren't but to overcome the defeatist "conservatives" with heads in the sand about McCain they are going to have to practically scream them down. And that hannity stops claiming McCain is a friend, because McCain is our number one enemy. NOT Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The same icy chill I got back when Clinton was running for President in '92 is the same icy chill I have down my spine about McCain. We can survive four years of the Dem candidate so long as we increase control in House and Senate OVER RINO's. We cannot survive McCain. NOT in wartime. He will seek destruction from within. Only a fool voluntarily allows the devil in through the front door. And only a fool allows fear of Hillary Rodham Clinton and an "R" by McCain's name to blind them to the real nature of the man.
He sponsered legislation to protect our enemies.
He seeks to publicize methods we use to defeat the enemy in hearings.
He attempts to weaken the administration's fight in the WOT by attempting to overthrow the SOD through covert means.
He doesn't give a damn about the American people or our military. He only cares about the State department's opinions, those in attendance in DAVOS, Chirac, the terrorists's perceptions of us and his constituency the MSM.
He seeks to silence free speech, so that it becomes impossible to challange incumbency. he seeks to curb donations so that only those that contribute to him are protected. If he is able he'll shut down FR, talk radio, and anyone that doesn't kiss his butt. And make no mistake some of these people on the net are being courted by him, as well worried he'll shut them down if they cross him IF he's elected. Anyone that praises he advocates for McCain immediately becomes suspect, especially when before they spoke ill of him.
He seeks to make it more difficult to appoint judges that will respect the Constitution, rather then strike down his constitutional legislation.
He's a SOROS financed Republican that is more at home with John kerry in Davos than in the United States of America with the heartland that I pray to God crushes him in '08 and then '10.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1567198/posts
New thread on McCain...
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