Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community

Bush Throws Down the Gauntlet

by BooMan
Wed May 9th, 2007 at 12:48:20 PM EST

The President drops the veto bomb:

President Bush would veto the new Iraq spending bill being developed by House Democrats because it includes unacceptable language restricting funding, White House press secretary Tony Snow said Wednesday morning.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Snow said of the bill: "There are restrictions on funding and there are also some of the spending items that were mentioned in the first veto message that are still in the bill."

What are the restrictions on funding?

House Democratic leaders are now putting together a proposal that would pay for the war through September but come with a different set of conditions: About half of the money would be dependent on Bush reporting to Congress this summer [ed note: late July] on the Iraqi government's progress toward meeting security goals.
Following that report, Congress would have to vote separately to release the rest of the funds.

If the President is going to veto over that then we really are entering into some kind of wonderland. I don't think he can hold his caucus together on this veto. I'm not saying the GOP would override his veto, but there will be a lot more defections.

Bush Throws Down the Gauntlet | 17 comments (17 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Bush Throws Down the Gauntlet (4.00 / 5)

The man appears to be teetering on the edge of some kind of fit. There has been all this talk of trying to craft some type of "kindler & gentler" bill which will nudge the President toward signing while still giving some demonstration that there is a modicum of oversight by the Congress. But it is becoming increasingly clear that what the President wants is full capitulation to his wishes of unitary executive power when it comes to this issue. It is becoming undeniably apparent that in his mind oversight and accountability is not an option. We are truly staring into the abyss of this President openly declaring that regardless of the wishes of the voters and their elected spokespersons in Congress he is going to rule by decree when it comes to all things Iraq.

If this is truly where we are at, it is now time for the Republican leadership to step up and advise this President that he cannot assume the role of dictator and that we have a constitutional process that will be followed.

His increasingly unhinged behavior and detachment from reality should be very unnerving to every American, Republican or Democrat. It is imperative at this point that Congress step in and nip this in the bud before a truly catastrophic situation has time to evolve. I believe time is short. Congress needs to face the fact that this President does not believe they, the elected representatives and the voice of all Americans, have any relevance in the decision making regarding the direction of future events in Iraq.

Face it folks. The President is going "all in" on this one. There is no choice but to call his hand.

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity"

by MikeInOhio on Wed May 9th, 2007 at 01:21:52 PM EST

Re: Bush Throws Down the Gauntlet (none / 0)

It looks to me like Bush actually wants a government shutdown type of situation and thinks he will benefit from it.

I've never seen a President less concerned with the well being of his own party.

by BooMan on Wed May 9th, 2007 at 02:06:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Bush Throws Down the Gauntlet (none / 0)

Excellent point, Boo. Why is that? Because his party must also eventually reject/ignore him in order for the story to complete satisfactorily: How can enoug of the world forgive us (despite occupation) if one party is still overty supporting the 'Madman' Bush?

Declaring the bottom is the only way back up..

by anarchronarchist (mincers (-at-) hotmail (-dot-) com) on Wed May 9th, 2007 at 02:16:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Bush Throws Down the Gauntlet (none / 0)

Your comment gets my cynical juices flowing. If his behavior is, in fact, a political calculus, what is the upside for him on this? To pin it back onto the Democrats? Is is plausible that the American public would buy into this enough to give him some type of short term political advantage? Or do you think that he is banking on something that is based only on the reality which has been created in his own residential bubble of isolation? His political capital at this point would appear to be virtually non-existent.

Trying to psychoanalyze this President's motivations is a tall order that comes with some drawbacks. It creates a feeling of pressure right behind my eyeballs.

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity"

by MikeInOhio on Wed May 9th, 2007 at 02:19:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Bush Throws Down the Gauntlet (none / 0)

I have to go with the idea that Clinton benefited from a showdown and it revived a dead presidency.

They must think they can replicate that or something.

by BooMan on Wed May 9th, 2007 at 02:25:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Bush Throws Down the Gauntlet (none / 0)

Yes, I've seen that idea bandied about on the "tubes" and the sense that I get is that if this is what he is doing, the President is failing to appreciate that it is an apples-oranges situation.

But it wouldn't surprise me if the President is at a stage of desperation where he feels the need to essentially bet his whole wad on a single number on the Presidential roulette wheel.

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity"

by MikeInOhio on Wed May 9th, 2007 at 02:38:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

This isn't talked about (none / 0)

enough. Bush doesn't really care about the long term health of his political party. One way this is evident is how he is not really grooming anyone to come after him. Nor does he seem to really care who is successor will be. And he wasn't concerned at all heading into the 2006 elections, which made some of us feel like the fix must have been in (or some sort of October surprise). But his party lost congress, and that was that. He could have cast off Rumsfeld earlier and helped his party but he didn't. Throwing out the veto threat this early will only help the Dems, who can say they are trying to compromise.

"There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible. But in the end they always fall. Think of it. Always." -- Mahatma Gandhi

by duha on Wed May 9th, 2007 at 03:37:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

But this is a supplemental (none / 0)

The government won't be closed down. All that will happen is that he'll have to start breaking even more laws by reallocating money from other appropriations. Or he'll actually have to withdraw. If he had anticipated this (that is, the loss of the Hill), he would have put this funding into the omnibus budget. But now, this is an up or down vote on the occupation, which is very unpopular.

He's either desperate, crazy, or both.

by jayackroyd (jayATackroyd.org) on Wed May 9th, 2007 at 09:36:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Bush Throws Down the Gauntlet (4.00 / 3)

the last veto was decidedly unpopular, this one, while possibly/probably, sustainable, is going to be much move divisive to the ratpub caucus, given the comments over the weekend and the waffling that's already occurring:

"Many of my Republican colleagues have been promised they will get a straight story on the surge by September," said Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.). "I won't be the only Republican, or one of two Republicans, demanding a change in our disposition of troops in Iraq at that point.That is very clear to me."

the bill as proposed, plays right into that mindset, and a veto may be the final straw for a lot of people facing re-election.

additionally, a new cnn poll makes it pretty clear that BushCo™ is on pretty thin ice with the public:

New Poll: Solid Majority Wants Congress To Send Bush Another Bill With Timetables
By: Greg Sargent
Fifty four percent of Americans oppose President Bush's veto of Congress' Iraq withdrawal bill, and a solid majority wants Congress to send Bush another Iraq bill containing withdrawal timetables, according to a new CNN poll that has some really, really interesting numbers:

Now that the veto has been cast, 57 percent of Americans said they want Congress to send another spending bill with a timetable for withdrawal back to the White House, the poll found -- but 61 percent would support a new bill that dropped the timetables in favor of benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet to maintain American support.
Slightly more support for benchmarks than for timetables, but a solid majority is clearly behind either approach. There are also lots of numbers measuring how the Dems are doing image-wise with the American people...
more at TPM

some of the dem's weaknesses are exposed in this as well.

lTMF'sA

the revolution will not be televised...

by dada on Wed May 9th, 2007 at 01:34:24 PM EST

Re: Bush Throws Down the Gauntlet (none / 0)

But Bush is pathological, and he's using Zandar's Theory Of Modern Government: Your percentage chance of success in the Bush Administration is directly related to the percentage of the time that you lie.

Lie lie lie 100% of the time, and dare the world to call you on it. "America voted for victory in Iraq. The Democrats aren't funding the troops. Our men and women in uniform are at risk because of the Democrats. We must give the surge time to work. We must listen to the generals and we are doing so. Withdrawing the troops is surrender to Al Qaeda."

See how easy it is? Just cover your ears and punt to the poor sucker in January 2009.

The only recourse is to just stop sending funding bills and bring the troops home, but of course the Dems are caving more and more daily.

The best part? Whoever is running the country in 2009 will be intoning gravely "We must give the surge time to work. We must listen to the generals and we are doing so. Withdrawing the troops is surrender to Al Qaeda" too.

More at Zandar vs. The Stupid.

by Zandar1 on Wed May 9th, 2007 at 05:31:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I'd Love to Be a Fly on the Wall... (4.00 / 4)

in the Senate cloakroom these days. The republicans must be shitting bricks.

Barb at mahablog calls this a hostage situation, and I think it frames the moment perfectly; the president is literally holding our troops hostage in order to get what he wants (which is complete capitulation and obedience to his will), while the negotiators try to deal with someone who is not only unhinged, but also very dangerous.

Bush will leave the troops without food or equipment before he gives in. Conventional wisdom is that the republicans in congress will throw him under the bus in September, and I suspect most of them could give a flying fig whether the troops eat or not, so long as they can use it as a wedge issue.

So the question is, who will blink first?

by merciless on Wed May 9th, 2007 at 01:38:26 PM EST

Re: Bush Throws Down the Gauntlet (4.00 / 2)

We entered Wonderland long ago.

Oh, there you are, Perry. -Phineas -SLB-

by boran2 (blogistan@yahoo.com) on Wed May 9th, 2007 at 01:39:31 PM EST

Re: Bush Throws Down the Gauntlet (4.00 / 2)

He's threatening to veto the bill because he knows there will be no progress to report on in July -- the Iraqi parliament is going on a two month vacation. The Democrats have for once accurately zeroed in on the steaming heap of manure behind the fig leaf of the 'surge'. Check and mate.

---Cthulhu for President: Why vote for the lesser evil?

by eodell (eodell at naqada dot org) on Wed May 9th, 2007 at 02:36:26 PM EST

Re: Bush Throws Down the Gauntlet (none / 0)

Another good point.

by BooMan on Wed May 9th, 2007 at 02:46:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Bush Throws Down the Gauntlet (none / 0)

Your hypothesis sounds plausible. Run from accountability and tangible measurements because there is no expectation of improvement. The purpose would seem to be purely political. Delay and defer until nothing can truly be acted upon prior to his departure from office in January 2009.

Asscovering 101 is what it is. And still they continue to die. And our soldiers continue to be ground down.

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity"

by MikeInOhio on Wed May 9th, 2007 at 03:00:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Bush Throws Down the Gauntlet (none / 1)

Media Focuses on Iran's Aid to
Iraqi Insurgents -- But Not Saudi Money

Editor & Publisher May 08, 2007 2:40 PM ET
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003582393

by hass (hassani1387@yahoo.com) on Wed May 9th, 2007 at 01:11:27 PM EST

Re: Bush Throws Down the Gauntlet (none / 1)

See- I told ya so? The piece of shit will veto anything that in any way alters exactly what he wants.
Now, that is a distinct sign of insanity. Secondly, it now is simple. The Dems simply have to be crazy not to keep sending up the same bill. Yup- the same bill and it should include all the amendments that would fund all the programs that the dems had originally included.
And every time he vetoes the bill, the Dem leadership should go public and continue to point out who is refusing to supply the troops with the funds that they need to continue the war.

by billjpa (billjpa@aol.com) on Wed May 9th, 2007 at 02:11:37 PM EST

Bush Throws Down the Gauntlet | 17 comments (17 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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