Isn't it amazing how taking .7% off domestic spending qualifies as "sweeping cuts" ?
Damnit.
I've been waiting four years for the Prez to get his act in gear on cutting spending and this is the best he could do?
Lame.
I told the husband when Bush was elected in 2000 that, as I saw it, because of how contentious the election was, the Prez wasn't going to be able to get much done as far as cutting spending. Tax cuts? Sure. They're always golden. Cutting spending, however? Nope. He just didn't have the oomph to get it through. But, I told the husband, just you wait. This guy, I'm sure, will turn into a budgetary slasher and burner if he gets reelected.
And this is what we've got. Cuts in education, medicare, defense programs, even missile defense looks like it's up on the chopping block. Some of these are good cuts to make. There is a lot of room for improvement, fiscally speaking, within the chosen areas, yet these are also cuts that are going to make conservative members of Congress very, very happy. Meaning the Prez is pandering to certain factions within the party. I hardly need to write this, but these cuts are also going to be highly contentious. Cuts in Education? Cuts in early literacy programs? The Democrats are going to have a freakin' media field day with all of this. This budget fight, to put it mildly, is going to be ugly.
He could have avoided this massive headache if he'd just vetoed one bill where a lot of pork was attached. One simple veto would have sent the message to Congress that they'd better watch what they were doing. The President fired no such warning shot.
But, and I have to admit, this would be the shortsighted view of things.
I'm going to make a large leap of the imagination and assume there's a method behind this madness. Call it Rovian if you want. If the Prez doesn't get what he wants on this one, well, doesn't that set him up to veto the next pork laden bill that hits his desk, without him facing too many party-related ramifications?
I dunno. Let your imagination wander from there. I have very little faith that this Prez will live up to my slash and burn picture of him, but there's still a possibility that it could happen. Slight though it may be.
Posted by Kathy at February 7, 2005 11:40 AM