It must have rolled under the desk.
You know. Bush's Magical Veto Pen.
By Moe Lane Posted in Congress — Comments (8) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
And clearly he must have been down there looking for a dropped paper clip, found the Pen instead, and is now quite taken with its smooth, flowing action:
Bush vetoes water projects bill
By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer 11 minutes agoWASHINGTON - An increasingly confrontational President Bush on Friday vetoed a bill authorizing hundreds of popular water projects even though lawmakers can count enough votes to override him.
Bush brushed aside significant objections from Capitol Hill, even from Republicans, in thwarting legislation that provides money for projects like repairing hurricane damage, restoring wetlands and preventing flooding in communities across the nation.
This level of opposition virtually assured that Bush would have a veto overridden for the first time in his presidency. He has used the veto very sparingly for most of the time he has been in office, but has made more use of it recently.
Read on.
Now, virtually everybody on the Right noting this - including me - has made the observation that this sudden conversion to pork-loathing would have been a great thing to have happen in, say, 2001; 2003; or even 2005. Alas, it's 2007, and thus a little late in the day. This doesn't mean that we shouldn't encourage it, of course - but it suggests that there may be ancillary reasons besides fiscal responsibility at work here.
And, wouldn't you know? - there is one possibility.
Later in the article, good ol' Harry Reid was quoted as pontificating "When we override this irresponsible veto, perhaps the president will finally recognize that Congress is an equal branch of government and reconsider his many other reckless veto threats." A strong statement, and one that could almost make you forget that the man actually keeps his spine in his shirt pocket, as per Mitch McConnell's strict orders. But let us pass that to one side: Harry Reid is confident of this override.
He isn't confident of stopping Mukasey. He isn't confident that they can pass the Undead S-CHIP Bill. He isn't confident that they can overturn FISA... whenever they get around to reviewing it. He isn't confident that they can defund the war. But he knows that Congress - his Congress. A Democratic Congress - can get this pork, whether the President likes it or not. This is within his powers. This is what he'll spend political capital on. This is what they were keeping all that powder dry for.
Put it another way: when it comes to a choice between pandering to local constituents, and doing anything actually concrete for the progressive netroots... Establishment Democrats will go with the former every time. Constituents are real, you see. They matter. Trifling with them has consequences.
Moe
PS: What's that? What about the Republicans?
What about them, Sparky? We stopped having to be your excuse for your own moral turpitude at precisely the exact second that we lost Congress. Deal with it.
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It must have rolled under the desk. 8 Comments (0 topical, 8 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Bush never got credit for trying to work with Democrats. Maybe he'll get some now for standing up to them.
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We would also like to know your advice for somebody like my daughter, who's going to graduate in two years, advice that you would give a young person.
SEC. RUMSFELD: Advice for a young person. Study history.
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Let's nominate the Nash Equilibrium for President.
I loathe to see that name referenced. She's a partisan hack.
absentee
Partisan because she starts out characterizing the bill only as "authorizing hundreds of popular water projects." It's the 11th paragraph before she admits that even some Democrats say the bill is a pork-laden monstrosity. By then most newspapers will have cropped the story for space, and most busy readers will have moved on.
A hack because she says the bill "provides $23 billion for projects like repairing hurricane damage, restoring wetlands and preventing flooding in communities across the nation," when in fact, "It only authorizes the projects; the actual funding must be approved separately." That little detail is saved for the 18th paragraph.
It is so frustrating to watch these Democratic Party activists pose as journalists while they mold and shape the news to make Bush look like a guy who favors hurricane damage, the destruction of wetlands, and flooding.
Drink Good Coffee. You can sleep when you're dead.
pretty much the minute he figured out Bush wasn't nominating him.
"No compromise with the main purpose, no peace till victory, no pact with unrepentant wrong." - Winston Churchill
No doubt, Mr. Bush should have taken a flame thrower to numerous spending bills. However, I am certain at the time it would have involved some collateral friendly fire damage. Now everyone seems to be singing kumbaya and sticking pins in their Robert Byrd vodoo dolls to ward off spending demons; of course until this ever so important water bill.
Perhaps Mr. Bush can do his Martin Luther impression and using the pen, nail this bill onto the chamber door? Or maybe tie some feathers around the pen and use it like a Lakota warning spear. Finally, my favorite-mark the paper with his scent and dare them to cross into his territory. Wouldn't that be icky?
Anyway, better a johnny-come-lately than never at all. Republicans should stand on their heads to uphold this veto based on his objections. But that would involve something called coordination.
"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori"
Contributor to The Minority Report
Thank you. It's about time he discovered the veto pen. He should have been using it for years, on almost everything that came across his desk
Wow. Wasn't this guy already the great Divider, the destroyer of all things bipartisan, and the second-most confrontational man in America (behind Darth Cheney) six years ago?
Yet another example of how words, no longer meaning anything, can't describe reality. In other words, if all you write is hyperbole, what happens when something that you actually think is a big deal comes along?