You'd think in this world there would be some sensible Republicans out there. For the past 7 years though, it's been pretty hard to find any of them.
Luckily, Democrats are finally forcing the rational ones to make a stand. Live or die with this President and his policies and you'll pay a steep price with your constituency.
As this Washington Post article points out, the Democrats are pushing some solid bills with titles that will make it very hard for Republicans to explain to their constituents why they refused them.
Front and center is a Children's Health Insurance Program re-authorization bill. The SCHIP program has worked rather well by all accounts and expanding it seems like a good idea in the day and age where it is blatantly obvious health care in our country is unavailable to too many people.
Even Republicans know the program works and seem ready to step up and vote for it. Not President Bush though, he hates health care for children and has said he will veto the bill.
This will test the mettle of the Republicans who claim to be independent of their historically unpopular leader.
The House Democrats while not being successful on ending the war or attempting impeachment, certainly will have a lot to crow about.
A couple other bills they are working on include strengthening Homeland Security, which Bush has said he will veto and a Congressional Ethics bill which will dramatically cut the influence of lobbyists and the gifts they give to representatives.
Republicans don't like the lobbyist cutbacks because K-Street is their lifeblood. All the work they do is not for their constituents but rather for big corporations and they have always kept those Congressmen well fed at that corporate trough thanks to campaign contributions and lobbyist gifts. But they can't go back to their constituents, the ones who will be voting on them in 2008 and tell them they sided with lobbyists and special interests over the interests of the people the represent.
The Democrats though, have received high marks even from some House Republicans.
"They've had a pretty strong quarter," said Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.), who praised the insurance bill as "creative" and suggested the homeland security bill would pass overwhelmingly. "The first quarter was not so good, and that's why they're not looking so good in the polls, but this quarter is looking very good for them. They can send their members home crowing about their accomplishments, and they've done it in a bipartisan way, which is exactly what they promised to do," LaHood said.
Another bill that could pass and face a Bush veto is the Farm bill. For years corporate farmers have been able to use loopholes to reap financial windfalls at the expense of the American people and family farmers who struggle more and truly need the help to stay in business.
As someone who lived on a farm for 5 years, you cannot truly appreciate the amount of work, dedication and love family farmers put into their business and certainly they are the heart and soul of what America was, is and still can be.
The bill on the House floor is intended to close those loopholes and use tighter corporate tax rules including forcing Corporations to pay their taxes rather than being allowed to use off shore tax shelters to avoid paying their tax bills.
But hey, there is ONE bill the Administration will sign. ONE bill they want passed. What could this terrific idea be?
Nuclear warhead testing.
What did you expect from the most aggressive, neo-con, chicken hawk outfit in power today?
As usual Bush comes to the rescue of the corporations and threatens another veto.
So let's run down the Bush checklist.
Children's Health Insurance = Bad.
Homeland Security = Bad.
Family Farmers = Bad.
Making Corporations pay their fair share in taxes = Bad.
Stopping Lobbyists from buying votes = No word from Bush but Republicans hate it.
Nuclear Warhead testing = Good.
Corporate tax avoidance = Good.
Sick, dying children without healthcare = Good.
Perpetual war = Good. (okay that's unrelated to what I was talking about in this column, but it's a gimmie)
-Rp
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