Uniter, not divider, remember?

http://wire.ap.org/?SLUG=CONGRESS%2dCLINTON

No, this is a Texas legislator. If GW has no influence over Republican legislators from his own state, then who does he influence?

------------------------------------------------

DeLay Dares Clinton in Budget Fight

By ALAN FRAM Associated Press Writer

House Majority Whip Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Tex. AP/Stephen Boitano [20K] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON (AP) — House Majority Whip Tom DeLay cast doubt Wednesday on the chances for a budget deal with President Clinton and said that without one, Congress should make him choose between accepting less money than he wants for many agencies or shutting them down.

At a meeting with reporters, the Texas Republican said that without an accord, Congress would continue sending Clinton bills to keep agencies functioning, adding, ``If he wants to shut down the government that's his problem, not ours.''

The aggressive tone by DeLay, a leader of his chamber's conservatives, came even as House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., ordered GOP budget negotiators to craft a counteroffer they could take to the White House for resumed talks with Clinton, perhaps Thursday.

Both GOP leaders would like to complete a budget pact quickly to clear the decks for what they anticipate will be Republican George W. Bush's presidency. An agreement would be the final piece of this year's $1.8 trillion federal budget. White House officials, eager to calm the political waters for billions in extra spending they dearly want, said Clinton has no interest in replaying the government shutdown battles of 1995 and 1996.

The biggest budget bill in question — a $350 billion measure for education, labor and health programs — includes a tentative $18 billion increase for this year, which Democrats consider a dramatic victory. Clinton has indicated a willingness to cut it by $2 billion, but Republicans want a deeper reduction.

------------------------------------------------------

I'd kind of like to point out that increase in HEW is largely due to the limits on welfare. Everyone agreed five years ago that it would be more expensive in the short term to train and provide day care for the people forced off welfare. Ok, do we do the training or do we have food riots next summer when the 5 years lifetime limit really kicks in?

Ever notice that nobody has ever tried to hang 'compassionate' in front of liberal? There is a reason.

And, no, I'm neither liberal nor all that compassionate myself. But those possible riots worry me - and if you have any money in insurance companies they had better worry you.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Answers

It's the smug arrogance that gets me. They don't have "the people" as their main concern; it's their "power-play" -- that's all they care about.

And we keep electing them over and over and over.....

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

education, labor and health programs -republicans want deeper reductions

Ha. So what else is new. Remove the smoke and mirrors and you have a prick from Texas ready to make deeper cuts in these area-just like he did as the states governor. Yep. Dubya is for the people-that is, if the people like getting screwed up the ass.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Future Shock, while Bush is bad Gore is really not much better. We need a real choice not dimwitted twins seperated at birth.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000

FS,

Surpise coming I hope. In health, medicare has been terribly underfunded since '97. Medical care up 6%/year, drugs up 15%/year while medicare increases pegged at 2%. The reasons for this demise are politically ugly. (old rant coming up) Congressional Dems with the blessings of the executive branch are DETERMINED that healthcare for all of us is forced into a federally administered system and are content to watch the healthcare crisis implode to achieve the goal of '93. Unfortunately, there are enough Pubs so accustomed to the drug and insurance company's teats to stop a boost in funding. No heros there.

Bush may well break that logjam. Big oil background aside, he's kind of a chamber of commerce type. Hospitals and physician IPAs run medical care in this country and small business works better in medicine. That's my hope. We'll see.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000

Carlos, you might as well flush your hope down the toilet, along with small businesses. Apparently you have no clue who you voted for.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000

Carlos, you might get a surprise you didn't want. One of the last actions of Bush Sr. was to propose a more or less universal health plan that went nowhere.

Bets on the same plan showing up again.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000

I have to go with FS on this one. Bush blocked measures that would have given healthcare to uninsured children, for crying out loud. Who on earth would tell an eight year-old to go out and get a job if they want insurance? G.W. Bush, that's who.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000

More of Delay.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35088-2000Dec6.html

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000

Truly odd thing I noticed while reading that article, Paul. I saw a lot of instances of the word "agenda"; I saw a lot of instances of the word "control"; I saw a lot of instances of the word "power".

The word People does not appear once.

"Compassionate Conservatism", anyone?

Hypocrites.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000

It was politically expedient for Bush to have a balanced budget so he took the monies earmarked for the medical coverage of children and gave it to the population in the form of a tax reduction so he could claim a history of tax breaks to everyone. So what if most of the relief goes to those with the most money, after all, they are the ones who would finance the Bush campaign. This was important after all, unlike the medical care of 8 year olds who might use it for the purpose of birth control, and he doesn't believe the government should condone this because it is the belief of his administration that abstenance is the only form of birth control that should be encouraged.

This was a slight of hand (money from child medical coverage to tax relief) that was done in the eleventh hour because the media was reporting the fact that the budget was not balanced. Ya can't have a candidate run who couldn't balance his own state budget after all.

I hope those citizens who got their extra $123.00 put it to good use, considering there are 9 year old children living without health care because of it.

Just immagine what wonderful things he can do for the entire country in his bid to give tax relief to the masses. Seniors can die from lack of medical care and/or medication. Also all of those silly extreme rules that cost industry money, restrained them from their unfettered efforts at making a buck, punishing them for little accidents and making "little" boo boos to the enviroment that the greenies are so anal about.

It isn't the job of business to be socially responsible, they should not be burdened by hiring people of color because after all, not everyone likes "those" people and why should they be forced to work with them. You know those people aren't working because they are capable of doing the job, no, no, they are only there because of those laws telling us we needed a certain percentage of them. Now we don't have to do that any more. And to make sure there are no conflicts in the workplace, we will make sure we just won't hire any of "those" kind of people at all. We do, after all, have to make all of our workers comfortable. If some of those people are capeable of doing the job let them go somewhere else where they are wanted and don't cause problems. The same with women. Why should our good workers have to watch their language, take down their historically acceptable calenders of nekked women, restrict farting freely, all of the manly things that are denied and restricted when broads are around. Why would a woman want to do our jobs? Is it penis envy? Do they think they have the balls to do the work? Why should women want to do mens work? Do men sit there and beg and whine that they want to do a womans job? How many men march and demand the right to sit at home and watch soap operas and get fat doing nothing that we allow our women folk to do? NUP, it's time to roll back the clock and put things back the way they were meant to be, the way nature set it up to be.

What was the question again????

-- Anonymous, December 09, 2000