When Democrats criticize President Bush, Republicans accuse them of hating the president, which is the same as hating America. Writing for the ultra-rightwing website Human Events Online, GOP propagandist Robert Novak chronicles the growing tide of Bush-hatred among Republican members of Congress:
Republican congressmen are tired of being bullied and ignored by a heavy-handed executive, and they are playing hardball with their President. Given his unpopularity, many of them find it useful to distance themselves from Bush anyway. In short, Bush has little leverage left within his own party, and his transformation to lame-duck status is all but complete.
Republicans in Congress is are arraying themselves against their Dear Leader across the board:
Ports Deal: [Language] de-funding the ports deal will be written into the upcoming emergency supplemental [by the GOP congressional leadership]. This would be some real intra-party hardball—Bush would have to veto funding for Katrina, homeland security and the troops, or else suffer the undoing of a deal he has promised will go forward.
And…
Budget: Another Republican rebellion is breaking out on the budget front, where independent-minded Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is taking on the administration for its budgeting proposal. Bush’s budget zeroes out the so-called “Crime Victims Fund,” which is funded through criminal fines, fees and forfeitures, and thus pays for itself. Coburn is accusing the administration of playing a “budget shell game” by zeroing out the fund in order to make room for more spending elsewhere, but planning to restore the fund later.
Coburn’s hearings, set for today, will include a victim of the Oklahoma City bombing. They are significant because they could be politically damaging for Bush if anyone notices them. More and more conservatives seem emboldened nowadays to snipe at the President, whose poor efforts at reaching out to Congress have not helped his overall cause.
And…
Katrina: [The] administration’s inert posture and opacity with respect to the Katrina rebuilding process is all the more baffling. The White House has done little to get its act together and work with members of Congress on the reconstruction… Moreover, through its curious inflexibility and inaction, the White House has again incurred the wrath of conservative Republicans in Louisiana’s congressional delegation, including Sen. David Vitter (R) and Rep. Richard Baker (R). Even in matters as small as the itinerary of visiting congressmen, FEMA proved inflexible, drawing criticism from conservative Rep. Bobby Jindal (R).
