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Not At My Table - Political Discussions => National & International Politics => Topic started by: Chicken Little on November 08, 2006, 10:42:14 AM

Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: Chicken Little on November 08, 2006, 10:42:14 AM
From the Department of "Go with what you know", this is not exactly a shocker (//%22http://time-blog.com/allen_report/2006/11/the_third_term_president_bushs.html%22).  From Time:

quote:
Despite his dramatically weakened political position, the President plans to stand up to Democrats and challenge them to work with him on issues he has been promoting. But the opposition now has little reason to cave.

Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: tim huntzinger on November 08, 2006, 11:07:08 AM
On what? Civil unions? Minumum wage? Setting a timetable on Iraq?  Education? Immigration? Foreign trade? He has either equivocated on all these issues, lent no leadership regarding them, or outright sold us down the road.  What makes the main stream media think he is going to develop a spine now? The only thing he is left with is the power to stonewall and confound the coming congressional investigations.
Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: RecycleMichael on November 08, 2006, 11:10:32 AM
Impeach him now and we will call it even.
Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: tim huntzinger on November 08, 2006, 11:14:24 AM
Impeachment: something Pat Buchanan and Nancy Pelosi can agree on!
Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: okiebybirth on November 08, 2006, 11:25:20 AM
quote:
Originally posted by tim huntzinger

Impeachment: something Pat Buchanan and Nancy Pelosi can agree on!



If we could only find a intern willing...
Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: Chicken Little on November 08, 2006, 11:26:25 AM
The article mentions the President's desire to get back to reworking, i.e. privatizing, Social Security.  This issue was dropped earlier this year by the Republican majority.  Thinking that the Democrats would want to take this on now, especially in light of the recent "referendum" on Iraq, just seems strange, out of touch, and hardheaded.

He's got an opportunity to work on some hugely important issues in a bipartisan fashion, you know, the whole "uniter" thing.  But if he chooses to stubbornly fight any new ideas, he can keep the gridlock going for another two years.  The veto is a powerful tool.  The downside of that, for the Republicans, is that Congress will have little else to do other than investigate the Republican shenanigans of the past six years.

Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: inteller on November 08, 2006, 12:41:19 PM
quote:
Originally posted by okiebybirth

quote:
Originally posted by tim huntzinger

Impeachment: something Pat Buchanan and Nancy Pelosi can agree on!



If we could only find a intern willing...



who needs an intern when you have Valerie Plame, Iraq, and Abramoff.

Now that the dems are in power, its time to open up the investigations....what did Cheney and energy cos talk about behind closed doors on the environment?  Just what all has Karl Rove had his fingers into?  The teflon shield around the white house is coming down.  No one does corruption like the Rebooblicans.
Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: NellieBly on November 08, 2006, 12:54:14 PM
Who needs an intern when you have almost 3,000 soldiers dead for no good reason.

You know those Washington paper shredding companies are working overtime.

Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: HoneySuckle on November 08, 2006, 01:19:25 PM
I say hang Bush with Saddam.
Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: Chicken Little on November 08, 2006, 01:27:34 PM
quote:
Originally posted by HoneySuckle

I say hang Bush with Saddam.

Not me.  But I do approve of the corporal punishment he received yesterday.  Sometimes it takes a good spanking.
Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: tim huntzinger on November 08, 2006, 01:33:39 PM
We realize he is a lame duck, Honeysuckle, but did that 'suspension of Habeous Corpus' make an impression on you at all?
Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: MH2010 on November 08, 2006, 01:53:19 PM
I'm sorry you feel that way Honeysuckle.

Threatening the president's life or advocating the death of a president is a federal offense.

The Secret Service will be contacted and will be in touch with you soon.
Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: Cubs on November 08, 2006, 01:53:42 PM
If the dems try to impeach Bush, they will be committing political suicide. They only have a short time until the '08 election. In order for them to stay in control, they need to stay upbeat and try to change things in Iraq, not go after Bush.
Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: MichaelC on November 08, 2006, 01:55:39 PM
I think we might be in a "Golden Age" for the Bush administration.  Less wedge issues, more real issues on the table.  There's an opportunity here for Bush to make a decent domestic legacy for himself.

Despite politics, Bush may secretly be very happy that he's working with Dems, instead of the GOP.  A party that actually wants to make a mark, rather than a party that simply wants to hold on to power and sling wedge issues.
Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: waterboy on November 08, 2006, 02:20:07 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Cubs

If the dems try to impeach Bush, they will be committing political suicide. They only have a short time until the '08 election. In order for them to stay in control, they need to stay upbeat and try to change things in Iraq, not go after Bush.



Well said. We don't need more investigations as much as we need to get things done. Will be interesting to see if the Dems learned anything from the Clinton debacle.

MH the SS would need to hire a lot more staff to go after everyone who made political remarks like that.  It is really not a threat if there is little liklihood of the capacity to follow through. Unless she has: a reputation for violence, rope, tremendous strength and a private meeting with the W ain't much chance of it happening. Cool your jets. Free speech includes the right to say such things (and look bad doing it).
Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: Chicken Little on November 08, 2006, 02:33:54 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Cubs

If the dems try to impeach Bush, they will be committing political suicide. They only have a short time until the '08 election. In order for them to stay in control, they need to stay upbeat and try to change things in Iraq, not go after Bush.

Hey. Cubs, I agree--pretty much.  I think that impeachment of anyone is probably a waste of time.  Better to spend the time fixing a broken War; working on national security; fixing the deficit; and improving the lives of working Americans (in that order, IMO).  But I also think that the word "subpoena" will scare the living daylights out of more than a few Republicans for the next two years, and if that's what its going to take to motivate them, then so be it.

Really, its up to Republicans to decide whether they can risk gridlock and investigations.  They have as much to lose as Democrats.  It is us that will lose out if that happens.

Sometimes a little gridlock is an okay thing.  But right now, there are too many serious problems.
Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: rwarn17588 on November 08, 2006, 03:09:03 PM
I agree that impeachment is fairly worthless at this point with barely two years left in Bush's tenure, unless something's uncovered that's particularly heinous. Most of the Bush people are incompetent, not sinister, IMO.

As it is now, Bush will be defanged into a full-scale lame-duck president. That's not a bad thing.
Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: okiebybirth on November 08, 2006, 03:54:35 PM
quote:
Originally posted by MH2010

I'm sorry you feel that way Honeysuckle.

Threatening the president's life or advocating the death of a president is a federal offense.

The Secret Service will be contacted and will be in touch with you soon.



Bitter, party of one.
Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: papaspot on November 08, 2006, 04:02:45 PM
quote:
Originally posted by MH2010

I'm sorry you feel that way Honeysuckle.

Threatening the president's life or advocating the death of a president is a federal offense.

The Secret Service will be contacted and will be in touch with you soon.



Now THAT'S quite a reach. He's probably guilty of treason too, eh?
Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: aoxamaxoa on November 09, 2006, 08:54:32 AM
"Poppy Bush and James Baker gave Sonny the presidency to play with and he broke it. So now they're taking it back."

A Come-to-Daddy Moment
By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: November 9, 2006
http://select.nytimes.com/2006/11/09/opinion/09dowd.html?th&emc=th

"W. had no choice but to make an Oedipal U-turn. He couldn't let Nancy Pelosi subpoena the cranky Rummy for hearings on Iraq. "He's not exactly Mr. Charming or Mr. Truthful, and he'd be on TV saying something stupid," said a Bush 41 official. "Bob can just go up to the Hill and say: 'I don't know. I wasn't there when that happened.' "
Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: sgrizzle on November 09, 2006, 09:01:11 AM
quote:
Originally posted by MH2010

I'm sorry you feel that way Honeysuckle.

Threatening the president's life or advocating the death of a president is a federal offense.

The Secret Service will be contacted and will be in touch with you soon.



"...Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits for conveyance in the mail or for a delivery from any post office or by any letter carrier any letter, paper, writing, print, missive, or document containing any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, the President-elect, the Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President of the United States, or the Vice President-elect, or knowingly and willfully otherwise makes any such threat against the President, President-elect, Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President, or Vice President-elect, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both."
Title: Bush's Opening Gambit: Be Hardheaded.
Post by: aoxamaxoa on November 13, 2006, 10:26:17 PM
This is classic...

Newsweek's "Father Knows Best" cover story on Bush psychodrama depicts president as very small man of 60 who needs dad to save him ...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15674912/site/newsweek/