10.15.07
The GOP Has A Huge SCHIP Problem And Bush Doesn’t Care
From the NYT, G.O.P. Lawmakers Voice Their Unease.
Members of the White House communications team invited their Capitol Hill counterparts down to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue the other day to see how Republican morale was holding up in Congress. The answer: Not so well.
Alright, very good. The White House asks how things are going on SCHIP, we say bad, and the White House will give us a plan to fight back. Right?
At the White House, administration officials urged Congressional Republicans to try to remain positive and ride out the current turmoil. Ed Gillespie, a senior adviser to Mr. Bush, told the visitors, according to multiple accounts, that had Republicans sided with Democrats on the health program, they would have opened themselves to withering criticism from conservatives and been in a worse position than they are now.
But that was small solace to Congressional Republicans who worry that the White House does not fully appreciate their political difficulties and that Mr. Bush, who will not be on the ballot next year, has put them in harm’s way with his opposition to the children’s health care bill. Many Republicans say the White House should have been more aggressive early on in getting behind a counterproposal.
It’s a plan, but the GOP is not too excited about it. These two paragraphs show the world the White House is living in. Mr. Gillespie knows very well that many Republicans did side with the Democrats on SCHIP. But Bush’s White House and the wing-nuts in the House and Senate have cut their party loose on this issue. As well as failing to recognize the seriousness of this issue to many Republicans, especially regarding their races for reelection.
Most GOP members of Congress, that aren’t retiring, and are staring a serious fight to hold they’re seat, can’t find much solace or hope from the message the White House is sending. Holding that 20-30 percent of “wing nuts” in their district won’t do muchto keep them in Congress. It’s possible the 2008 election will cause enough Republicans to lose their seats that Democrats will get huge majorities in both Houses and win the White House. That would be a fitting Bush Legacy.
With a lame duck president it’s a wonder that the GOP is still hanging with this guy. Bush and his White House have never really worked well with Congress, no matter the party. It’s always been a “my-way-or-the-highway” relationship. I’m surprised that the Republican members of Congress are still willing to follow this White House and allow them to hasten their own demise.