Right-Wing Pundits Confess Bush ‘Has No Agenda’

[Hissyspit]

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/08/15/wh-no-agenda

Right-Wing Pundits Confess Bush ‘Has No Agenda’

With the departure of Karl Rove, the media is speculating as to how that will affect Bush’s domestic agenda. White House deputy chief of staff Joel Kaplan argued that Bush will pursue an “ambitious agenda” despite Rove’s departure:

The tank is full. The president’s priorities haven’t changed, nor has his ambitious agenda. When we come back in the Fall, the Congress is going to have a full plate in front of it. - Fox News, 8/14/07

Similarly, spokeswoman Dana Perino claimed, “We have a lot of things that we can get done.” In reality, Bush’s domestic agenda “has largely shrunk to veto threats of bills passed by the Democratic-led Congress.”

Even the White House’s faithful conservative allies aren’t buying the spin. Last night on Fox, right-wing pundits Charles Krauthammer and Fred Barnes disputed the White House’s contention that it has an agenda:

KRAUTHAMMER: When Kaplan talks about an ambitious agenda, he is really taking one for the team. That is absurd, there is no agenda.

BARNES: Charles is right, Bush has no agenda.

MORE

[TomInTib]

1. Wow. When those two guys throw in the towel...

The WH must feel like an asylum.

[TwilightGardener]

2. Wrong-O. The agenda is what it always was--divide/weaken Democrats, and

grasp for political advantage using any Government agency or means necessary.

[peace13]

3. I think the agenda is to bring the middle class to their knees

and unfortunately this is the one thing he might have succeeded in. Peace, Kim

[babylonsister]

4. Yet they praise him; now who's dumber?

[Brigid]

5. Yeah, right.

They think most of us haven't figured that out long ago? :eyes:

[KharmaTrain]

6. Thank Goodness For Small Miracles

Imagine if we'd had another rubber stamp Congress...surely the last pieces of the booooosh regime deconstruction would have been rammed through...such as privitization of social security, making the tax cuts for the rich permanent (with more cuts), bigger cuts to education and health services. While people are pissed with the "lack of progress" Democrats have had in the House, just think of what things could have looked like had DeLay and his cronies kept control of the House last year.

[Brigid]

7. I'm not so sure . . .

we don't still have a rubber-stamp Congress, at least to a certain degree. I don't know why they're still intimidated by Lame Duck George and his cronies. If he vetoes everything they try to do, so what? It's on his head, not theirs. They need to start standing up to that man and doing the right thing.

[KharmaTrain]

8. It's The Learning Curve

I think the Democrats were more surprised with retaking the House and Senate as anyone was. A year ago, I got laughed at when I hinted that I thought there was a chance of winning the House and the thought of a 51-49 or 50-50 Senate wasn't even considered. The Democrats had been out of power in the House for 12 years...many members had served only in the minority...and under DeLay's autocratic rules that made them even less than a minority. Pelosi had the challenge of not only bringing a diverse party together but to teach it to govern in the process. She did extraordinarily well with the first 100 hours and then we saw where it lead...to a Senate deliberately set on stonewalling or filibustering all but the most essential legislation.

The problem over the 6 DeLay years was boooshie and cheney were allowed to amass incredible power added to the already strong powers of the executive. McConnell set in place a rule where most bills from the House need a 60 vote majority to just be brought to the floor and Reid won't exercize the "nuclear option"...so lots of important legislation sits in limbo.

The question I have to ask is what people really voted for last year. Yes, most wanted change...but what kind of change. For most of us, it was to stand up to this regime...demand accountability and start the process of cleaning up the many, many messes the boooosh regime has created. Others, however, just voted against Repugnicans...not FOR Democrats...especially in the "blue dog" or purple and red areas. Reid and Pelosi can encorage, but they don't force everyone to vote lock-step...and many of these "moderates" (in both parties) are used as this regime's firewall.

The goal in '06 was to keep the Democratic party from falling into the political abyss...and that happened, now in '08 the next step will be to consolidate our victory (emboldening the current class of Progressives), getting a Democrat elected into the Executive and working to change from within. There's so much corruption and destruction here...it's gonna take years just to learn how bad things really were.

Cheers from a fan of the other Chicago team...

:hi:

[rodeodance]

9. now folks--warding off supena's and hedging Veto's is HARD work for the

pres. during the months ahead.

[Javaman]

10. morons* agenda just resigned. nt