Matthew Rothschild: Bush Snarkier Than Ever in Attacks on Congress

from The Progressive:



Bush Snarkier Than Ever in Attacks on Congress
December 3, 2007 By Matthew Rothschild


For a guy who vowed to change the tone in Washington, Bush could not have been snarkier in his Monday Rose Garden attack on Congress.

The only civil things he said were “Good morning” and “Thank you.”

Between the salutations all he did was sling mud.

He tried to ridicule Congress for trying “to squeeze in nearly a year’s worth of unfinished business” into the remaining two weeks of the legislative year.

And he sneered at the parliamentary maneuver the Democrats have employed to block his recess appointments, a privilege he’s been overeager to exploit.

On substance, he got down to rusty tacks.

Once again, he repeated the canard that Democrats in Congress want to “deny funds to our troops in harm’s way.”

Senator Jim Webb denounced these “fear tactics” on Meet the Press Sunday. “There’s no one in the Congress who’s going to interrupt funding” that is necessary for the military and sufficient to bring the troops home safely.

But Bush would rather distort the truth than come clean.

“Unless Congress acts,” he said four times, there would be layoffs in the Pentagon and crucial funds would be denied our military.

Truth is, Democrats have passed legislation that would fully fund the needs of the military but not the ongoing Iraq War. Bush and the Republicans have blocked this legislation.

So when Bush said, “unless Congress acts,” what he meant was, “Unless Democrats give me everything that I demand…” ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.progressive.org/mag_wx120307