Truespeak

Georgieboy is losing his grip. Not just his grip on reality mind you, but his hold over the rest of his party. Apparently seeing him as the lame duck that he is, some of the Republican Senators have decided to cover their own asses in hopes of being reelected. The New York Times has the details, but Truespeak has the highlights:

President Bush's plan to extend his tax cuts over the next five years ran into resistance in the Senate on Wednesday as Republican leaders offered a budget for 2006 that would undo more than a fourth of the cuts that Mr. Bush has requested.
[.....]
The Senate's proposal to scale back the extension of Mr. Bush's tax cuts comes at a time when Republicans are also feeling queasy about the White House's major domestic policy initiative for the year, overhauling Social Security. And the budget was not enough to mollify some Senate Republican moderates, who expressed concern Wednesday about extending the tax cuts at a time when the deficit is at a record high and domestic programs from farm subsidies to veterans' benefits and education are facing steep cuts.
[.....]
When asked if she would support extending the tax cuts, Senator Olympia J. Snowe, the Maine Republican who is an influential member of the Finance Committee, said, "Suffice it to say, I do have serious concerns with the fundamental priorities that are being constructed in the budget." She added, "It's exacting a high price from some of the programs that are critically important to the future."

Senator Lincoln Chafee, the Rhode Island Republican who has warned frequently about the federal deficit, said, "I've been consistently opposed to tax cuts when at the same time we're not controlling our spending, and I don't think this year will be any different."
[.....]
But as details of the budget plans emerged on Wednesday, it became clear that meeting Mr. Bush's spending goals could prove a difficult task, not only because of the tax issue but because many lawmakers are pressing to restore Mr. Bush's proposed cuts in domestic programs. Among them is Senator Norm Coleman, Republican of Minnesota, who has gathered signatures of 57 senators to fight for urban renewal grants, which the White House proposes to cut.
[.....]
"I'm not particularly happy about ANWR being shoved back in there," said Senator Mike DeWine, Republican of Ohio, using the acronym (pronounced AN-war) for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Mr. DeWine said he was also "concerned about Medicaid, and what impact it's going to have on the states."

Awwwwww. Poor Georgie.

Now that dear leader's out on his ass in four years, maybe we'll see some of the more sensible Republicans actually tell the truth once in a while.



Oh, and by the way, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says there is no crisis.