Tea Party News
Wednesday, June 22nd
teapartywatcher.com
The buzz surrounding a presidential bid by Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) is growing, but he is bringing George W. Bush back into the spotlight.
Bush and Perry share Texas accents, physical mannerisms and a cocksure approach to politics. There are striking similarities. As Bush’s successor as governor, Perry had to distinguish himself as a politician in his own right.
Now Perry once again faces the obvious comparison as he weighs a run for the presidency. His success might depend on how well he can differentiate himself from the Bush brand. There is also a mutual dislike for each other.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s tried to unseat Gov. Perry in a primary election. Usually, efforts to unseat incumbents aren’t appreciated within the party. But a number of prominent Republicans close to Bush liked the idea so much that they broke the unwritten rule and backed Hutchison. Bush left office as one of the most unpopular presidents in history, with an approval rating of 22 percent, according to a CBS News/New York Times poll. Perry beat Hutchinson by runnning an anti-Washington (Bush) campaign.
And Perry just might have to fight off comparisons to the predecessor he has tried to distance himself from if he wants to follow Bush to the White House. [Christian Heinze in The Hill, June 21)
Sen. Mitch McConnell says they might have to agree to a smaller increase in the debt ceiling and revisit the issue again in a few months - but - Rep. Eric Cantor said he doesn't see how multiple votes on a debt-ceiling increase can help us. The White House has said the borrowing limit must be raised by Aug. 2 or the government will run out of cash to pay its bills,
Risks of taking multiple debt limit votes are more intense in the House than in the Senate because all members face reelection next year.
Congressional aides said they have been looking at reaching an agreement on roughly $2 trillion to $2.5 trillion in specific budget reductions, made up mostly of spending cuts, but the Democrats are insisting on also increasing revenues with tax increases.
One idea floated is to curb the rise of federal benefits by using a different measure of inflation to calculate annual cost-of-living adjustments. According aides familiar with the Biden negotiations, use of this alternate measure is being seriously discussed. The measure, changes expense and revenue numbers by adjusting the figures for the way consumers change their shopping habits as prices rise. For instance, motorists overall tend to drive less if gasoline prices jump dramatically. [Online WSJ, June 22] Click here for the source story |
