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Politics : Right Wing Extremist Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Karin who wrote (5482)	2/27/2001 11:05:39 PM
From: sandintoes	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 59480

I'm watching FOX news, and they said some of the Democrats were hissing Bush...Class will show!

To: Karin who wrote (5482)	2/28/2001 12:48:02 AM
From: Mr. Whist	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 59480

Democrats Pan Bush Plan As 'Too Good to Be True' By Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top two Democrats in Congress branded President George W. Bush's proposed $1.6 trillion tax cut on Tuesday night as illusionary, unfair and even dangerous to the nation's economic well-being. In delivering their party's official response to Bush's first address to Congress, House of Representatives Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt and Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle came out swinging. They warned that Bush's proposed tax relief was too expensive, would threaten Social Security and Medicare and could return the nation to deficit spending. ``If what we heard tonight sounds too good to be true, it probably is,'' Gephardt said of Bush's vision for the future. Attacking the president's proposed tax cut while also promoting the Democrats' far smaller call for $750 billion in tax relief, Gephardt said, ``President Bush's numbers simply do not add up. Ours do. His plan leaves no money for anythingexcept tax cuts. Ours does.'' Daschle said, ``The president's tax plan ... will consume nearly all of the surplus -- at the expense of prescription drug coverage, education, defense and other critical priorities.'' Gephardt and Daschle, both possible contenders for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, spoke from a reading room in the U.S. Capitol just minutes after Bush's address. Extending Hands Though the two Democratic leaders blasted the president in their nationally broadcast remarks, they also vowed to try to work with Bush when possible. ``If he extends his hand, we will grasp it,'' Gephardt said. ''Tonight, we extend ours.'' Daschle said, ``When President Bush proposes ideas that bring us closer ... like his literacy initiative or increases in military pay -- we will work with him.'' ``When he makes proposals with which we disagree, we will work with him to find common ground,'' Daschle said. ``But when he insists on proposals that threaten the prosperity of all Americans ... we will fight and fight hard.'' Bush's nationally broadcast address enabled the new president, who took office a month ago, to focus attention on his fiscal priorities. But it also allowed Democrats, who have seen the news dominated in recent weeks by investigations into former Democratic President Clinton's final-day pardons, to highlight their criticism of Bush. In doing so, Daschle used variations of some of same lines Democrat Al Gore voiced last year when the then vice president made a failed White House run against Bush. Said Daschle, ``The president's plan is deeply unfair to middle-income Americans. The wealthiest 1 percent -- people who make an average of over $900,000 per year -- get 43 percent of the president's tax cut.'' ``Let us be clear: All Americans deserve a tax cut,'' Daschle said. ``But surely, the wealthiest among us should not get it at the expense of working families.'' Blame Reagan Daschle and Gephardt warned Bush's fiscal plans could trigger a repeat of the economic woes that began under anotherRepublican president, Ronald Reagan, two decades ago. ``In 1981, Dick and I sat in the House chamber when another new president talked to the American people about stimulating the economy,'' said Daschle. ``We were promised that if we gave huge tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans, the benefits would trickle down, deficits would disappear and the economy would flourish,'' Daschle said. ``Congress supported the experiment,'' Daschle said. ``It was a huge mistake. Deficits skyrocketed. The national debt quadrupled. High interest rates choked American industries. Unemployment soared.'' ``It took us 18 years, four acts of Congress and a lot of hard work by the American people to get out of that ditch,'' Daschle said. ``Now America has a choice,'' Daschle said. ``What shall we do with the blessings of our new prosperity.'' Gephardt also used the platform to call for electoral reforms following the last election that was fraught with irregularities Democrats claim helped Bush become president. ``We should not leave this session of Congress without reforming the electoral process,'' said Gephardt. The House Democratic leader said he rejects critics who say Congress is so closely divided between Republicans and Democrats ``that finding common ground is simply impossible.'' ``We refuse to believe that,'' Gephardt said. ``We are determined to steer our country on a more productive course