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Politics : Impeach George W. Bush -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Eashoa' M'sheekha who wrote (22773)	9/5/2003 10:03:27 PM
From: Sidney Reilly	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93284

Vote for a Democrat and get big government. Vote for a Republican and get even bigger government. There is only one difference between the two parties anymore. That's in the lies they tell us!! reuters.com 'Big Government' Getting Bigger Under Bush Fri September 5, 2003 09:00 AM ET By Randall Mikkelsen WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The era of big government, if it ever went away, has returned full-throttle under President Bush, who came to office championing "conservative ideas" as an alternative. A report released on Friday by the Brookings Institution think tank and New York University said the "true size" of the federal work force -- which includes employees for federal contractors and grant recipients -- grew by more than one million, to 12.1 million, from October 1999 to October 2002. The increase was linked to the war on terrorism that Bush launched after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, as well as to growth at the Department of Health and Human Services and other domestic agencies, the report said. The growth represents a roughly 75 percent rebound from federal work force declines linked to the post-Cold War "peace dividend," which helped enable former President Bill Clinton to declare in 1996 that "the era of big government is over." "We are now at the end of an era: of the 'end of the era of big government,' said study author Paul Light, who is affiliated with Brookings and NYU. "We've got a big mission to deliver in this country." Said White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan, "The president's priorities are that government gets results for the people, and he is focused on protecting Americans, winning the war on terrorism, and ensuring economic security." LONG-TIME PRACTICE According to the report, the federal work force grew in all areas except for the civil service as the Bush administration strived to limit the visibility of an expanding government by shifting work to contractors and grant recipients. This has been a practice under administrations going back to the 1960s, Light said. "I don't have a problem with a government this big," he said. "But we ought to be honest" about the true scale of the government's role. The civil service declined by 46,000 jobs from 1999 to 2002, while the number of jobs at federal contractors grew by 727,000 and at grant recipients by 333,000. Although the military added only 70,000 people in uniform, the government created about 500,000 new defense-related jobs, starting late in Clinton's presidency. "The Bush administration has put the pedal to the metal in terms of defense spending," Light said. The federal role has also increased in other areas, most notably education where Bush legislation on student testing and teacher qualification has created a huge "unfunded mandate" for states and local districts, Light said. Bush in his 2000 presidential campaign ran as a champion of a minimal federal role. "Big government is not the answer," he said in his nomination acceptance speech. "The alternative ... is to put conservative values and conservative ideas into the thick of the fight for justice and opportunity." But Light said the rising U.S. population makes it inevitable that the government will continue to grow.

To: Eashoa' M'sheekha who wrote (22773)	9/6/2003 6:53:22 PM
From: Rascal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93284

Released: September 06, 2003 Bush Numbers Hit New Low; Dean Tops List of Democratic Presidential Contenders, New Zogby America Poll Reveals President George W. Bush’s job performance ratings have reached the lowest point since his pre-Inauguration days, continuing a steady decline since a post-9/11 peak, according to a new Zogby America poll of 1,013 likely voters conducted September 3-5. Less than half (45%) of the respondents said they rated his job performance good or excellent, while a majority (54%) said it was fair or poor. In August Zogby International polling, his rating was 52% positive, 48% negative. Today’s results mark the first time a majority of likely voters have given the president an unfavorable job performance rating since he took office. A majority (52%) said it’s time for someone new in the White House, while just two in five (40%) said the president deserves to be re-elected. Last month, 45% said re-election was in order, and 48% said it was time for someone new. A like number (52%) said the country is heading in the wrong direction, while 40% said it is the right direction. Overall opinion of President Bush has also slipped to 54% favorable – 45% unfavorable, compared to August polling which indicated 58% favorable, 40% unfavorable. Just two in five (40%) said they would choose Bush if the election were held today, while 47% said they would elect a Democratic candidate. In August polling, respondents were split (43% each) over President Bush or any Democratic challenger. In the same poll, likely Democratic primary voters give a plurality of their support to former Vermont Governor Dr. Howard Dean (16%), whose campaign has been gathering support in recent polling. He is followed by Massachusetts Senator John Kerry (13%), Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman (12%), and Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt (8%). No other candidate polled more than 3%. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of the likely Democratic primary voters said it is somewhat or very likely that President Bush will be re-elected in November 2004, regardless of how they intend to vote. The Zogby America poll involved 1,013 likely voters selected randomly from throughout the 48 contiguous states using listed residential telephone numbers. Polling was conducted from Zogby International’s Call Center in Utica, NY. The poll has a margin of sampling error of +/- 3.2%. The Democratic candidates’ portion of the poll involved 507 respondents, and has a margin of error of +/- 4.5%. Rascal @ThatSpeechTomorrowBetterBeAZinger.com zogby.com