…President Bush is finding it harder and harder to rally support from within his own party for major initiatives.…with Social Security restructuring and many other ideas from his speech a year ago still bogged down, a raft of new programs may be the last thing the GOP troops want to hear…Edgy about a burgeoning ethics scandal…, Republicans are focusing on midterm elections in November that could return control of Congress to Democrats…Some Republicans are joining Democrats in questioning his use of the National Security Agency for spying, as part of the terrorism fight, within the United States.
According to said Ed Goeas, a Republican pollster and strategist,
“Running away from the president makes the situation worse…In a nonpresidential year, many independents don’t vote. And when you have both parties basically at parity, it’s a matter of intensity on who comes out on top in those elections.”
And, as posted in a number of diaries, many peole who depend on rx’s have been unable to get them under Medicare D, as a reliable program (Medicaid) was “replaced” by Medicare D(isaster). And, Waxman, and the previous diary raised questions that need to be answered about the legislative process re: Medicare D(isaster).
However, according to Sarah Binder, a political scientist at GWU,
“Clearly members of Congress’ eyes are on the 2006 elections, and getting there with the least difficulty possible. But that’s not necessarily what’s on the top of Bush’s radar screen, at least for the speech…the president in his approaches to Congress in his State of the Union addresses is that he doesn’t ever seem to be worried about the ‘state of Congress,’ or the ‘state of his party’ in Congress.”
Points to consider:
- The is still an amount of loyalty to gwb among repubs;
- Concerns are being voiced in MSM/RWCM re: the midterms;
- Medicare D(isaster);
- The Invasion of Iraq;
- The uncertainty about the economy and jobs;
- Increasing health care costs;
- gwb sinking lower and lower in the polls;
and,
Republicans are battered daily by Democrats accusing them of mismanagement and wallowing in a “culture of corruption.”
The last was reinfprced by Henry Waxman, yesterday, when referring to the 2003 Congress:
“corruption, incompetence, and an ideology that favors private profits over public programs all played a role.”