Reply #5: There is a hell of a lot of GOP bitching in here - here's more

[Pirate Smile]

But while criticism from Democrats is to be expected, many of Bush's fiercest supporters are the angriest. For example, Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), chairman of the Appropriations Committee, immediately dismissed Bush's agriculture proposals.

"I don't think anyone in the administration really thought Congress would go along with this," Cochran said. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), chairman of the Agriculture Committee, has also voiced his objections.

-snip-
GOP lawmakers are in turn getting an earful from usually supportive organizations. Thomas Cadmus, national commander of the American Legion, said the proposed cuts to veterans' health care are "not acceptable" and are an attempt "to raise revenue at the expense of veterans." (Some veterans who do not have service-related illnesses or injuries would be charged annual fees and higher prescription costs.) The American Farm Bureau Federation, likewise, has complained about the billions of dollars in agricultural cuts.