WP: A Domestic Policy in Sharp Focus (more power for *)

[kskiska]

Bush Approach to Be More Disciplined and Aggressive

Friday, December 10, 2004; Page A01

President Bush is moving quickly to create a new, tighter and more disciplined domestic policy team to pursue transforming the way Americans save for retirement, pay taxes and seek legal damages.

Convinced his leadership style and policy vision were vindicated by the election results, Bush is aggressively targeting these domestic programs for the second term by essentially replicating the formula he used to reshape foreign policy in the first. This includes creating a small, loyal and trustworthy team to press for sweeping changes largely dictated by the White House.

To build public support and circumvent critics in Congress and the media, the president will travel the country and warn of the disastrous consequences of inaction, as he did to sell his Iraq and terrorism policies during the first term, White House officials said. He is also enlisting well-funded conservative groups such as the Heritage Foundation to help build the case for change -- or "reform," in the words of the White House -- through ads and commentary on television and in targeted publications, the aides said.

Bush's post-election moves to strengthen White House control of the government reflect his plans for an aggressive second-term focus on domestic policy, which in his first term was overshadowed by the national security fallout from the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The agenda includes creating private Social Security accounts for younger workers, revising the tax code to make it less complicated, limiting the size and number of lawsuits, and changing immigration laws.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53451-2004Dec9.html

[Pirate Smile]

1. Lord help us,

"Bush is aggressively targeting these domestic programs for the second term by essentially replicating the formula he used to reshape foreign policy in the first."

Because his foreign policy has been so successful

"To build public support and circumvent critics in Congress and the media, the president will travel the country and warn of the disastrous consequences of inaction, as he did to sell his Iraq and terrorism policies during the first term,"

What will they use in place of the "mushroom cloud"?

Actually, we may be going to have some good knock down, drag out fights.

They are definitely treating this like a big PR campaign. It sounds like they are planning big ad campaigns, will use all the RW arms in the media, think tanks, etc.

Attention Democratic Party - you better get your sh@# together quick. We cannot just fight these battles on policy grounds, we need some good PR campaigns also.

[Just Me]

2. He seeks to tear down the economy and compassionate programs

as we know them. He wants to tear down, destroy what we have in order to do what, advance what?

This administration is consumed by power.

Hope we make/create/advance a miracle, people.

[cosmicdot]

3. praying for a miracle in Ohio

"He is also enlisting well-funded conservative groups such as the Heritage Foundation."

Who needs Congress?



(they should lose their tax-exempt status)

I expect they'll blitzkrieg these 'reforms' (Social Security accounts; tax code; limiting lawsuits; changing immigration laws) through the first session of the 109th Congress ... what do the usurpers have in store for the other 3 1/2 years?

I sure hope our elected Democrats are cognizant of the danger we're all in. There goes the infrastructure and more.


These words used by the Washington Post Staff Writers
are foreboding:

"... sweeping changes largely dictated by the White House."

"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator."

[Just Me]

4. We are,...the miracles.

We will advance in spite of this man and his following.

[The Judged]

5. Don't forget the unstated Urban Policy based on economic starvation!

It will compassionately force people to either become homeless derelicts or vagrants in other less populated cities across America.

Remember the old bus ticket to nowhere?

[rodeodance]

6. BushCo presses and many Americans will suffer

[mazzarro]

7. I think he will get all he wants since most of the democratic

legislators are a bunch of wussies that belong to the DLC (DINOs Losership Committee). The DLC has already indicated recently that it wants all its stooges to bend and suck harder at rearend of * and the reThugs.