Republicans in the Senate defying Bush

Republicans in the Senate defying Bush
By Manu Raju
October 02, 2007


Senate Republicans are largely defying President Bush in what is shaping up as the most confrontational spending battle in more than a decade.

With the budget debate set to escalate this month, GOP senators are expected to side with Democrats in voting for spending bills that Bush has promised to veto, as they have done overwhelmingly so far. By contrast, the House GOP has vowed to sustain Bush’s promised vetoes of most of the 12 annual funding measures, having largely voted against spending plans that have exceeded the president’s request.

In some ways, the current debate mirrors the 1995 battle between President Bill Clinton and the Republican-led Congress that shut down the federal government. That fight over funding levels pitted the House GOP against a Democratic White House, while many Senate Republicans were skeptical of a confrontation. As in 1995, House and Senate leadership have taken different tacks in the debate.

Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, the House Republican leader, did not vote for 10 of the 12 spending bills that passed the lower chamber this year. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) voted for the four spending bills that passed the chamber, and for all 12 bills when they were marked up in the Appropriations Committee, where he sits. This month, the Senate is expected to take up at least three more bills, two of which face veto threats.

Unlike 1995, however, few want to risk a government shutdown and suffer the same bruising backlash that House Republicans received nearly 12 years ago.

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http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/republicans-in-the-senate-defying-bush-2007-10-02.html

As soon as the yahoo Bush echo machine (Hannity, Rush, Faux, etc.) swing into gear, they will fold their criticism and fall in line like all good little Nazis do.

no doubt about it.

Of course, the media could play up the insider comments about Bush & Cheney saying, "they didn't give a damn about Republican fortunes in 08." That might give a little nudge to some of the more vunerable ones.