Passing the Buck: The President's New Strategy Looks A Lot Like The Old One
After years of ignoring the facts, cherry picking information and misleading the American people, the Bush Administration clarified their strategy yesterday: pass the buck. Former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie led the Republican Party's misleading, divisive and unpatriotic attacks on Democrats this morning in hopes of distracting the American people from noticing that the new strategy looks a lot like the old one. As President Bush travels today to West Virginia on the next leg of his failed Iraq policy PR tour, he needs to offer our brave military families and the American people more than a permanent commitment to a failed strategy in Iraq.
Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney issued the following statement:
"Having sunk to new lows in the polls, the Republican Party has now sunk to new lows in their dangerously incompetent and unaccountable leadership. Lacking a clear plan for success and ignoring the facts on the ground, it seems the Bush Administration wants to close their eyes to the truth and pass the buck in Iraq.
"Sadly, this new strategy is nothing new. The American people are already keenly aware that the President squandered record surpluses and passed the buck on reducing the national debt, that the President and Republicans in Congress have passed the buck on ending the Republican culture of corruption, and that the Republican Congress has passed the buck on holding the Bush Administration accountable. Let's hope he doesn't pass the buck catching Osama Bin Laden.
"Our troops, their families and the American people deserve better, not more of the same failed Republican leadership. It's time for the Administration to stop the rosy rhetoric and start making it clear to the Iraqis that they must take responsibility for their future. Democrats have a bolder vision for a secure America based on honest leadership and real security that will move our country in a different direction across the board, from Iraq, to the economy, to either capture or kill Osama Bin Laden."
Bush Said Decisions About Troops Leaving Iraq Would Be Made By "Future Presidents." Asked if a day would come when there would be no more American forces in Iraq, Bush said, "That, of course, is an objective. And that will be decided by future presidents and future governments of Iraq." [Bush Press Conference, 3/21/06]
President Bush Passes The Buck on the Debt. President Bush inherited a government that had begun to pay down a portion of the debt by running four consecutive years of surplus. By next fall, when Bush completes his fifth full fiscal year, federal spending is projected to approach $2.6 trillion, up more than $700 billion from when he started. The national debt has grown 50 percent during Bush's presidency. But, in recent remarks on the debt, Bush did not mention his role in the spending increases, stating simply that "One of the most important steps we need to take to keep this economy strong is to restrain federal spending in Washington. Here's our view: It's important for the Congress to set priorities. Under the current system Congress can slip spending provisions into large bills where they never get debated and never get discussed. As a result, too many bills passed by Congress include unnecessary spending." [Sacramento Bee, 10/23/05; Knight Ridder, 3/16/06; Speech by the President 3/6/06]
President Bush Passes the Buck on Ethics Reform. According to the AP, "within days of the breaking of the worst lobbying scandal in decades, congressional leaders pledged swift and bold reform. That hasn't happened." The President's response to the myriad of ethics scandals surrounding the GOP was simply that he "look[ed] forward to working with Congress on ethics reform." [Speech by the President, 2/1/06; AP, 3/13/06]
