In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
GOP leaders retreat, postpone budget vote until at least June
Standard budget stuff "blah blah blah," but then there is this:
But that could be a tall order: Four moderate GOP senators and moderate Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska have all resisted weeks of entreaties to support the budget, leaving GOP leaders two votes shy of passage.
Asked what might make them change their minds, one of the moderates, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., joked, "Some of us could get killed in tragic accidents." Emphasis mine.
I don't think McCain's joking that much. Here's an article about an exchange between him and the speaker of the House:
McCain, who spent five years in a North Vietnamese prison, excoriated fellow Republicans on Tuesday for pushing more tax cuts while U.S. troops are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan (news - web sites).
"Throughout our history, wartime has been a time of sacrifice. ... What have we sacrificed?" McCain said. "As mind-boggling as expanding Medicare has been, nothing tops my confusion for cutting taxes during wartime. I don't remember ever in the history of warfare when we cut taxes."
Asked Wednesday about McCain's remarks, Hastert, who was rejected for military service because of a bad shoulder, first joked: "Who? Where's he from? A Republican?"
Then, more seriously, he said: "If you want to see sacrifice, John McCain ought to visit our young men and women at Walter Reed and Bethesda (two Washington area military hospitals). There's the sacrifice in this country. We're trying to make sure that they have the ability to fight this war, that they have the wherewithal to be able to do it. And at the same time, we have to react to keep this country strong not only militarily but economically. We want to be able to have the flexibility to do it. That's my reply to John McCain."
McCain stood fast in his reply to Hastert.
"The speaker is correct in that nothing we are called upon to do comes close to matching the heroism of our troops," he said. "All we're called upon to do is not spend our nation into bankruptcy while our soldiers risk their lives. I fondly remember a time when real Republicans stood for fiscal responsibility." Emphasis Mine.
I read about the exchange and thought "uh oh, McCain better not ride on any small airplanes." I read on the web that others thought so too. Frighteningly McCain also thought that.
- rob 6:11 PM - [PermaLink] -
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