The Legacy
Nov 27th, 2006 at 2:26 am by Susie
What will he do next?
The New York Times will raise the question on the minds of all of Washingtons Republicans in a front page splash Monday, RAW STORY has learned, according to an advance copy.
“Senior Republican staff members in Congress have voiced the fear that Bush will now put his legacy over the party’s immediate future, and take his cues from President Bill Clinton by “triangulating” when opportunity strikes — that is, making deals with Democrats, over Republican objections, on immigration, health care or Social Security,” Times reporter Jim Rutenberg writes.
“While the White House is trying to define their legacy, they’ll try to triangulate us,” said one senior Republican leadership aide who requested anonymity to speak candidly. “There is no sense of wanting to defend the Bush administration right now.” [...]
“Republicans close to the White House said Rove was already arguing that Bush should move to bolster his support with conservatives, who make up his base and will compose a greater proportion of the Republican congressional caucus after an election in which many moderate Republicans lost their seats, some to conservative Democrats,” Rutenberg continues.
But there’s a caveat, according to Rutenberg’s Washington memo analysis: The White House will “dig in hard” when it comes to congressional efforts to probe Bush’s national security programs. Vice President Dick Cheney has vowed to rebuild executive power, he notes, and is unlikely to cede ground over a single congressional election cycle.
The deal’s going to be over immigration and that’s what all the bipartisian talk out of Bush was about. He wanted the guest worker program and lax enforcement but it was the house that blocking the whole thing with the demand for a secure border and tougher penalties for illegals. That roadblock is now gone so get ready for a fast deal.
Good.
Let’s make a centrist deal on immigration,
and then investigate the ass off Bushco
on every possible front.