Appropriations Farce, Part 1
Yesterday’s press event at the White House, where President Bush screamed at Congress for not yet passing any of the fiscal 2008 appropriations bills reminded me of the 1966 football game between Michigan State and Notre Dame.
I have vivid memories of that game. What I remember most is that, with the game tied 10-10, Notre Dame ran out the clock while the Michigan State players screamed at them to run a play and taunted them for not doing so.
Like what happened 41 years ago, yesterday the president was screaming at the Democrats to pass something so that he could get in the game by vetoing it. Michigan State couldn't recover a fumble or intercept a pass unless the Irish ran a plan; the president is similarly irrelevant until Congress passes legislation. Like the Michigan State Spartans who were on defense, Bush taunted the Democrats for refusing to give him a chance to win.
The president and the GOP members of Congress have virtually no credibility on this issue. During the six years Republicans controlled Congress from 2001 to 2006, passing appropriations was of no interest and apparently no concern. In fact, this six-year period marks one of the worst in congressional history in terms of getting appropriations enacted by the start of the fiscal year, enacted at all, and relying on continuing resolutions to keep the government from shutting down when appropriations were not enacted on time. For six years the Bush administration was silent as this happened.
That’s why seeing these appropriations truants at the White House yesterday professing shock and anger over Congress not yet passing appropriations this year was close to a farce, the political equivalent of someone who kills his parents asking for leniency from the court because he or she is an orphan.
I have vivid memories of that game. What I remember most is that, with the game tied 10-10, Notre Dame ran out the clock while the Michigan State players screamed at them to run a play and taunted them for not doing so.
Like what happened 41 years ago, yesterday the president was screaming at the Democrats to pass something so that he could get in the game by vetoing it. Michigan State couldn't recover a fumble or intercept a pass unless the Irish ran a plan; the president is similarly irrelevant until Congress passes legislation. Like the Michigan State Spartans who were on defense, Bush taunted the Democrats for refusing to give him a chance to win.
The president and the GOP members of Congress have virtually no credibility on this issue. During the six years Republicans controlled Congress from 2001 to 2006, passing appropriations was of no interest and apparently no concern. In fact, this six-year period marks one of the worst in congressional history in terms of getting appropriations enacted by the start of the fiscal year, enacted at all, and relying on continuing resolutions to keep the government from shutting down when appropriations were not enacted on time. For six years the Bush administration was silent as this happened.
That’s why seeing these appropriations truants at the White House yesterday professing shock and anger over Congress not yet passing appropriations this year was close to a farce, the political equivalent of someone who kills his parents asking for leniency from the court because he or she is an orphan.
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