Democratic Maneuvering

The Democrats pushed through a bill for children's insurance that sounds good for the children but had problems with who would benefit and who would pay. The very people who need assistance the most would have born most of the burden of the cigarette tax. So President Bush vetoed it.

This situation was a win/win for the Democrats because, had it passed, it would be the first step in socialized medicine in the U.S. - something that isn't working well in other countries. But since the bill was vetoed, it gives the Democrats another chance to vilify President Bush, making him out as careless of the children. And yet, President Bush actually wanted to expand the original funding to the program - it is the Democrats who want to expand it radically in directions that penalized the poor via increased taxation on cigarettes.

This is yet another example of extreme spin by the far left. In actuality, the Democrats set up something that, at first glance, looks good - but would actually be damaging when you study the details. And so the president has to block it, and the Democrats get to blast him yet again.

This is an example of political use of the media - anyone who actually studies what the Democrats proposed could see it would hurt poor people financially out of proportion to the benefit - but this truth is not evident in the headlines. All you will see there is how Bush vetoed free insurance for millions of kids, but still wants funding for the war effort. Talk about spin!

-Pop