As I wrote previously, President Bush is spending way too much money. I linked to a Washington Times article before, and here's another that says that conservative groups are finally starting to put some pressure on GOP politicians to reign in spending.
National leaders of six conservative organizations yesterday broke with the Republican majorities in the House and Senate, accusing them of spending like "drunken sailors," and had some strong words for President Bush as well. ..."Congress' continued fiscal irresponsibility is clearly exhibited in the thousands of pork projects contained in the bill," the Heritage report noted.
The Heritage report says the omnibus bill will set the stage for discretionary spending to increase by 9 percent in 2004 to $900 billion, not the 3 percent claimed by Congress. ...
Mr. Bush and the Republican lawmakers are expected to face another barrage of criticism next week, this time from some 4,000 activists at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, where Vice President Dick Cheney and Republican congressional leaders are slated to speak.
"A lot of Senate Republicans will be speaking at CPAC, and the grass-roots conservatives attending won't be shy about their displeasure," said Richard Lessner, executive director of the American Conservative Union.
I'm glad I'm not the only person feeling this way, and I only hope enough pressure can be brought to bear on the Republicans to have an effect.
The problem is, where else can I, and others like me, go? All we can do is stay home and end up with Howard Dean. The Republicans know this, but they should figure that most right-inclined voters won't make such a rational decision and may just lose enthusiasm if they don't like President Bush's policies.
What's really frustrating to me is that the $400 billion presciption drug entitlement is already set in stone, and it's likely to be the potential space exploration spending that evaporates.
Daniel and I were just talking about this last night. Eventually it came down to the fact that although we disagree with a lot of what Bush is currently doing, we can't vote for anyone who is pro-choice and not voting is simply not an option. Personally, I think Bush's plan for international relations is also better than what the Democrats have to offer. Fiscally, though, what a mess.
Well, one place to start as an individual is with your Congresspersons in both houses. I found a rather neat website the other day called YourCongress.com. They will tell you who your reps are, every possible way to reach them and also offer "quick bitch" and "quick thanks" links you can use to contact them.
Michael, you will like this... They also offer a link to write your own bill and send it to your reps...
Heather: Thanks for the info, I write my congresspeople all the time. It doesn't seem to do much good, because I get form letters back saying they hear me and want to do exactly what I want, and then listing a bunch of policies they're sure I'll like, which are all terrible.