BUSH SAYS HE WILL VETO A CHILDREN'S HEALTH CARE BILL BACKED BY DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS-- WHAT A JERK!

"Wouldn't you rather have a nice hat like this than some dumb health insurance?"

Bush said he would veto the compromise children's health care bill Democrats and Republicans in the Senate worked out. He firmly opposes expanding federal healthcare for impoverished children. Bush said he "objects on philosophical grounds to a bipartisan Senate proposal to boost the State Children's Health Insurance Program by $35 billion over five years. Bush has proposed $5 billion in increased funding and has threatened to veto the Senate compromise and a more costly expansion being contemplated in the House."

Democrats-- and the majority of Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee-- told him he's wrong and ignored his threats, approving a 5-year, $35 billion dollar expansion (which will be financed by higher tobacco taxes).

A majority of Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee joined all of the committee's Democrats in voting to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program. The program subsidizes insurance for children and some adults with incomes too high for Medicaid but not high enough to afford private insurance. The vote was 17-4.

...The committee's Democratic leaders had wanted to add $50 billion to the program, and their House counterparts are determined to pursue that amount. The compromise forged by the committee could become extremely fragile if GOP senators are forced to vote on an expansion much beyond what the committee approved.

"I hope they understand it takes 60 votes to get anything done in the United States Senate," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

The 60 votes would be needed to overcome a filibuster. Baucus said he believes his proposal has enough support to overcome such a hurdle, as well as a promised veto from the president.

The four GOP reactionary die-hards who are still rubber stamping Bush's agenda are John Ensign (R-NV), Trent Lott (R-KKK), Jim Bunning (R-KY) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ). Republicans co-sponsoring the bill with the Democrats are moderate Olympia Snowe (ME), 3 right-wingers, Chuck Grassley (IA), Orrin Hatch (UT) and Mike Crapo (ID), and 2 nervous nellies who have become aware that their consistent records of rubber stamping everything Bush wants is putting their re-elections in jeopardy, Gordon Smith (OR) and Pat Roberts (KS).