Gigantic Overrides Of Bush's Medicare Veto In The House And Senate-- Republicans Flee Bush Agenda In Droves

Even Republicans aren't buying this crap anymore

Republicans hate government programs that help working people; that way they can use all our tax money to bail out millionaire campaign contributors who run big corporations into the ground. So they cut and slash and do whatever they can to destroy programs that make difference in people's lives. McCain has made it perfectly clear, for example, that if he gets into the White House he will do what he can to finish off Social Security, a decades' long dream for the old guard greed and selfishness wing of the Republican Party. He will also continue Bush's work eviscerating the regulatory agencies, something which has worked out so poorly put that few Americans understand is an actual Republican goal.

A couple weeks ago they ran into a little big bump in the road to further crippling working people financially: in their last ditch effort to accelerate the weakening of Medicare before Bush leaves office, they wound up giving a core Republican constituency-- doctors-- a huge pay cut. Doctors have a powerful "union" and they don't whine; they took action-- spending a "whatever it takes" on radio ads in Republican districts. The Texas Medical Association actually unendorsed Senator John Cornyn, a huge move. And the result was preordained. Enough cowardly Republicans abandoned their "principles," their instincts, and their leaders, crossed the aisle and voted with the Democrats in both houses of Congress to present Bush with veto-proof majorities.

Needless to say, that didn't stop Bush from vetoing the bill. This afternoon both the Senate and the House overrode Bush's veto. Harry Reid: "Congress today did its part to make sure the President’s stubborn opposition to the millions of American seniors and veterans who rely on Medicare does not stand.  Refusing to respect the will of the American people or its elected representatives, the President vetoed a bipartisan bill passed overwhelmingly by both houses.  We wasted no time in reversing the President’s carelessness and protecting our nation’s doctors and the patients they treat-- and this responsible and overdue Medicare fix is now law."

In the House the override was a reflection of the contempt that even Republicans feel for the lamest lame duck in anyone's memory-- 383 against Bush and only 41 to sustain his veto. That 41 is especially interesting because it includes 22 frightened little Republicans who changed their vote since voting with Bush just a few days ago. Most of the flip-floppers are Republicans with big fat targets on their backs, representatives whose constituents have begun to wise up to their shenanigans. Examples of Republicans who had voted against Medicare last week and then voted against Bush this week are some of the most out of touch extremists in Congress, but each one facing a daunting challenge in November:

Scott Garrett (R-NJ)
Patrick McHenry (R-NC), who used to brag he would never compromise his right-wing "principles"
Michele Bachmann (R-MN)
John Shadegg (R-AZ)
John Culberson (R-TX)
Dan Lungren (D-CA)

So who stuck with Bush? 41 pathetic dead-enders: a handful of crazy extremists with believe they are immune to November accountability [Westmoreland (R-GA), Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Neugebauer (R-TX), Pence (R-IN), Barton (R-TX), Cantor (R-VA), Campbell (R-CA), King (R-IA)]; plus most of the party's ineffectual leadership [Blunt, Cole and Boehner; even Howdy Doody abandoned them]; and many of the ones who are retiring or on their way to prison or a presidential pardon [Renzi (R-AZ), Doolittle (R-CA), Weldon (R-FL), Tancredo (R-CO), Cannon (R-UT), McCrery (R-LA)]. That's what's left of Tom DeLay's once mighty Republican coalition that could respond to Democrats' demands that taxpayers get a break for buying fuel efficient vehicles by passing a law that gave tax breaks of over $20,000 to Americans who bought Hummers and other giant gas-guzzling SUVs.

Meanwhile, over on the Senate side, the 26 most right wing extremists were the only ones who had the nerve to stand up to the doctors threats-- most of whom aren't up for re-election. Chastened-- or scared for his political life, Cornyn voted to override a veto he completely agrees with-- what a wimp! At least the even more crazy, more out of touch and more extremist Inhofe stuck with Bush, probably figuring that no one in Oklahoma was paying attention. Oklahoma State Senator Andrew Rice was paying attention-- very close attention. Not only is he running against Inhofe, he is also one of the Oklahoma legislature's most respected voices when it comes to affordable medical care for seniors and veterans.

"Even as more of his Republican colleagues came around to support restoration of Medicare and Tricare reimbursements to physicians, Jim Inhofe refused to budge," Rice said. "That leaves him with George W. Bush and insurance companies, not with seniors, military families and the physicians who treat them... "In this case, where three votes occurred over just two weeks, it is hard for Oklahomans not to notice where Jim Inhofe chooses to stand. If Inhofe and Bush had prevailed, seniors and military families would have lost access to health care."

Also sticking with Bush to the bitter end were McConnell (R-KY), Sununu (R-NH), Thune (R-SD), Sessions (R-AL), Graham (R-SC), Barrasso (R-WY). I had to laugh as Roger Wicker (R-MS), who voted against the doctors last week, tripped over his own flat feet as he scurried across the aisle to vote with the Democrats to override. He had been especially targeted by the American Medical Association and recent polling shows that it is unlikely that he will be re-elected. Needless to say, the double-talking McCain skipped the vote and refused to stake out a public position.