Bush: Defunding the Left, The Real Theme to the State of the Union Address
/- Originally published in The Hotline February 4, 2005
Newark Star-Ledger's Farmer writes, "Rarely has a State of the Union address been so blatantly political in design" like Pres. Bush's this week. "Its three major domestic proposals -Social Security privatization, 'guest worker' status for illegal immigrants and limiting damage awards in lawsuits - are aimed squarely at weakening the Democratic Party's ties to younger voters and Hispanics and crippling one of its mots generous financial backers, lawyers. ... Take Social Security. No government program of any kind has done more to build loyalty among ordinary Americans to the Democratic Party. But it's going bankrupt Bush says. The president's remedy would divert part of the Social Security fund's annual income into stocks or bonds in a bid to induce ordinary Americans to identify their interests more with private investment than with government largesse. ... Ditto with Bush's proposed immigration 'reform.' Hispanics are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the country and, for the most part, a plus at election time for Democrats. ... Bush's 'guest worker' plan - an ill-disguised way of granting amnesty to millions of illegals - is a bald attempt to switch Hispanic loyalties over time to the GOP. ... The trial lawyers are easy pickings for Bush. ... The public blames greedy lawyers for skyrocketing medical malpractice insurance costs - with little knowledge of all the facts. ... By one account, it has surpassed organized labor as the Democrats' principal source of ready cash. And that's enough to earn trial lawyers a spot on Bush's hit list" (2/4).
