GWB’s proposed budget is out — and it’s going to be a battle royal because it’s going to require deep cuts in social programs while bolstering the military in an era of tax cuts.
This battle could shape up as more frenzied and bitter than the historical battle when Ronald Reagan came to power and began slashing away at key programs:
President Bush plans to unveil a $2.5 trillion budget today eliminating dozens of politically sensitive domestic programs, including funding for education, environmental protection and business development, while proposing significant increases for the military and international spending, according to White House documents.
Overall, discretionary spending other than defense and homeland security would fall by nearly 1 percent, the first time in many years that funding for the major part of the budget controlled by Congress would actually go down in real terms, according to officials with access to the budget. The cuts are scattered across a wide swath of the government, affecting a cross-section of constituents, from migrant workers to train passengers to local police departments, according to officials who read portions of the documents to The Washington Post.
About 150 programs in all would be shuttered or radically cut back to help meet Bush’s goal of shaving the budget deficit in half by 2009. One out of every three of the targeted programs concerns education. Medicaid funding would be reduced significantly and even major military weapons programs would be scrapped to make more resources available for the war in Iraq.
Some congressional officials pronounced many of the proposed cuts dead on arrival. One lawmaker involved in the negotiations said that House and Senate leaders have told the White House that no more than two dozen of the 150 proposals are likely to be accepted, although Congress might agree to reductions in some programs targeted for elimination…
Some administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the budget has not been released, acknowledged that they faced an uphill struggle on the proposed cuts, some of which were rejected in the past. One official said the White House plans an elaborate marketing strategy to sell the cuts to voters and lawmakers as “centralizing government services and saving taxpayer money.”
So what could we face? Questions:
- Will George Bush lose strength as he battles to slash programs and also reform Social Security with a plan that polls suggests is supported and opposed along partisan lines?
- Or will he display acute political skills, trading off concessions on some budget proposals, for some deals on budget cuts?
- So this, too will be sold via an elaborate marketing strategy: does this mean we’re in the era now of perpetual political campaigns, where it’s pull-out-all stops?
- If the budget cuts and Social Security plans are going to be sold by using detailed marketing and mobilization of political resources, does this mean both debates will degenerate into demonization by both sides?
POTENTIAL: Big issues will be handled and a substantive debate will be held. PITFALL: It could turn into more of the politics of rage on both sides if it’s not handled seriously.
UPDATE: But George Bush is going into his powder-keg political battles with some renewered strength, according to a new USA Today poll which shows him with the most support that he’s had in one year:
WASHINGTON — Americans gave President Bush his highest approval rating in more than a year and showed cautious optimism about Iraq in a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll taken days after historic elections in Iraq.
In reversals from a month ago, majorities said that going to war in Iraq was not a mistake, that things are going well there and that it’s likely democracy will be established in Iraq. Bush’s approval rating of 57% was his highest since he reached 59% in January 2004. Strategists from both parties attributed the rise to timing.
But this does not mean he faces clear sailing:”The public remains skeptical about Bush’s plans to partially privatize Social Security, however. Only 44% said they approved of his approach, compared with 50% who said they disapproved.”
Related Post: Is George Bush A “Transformative President?”
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.