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Republicans Hail Bush's Economic Agenda Sunday, Mar 12, 2006 By Aaron Sadler Arkansas News Bureau MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Senate Republicans at a GOP rally hailed President Bush's economic agenda Saturday and renewed their commitment to repealing the estate tax and making tax cuts permanent. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee joined colleagues who stood behind the increasingly unpopular president during speeches Saturday at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference. They took turns bashing their Democratic counterparts and extolling their party's platform before 1,800 delegates to the event, held at the Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis. Bush's approval ratings were at 37 percent, the lowest of his presidency, but GOP leaders seemed undeterred Saturday. Frist said the president's tax plan has led to lower unemployment and a stronger economy. The cuts are set to expire in 2010. "You won't ever hear a Democrat admit it, but our tax cuts are working," Frist said. "They've led to three years of record growth, and now is the time to make those tax cuts permanent." Frist, Virginia Sen. George Allen, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham are considered possible contenders for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. All four spoke at the conference Saturday in advance of a presidential preference straw poll among delegates. All four focused, however, on their jobs in Washington, where they criticized Democrats for trying to block Bush's recent nomination of Judge Sam Alito to the Supreme Court. They also blasted the opposition party for waffling in their support on the war on terror. "The strategy is, we win, they lose, and there is no substitute for victory in the war on terror," said Allen, whose forceful 8:30 a.m. address jostled the crowd awake. The nation's economy could wither without permanent tax cuts, said Allen. Frist said he will force Senate consideration of a repeal of the estate tax, or death tax, in May. "We're on course to eliminate the death tax, which is socialism," Graham said. "Our economy is at an all-time high because Republicans have given money back to the working people of this country." Allen, like his colleagues, said Congress must control spending by authorizing a line-item veto for the president. The president could eliminate wasteful, pork-barrel projects with line-item veto power, he said. Graham said he was "sorry" that Congress had wastefully spent some tax money. Gov. Mike Huckabee also joined the crusade against extravagant Washington spending. Huckabee, who spoke to delegates Saturday morning, said it was fair to criticize the Republican-controlled Congress for out-of-control spending. "I don't see any real innovations going on from Washington," he said in an impromptu news conference after his speech. "I see a lot of in-fighting. And frankly, on the spending level, it's difficult to tell which party is which." Allen supports a Constitutional amendment to balance the budget as a way to control pork. He also plans to introduce legislation preventing members of Congress from receiving a paycheck if they fail to adopt a budget by the October start of each fiscal year. Also Saturday, speakers repeatedly invoked Ronald Reagan's memory while identifying their party as one favoring limited government. Brownback focused on his pro-life stance. "The core battle of our day is the battle to defend the inherent dignity of every human," he said. Brownback talked about his adopted daughter, Jenna Joy Brownback, who was born in China. The girl's birth mother chose not to have an abortion, he said. His daughter turns 8 today. "Our party is the party of life from conception to natural death," he said. Other speakers at Saturday's conference included House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, all Republicans. |
