Bush's Agenda to Grow Gov't Size and Influence

President Bush's second-term agenda would expand not only the size of the federal government but also its influence over the lives of millions of Americans by imposing new national restrictions on high schools, court cases and marriages.

In a clear break from Republican campaigns of the 1990s to downsize government and devolve power to the states, Bush is fostering what amounts to an era of new federalism in which the national government shapes, not shrinks, programs and institutions to comport with various conservative ideals, according to Republicans inside and outside the White House.

Bush is calling for new federal accountability and testing requirements for all public high schools, after imposing similar mandates on grades three through eight during his first term. To limit lawsuits against businesses and professionals, he is proposing to put a federal cap on damage awards for medical malpractice, to force class-action cases into federal courts and to help create a national settlement of outstanding asbestos-related cases.

www.msnbc.msn.com...

This just makes me ill to my stomach. We already have the biggest "government" in history and Bush plans to grow it even more Get ready folks, this is the beginning of the end. Parents, I hope you are ready to let big gov't start raising your kids.

Bush promised to cut "ineffective programs" right?

Why then is he increasing the abstinence education budget to $206 million (another $39m)?

Read the article. Ask anyone with a PHD (that isn't in theology).

Abortions are up during Bush's term. Divorces are up during Bush's term. And, thanks to abstinence-only education, it looks like teen sex is also up during Bush's term.

So he's just going to cut some ineffective programs, right?

Not if Republicans have anything to say about it!

Powerful Republicans Worry About Budget Cuts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites)'s proposed spending cuts drew worried criticism on Tuesday from the Republican heads of congressional budget committees, and key party members said his priorities were not binding.

I mean how's George Welfare Bush going to "cut the budget in half in four years" as promised? Not by progressive taxes on the top 3%. We know that.

But seriously, what's the only President in history to have the dubious distinction of rubber stamping every spending bill put before him finally going to cut?

On Stargate!?! Wow!!

On thread: I'm so enthused that "Conservatives" will continue to hammer & hang onto labels, even though this administration that they so vocally endorse is ripping out the stuffing of what used to be the GOP party I belonged to.

this makes no sense. Historically, the the leftist governments are larger than the right leaning governments. Shrinking the size of government does away with accountability, and this is exactly what Bush needs right now.

Thank God for the Republicans the party of smaller government and personally freedom

VOTE LIBERTARIAN

The Republican party has no interest in changing things. They are also the party of power, and they have it, and nothing is going on aside from technical garbage.

The Republican Party is doing the same things that they used to criticize Democrats for doing.....excessive spending, weak on immigration, using the military to police the world...

Yeah, bigger government and more power to the big corporations, that is what the Republicans stand for now, keep all the profits withing the family and in the family business.

One thing for sure, it ain't your family or my family profiting.

What ever happened to the days when Republicans actually believed in limited government? or fiscal conservatism for that matter???