Alan C. Posted May 6, 2014 Posted May 6, 2014 Former president Bush honored for ‘90 tax hikes He made a simple promise: “Read my lips: no new taxes.” Then, as president in 1990, he agreed to a bipartisan budget that increased taxes. Conservatives howled, and the deal helped sink George H. W. Bush’s 1992 reelection campaign.But on Sunday, Bush aides and members of the Kennedy family came together to celebrate the former president’s willingness to buck party orthodoxy and reach across the aisle, qualities they said are sorely lacking in today’s Washington.Bush was given the John F. Kennedy “Profile in Courage Award,” for his support of the deal that cost him politically but has been credited with laying the foundation for the surpluses that followed when President Clinton took office.. . .“George Bush did the right thing for the country, and it’s nice to see people are beginning to appreciate it,” John H. Sununu, who was Bush’s chief of staff, said at the ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Dorchester.Andrew H. Card Jr., who was deputy chief of staff, said the former president’s willingness to break his no-new-taxes pledge should serve as a beacon for current members of Congress who refuse to negotiate.“We have to be careful with absolutes,” Card said. “People who are stuck with an absolute view of the world fail to recognize certain realities in the world. We want our government to work well.”. . .“America’s gain was President Bush’s loss,” Schlossberg said, “and his decision to put country above party and political prospects make him an example of a modern profile in courage that is all too rare.”
andkon Posted May 6, 2014 Posted May 6, 2014 The man had the courage to lie to millions to get into power and then extorted more from them anyways. He then was FORCED into early retirement to languish on his half a dozen estates. <sniff> Finally, his heroism to lie and extort is recognized. They should name an airport after him.
fractional slacker Posted May 7, 2014 Posted May 7, 2014 The man had the courage to lie to millions to get into power and then extorted more from them anyways. He then was FORCED into early retirement to languish on his half a dozen estates. <sniff> Finally, his heroism to lie and extort is recognized. They should name an airport after him. You are a great American just like Shrub 41. The least we can do is honor this great leader with an airpot. I would add to that: schools, federal buildings, a Taco Bell, and a national holiday. After all, with great nobility and courage he did sacrifice by bombing bad countries to save them from bad leaders. We're not worthy! We're not worthy!
Tate Posted May 7, 2014 Posted May 7, 2014 I think a politician who is willing to do something unpopular is commendable, even perhaps when it violates campaign promises, but only when it decreases the size and scope of the state. For example, it would take more guts than pretty much any politician has to cut Social Security entitlements, especially if one has promised not to cut them. Sometimes politicians make promises that are contradictory and cannot possibly be kept, but it's never the case that not raising taxes cannot be kept.
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