Thought Theater

George Bush: I Get My Way Or No Kid's Health Care? genre: Little Red Ribbon-Hood & Polispeak

The President continues to threaten a veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) should Congress, as expected, pass the measure which expands the program by $35 billion dollars over the next five years. The bottom line for the President centers on his displeasure with the prior rejection of his efforts to expand health care by offering tax cuts to those who will purchase private insurance.

Unfortunately, the President's plan has already been rejected...primarily because tax deductions do little for those who live in poverty. Giving a tax deduction to those who do not pay taxes is akin to offering fifty percent off on fine jewelry...it sounds like a deal to those who can afford the reduced price but it is meaningless to the customer who can't even afford to purchase the costume jewelry.

While the GOP frequently attempts to portray liberals as ideological elitists, the truth of the matter is that Republican's of George Bush's ilk are often guilty of functional elitism...a mind set that frequently finds its origin in a life of affluence...a mind set which is accompanied by a misguided belief that all that ails Americans can be addressed through tax cuts. Try as he might, the President cannot separate his ideology from the silver spoon that fed him.

With a five-year, $35 billion expansion of the children's health insurance program due for a final vote in the House today, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and White House aides agreed that Bush's opposition to the legislation stems not from its price tag but from far larger health policy issues. The White House wants to use the issue of uninsured children to resurrect the president's long-dormant proposals to change the federal tax code to help the uninsured, adults and children alike, Grassley said, calling that a laudable goal but unrealistic politically.

In talks this spring with Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, White House National Economic Council Director Al Hubbard and Hubbard's deputy, Keith Hennessey, Grassley discussed linking an extension of the 10-year-old SCHIP program to a more ambitious effort to address the adult uninsured. Grassley encouraged the White House to try to round up Democratic support for that approach, but when White House officials made no such effort, Grassley told them in April that the children's health program would have to stand alone.

That is why he said he was surprised when Bush brought it back up in a phone call Thursday, just minutes before the president went before microphones at the White House to blast the SCHIP deal.

Asked if Bush was holding the children's health bill hostage, Grassley said, "Yes."

Reading between the lines, perhaps the President retains unrealistic visions of passing his preferred health insurance legislation. Notwithstanding, he would be better served to listen to Senator Grassley.

Sadly, the President has shown little interest in consulting his opponents and seeking to forge bipartisan solutions...a hesitance likely born of a philosophy held by George Bush and his surly strategist, Karl Rove...one that places partisan success ahead of pragmatic policy. Frankly, George Bush has rarely met a reasonable bipartisan measure he hasn't attempted to politicize...and his recent comments on the SCHIP program are in keeping with the well established pattern.

With a veto almost inevitable, both sides are gearing up for the next step. Congress is likely to pass a short-term extension of the existing SCHIP program before it expires Sept. 30, then begin a second legislative effort. Grassley said if he were the Democrats, he would send the SCHIP expansion to a vote every three months, along with campaign advertisements accusing Republicans of abandoning children. That way, pressure would mount either on Bush to sign the bill or on House Republicans to override the veto.

Americans United for Change, a group closely allied with the Democratic leadership, will begin airing television ads this week in Kentucky, accusing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) of abandoning his state's children.

The White House is looking increasingly isolated on the issue. America's Health Insurance Plans, the largest insurance lobbying group, endorsed the measure yesterday, undercutting Bush's contention that the bill is a step away from private insurance and toward government-run health care.

"It repairs the safety net and is a major movement toward addressing the problems that states and governors have been trying to address, which is how to get access for children," said Karen Ignagni, the group's president.

The issue appears to be a winner for the Democrats and I personally find it encouraging to see Americans United For Change adopting the same strategy being used by the GOP to support the President's failed war in Iraq. Doing so has the added advantage of supporting a policy that actually has the potential to benefit Americans...an outcome not likely to result from the GOP campaign.

As noted by Grassley, a Republican, the President's stubbornness may well provide the Democrats another club with which to beat the already battered GOP in the run up to the 2008 election. I would expect many Republicans to abandon the President...realizing that George Bush is more concerned with his rigid ideology and his legacy than avoiding a repeat of the 2006 elections.

In the end, historians and a fair share of Republican's will likely note that George Bush was far more petulant than compassionate. This anticipated veto may simply be the icing on George Bush's less than edible legacy cake.