He told you he'd veto it, yet Congress voted for it anyways.
What's worrying is that this was all based upon a 61 cents per pack tax on cigarettes to pay for this program.
So what happens if smokers don't smoke as much? Who's going to pick up the extra tab?
Well that's not important to people like Russell Shaw at Huffington:
When President Bush vetoed bipartisan legislation this morning that would fund health care for four million uninsured children by boosting the Federal cigarette tax a whole 39 cents, he did so quietly, locked up in private, without any public appearances.
To me that is the essence of cowardice.
Maybe the same cowardice a much younger Bush exhibited when he used family connections to get into a National Guard unit that didn't go to Vietnam- and that he has never furnished evidence he fulfilled his obligations in.
Russell, perhaps if you paid attention, Bush did say publicly a little while ago that he would veto an expensive hike in the program but would sign a more modest increase in spending.
Where's the problem with that? The program that Democrats wanted would raise the eligibility to 300% of the poverty line. That will put a LOT of people who get insurance through their employers already, into the program.
That added expense is something that isn't what the program is designed for. It's designed to help poor children get health care, remember? It's not socialized medicine.
Besides, Democrats wouldn't DARE ask for an across the board tax hike in say something like gasoline? Everyone uses gas, so why not tax everyone equally? Because Democrats hate rich people and smokers, and they have no problem sticking them with the bill over and over again.
Who's going to come to the defense of smokers? I will. If you want America to pay for something, you have to ask ALL Americans to pay for it, not just everyone but your constituency.
Travis
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