We were scratching our heads <$Ad$>trying to understand it. Why is President Bush heading out to Montana after his State of the Union address when Sen. Baucus (D) just couldn’t make it any clearer that he’s not going to vote for a Social Security phase-out bill?
We tossed around a bunch of possible explanations before suddenly the mysterious hidden truth revealed itself: Baucus is just a cover. President Bush is really going to Montana to muscle the state’s sole member of the House of Representatives: Rep. Denny Rehberg (R).
Sure, he may have flown under the radar until now. But when asked about the president’s phase-out plan back in mid-November, here’s what he told the Great Falls Tribune …
U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, Montana’s sole House member and a Republican, says he’s a long way from feeling comfortable about “privatizing” or allowing “personal accounts” with Social Security funds, as suggested by the president.
“I haven’t seen anything I can support yet,” he says.
Not only is Rehberg suggesting he won’t vote for phase-out, he’s even using the demeaning ‘privatizing’ buzzword that even most national political reporters aren’t allowed to use anymore. That’s insubordination this president won’t stand.
And along these lines, what about the other states the president is hitting on the campaign trail? I would hate to think that any responsible journalist would cover the president’s swing through Florida without finding out whether he’s able to get Conscience Caucus members Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R) or Rep. Katherine Harris (R) to sign on.
And what about Sen. Chuck Hagel (R) out in Nebraska? He’s been awful silent.
I mean, c’mon. The real question here is whether the president can get members of his own party on board.
