European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 25, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday june 25, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 13 commentary Walter Mears f. Bush s veto strategy plays defense and offence s e e Kinc r Epli it i c a n re i n Force m e n to. P re s i de n t Bush complains that he s reduced to a playing defense Quot in Congress. That Means vetoes. R. The list of democratic measures subject to veto threats is Long and getting longer part of a veto strategy the White House tries to users More than a last resort. A Bush seeks to make the veto an offensive weapon too to seek Compromise demand concessions and try to get his own Way. With democrats dominant in Congress Bush said the other Day a we re asked to play sing from their music and i m not going to do a democratic senator complains that the administration is threatening to veto Bills that Haven to even been introduced yet. There a a Broad warning on a whole class of legislation Bush has said he will veto any measure that would Case restrictions on the use of Federal funds for abortion even abortion counselling. With republicans outnumbered in both the House and the Senate and with Only an outside Chance of gop gains to reverse Senate control during a second term Bush has Only the veto to Back most of his legislative demands. A was it is now. In a playing defense in the House i m playing defense in the Senate a he said at a Republican fund raising dinner in Milwaukee. A thank god we had 21 vetoes and every single one of them was sustained. We re got to keep bad things from happening and then get More people so we can make Good things happen in the in a Pep talk to Republican senators last month. Bush sketched in the other Side of the veto strategy saying a a it a the Only Way we can get decent Republican ideas through Congress. A when we�?Tre1 in a minority the Only Way we re going to get something done is to beat Down the bad idea before they give us a shot at a Good idea a he said urging gop senators to support him against override has threatened a second veto of the civil rights Bill he says would Lead to hiring quotas. And he has said he would also reject spending limits or Public financing in congressional campaigns a family leave Bill legislation to bar the hiring of permanent replacements for striking workers measures to make the Cable television Industry once again subject to Federal regulation defense spending cuts aimed at weapons the administration wants legislation to deny Trade preferences to China. And More. A a a the Only Domestic policy action that appeals to the president seems of be the veto a said sen. Howard m. Metzenbaum a Ohio. A the sleeps at night and dreams David Broder ,. V-1 ? a. About the veto. He w Akes up in the morning talking about the to make a veto stick Bush needs Only one vote More than one third in either the House or the Senate. To get his own Bills passed he needs More than half. Hence the veto strategy. It works Best for an administration with a limited set of legislative Aims. And that is the Case with Bush despite his claim that a a we arc going to keep fighting for our Domestic desert storm for our Domestic Agenda Quot Bush and his lieutenants use vetoes and veto threats to Force their Way to the bargaining table on legislation. Ronald Reagan would hint but say whether he would sign or veto a Bill until it got to his desk. Bush not Only says what head veto he sometimes tells Congress in Advance what it could change in order to get his signature. A. That san opening for Compromise although it does no to necessarily Lead anywhere. Bush said in Milwaukee that the democrats want things done their Way and he Isnit interested a i Wasny to elected to do it their Way i was elected to do it our Way the sensible Way Quot he told his Republican audience. By the numbers Bush s 21 vetoes so far compare with 78 Reagan vetoes nine of them overridden by Congress during two full terms which is nothing to compare with Franklin. D. Roosevelt s 635, nine overrides. Or for that matter. Harry a Truman a 250, with 12 overrides most of them during his struggle with a Republican Congress he denounced As a do nothing Quot and made his target in the 1948 Campaign. Converted into gob terms that could be the Model for a Bush Campaign against democrats As a tired old character who want to go Back and say. Let the Federal government solve All our problems. A a a we re moving into a political Bush says a a we re hearing All kinds of weird voices out of the Pas democratic labor Alliance experiencing Strain the Alliance of organized labor and the democratic party a one of the Cornerstones of american polities for 60 years a has come on hard times. Some democrats on Capitol Hill see the Union leadership As old arid out of touch. Some labor leaders think the democrats Are ingrates and political chameleons. But like an unhappy couple they have so much invested in each other they cannot seriously contemplate divorce. Last week when the democrats celebrated John Olvert a narrow two Point Victory in a special election that ended almost 100 years of Republican control Over Western Massachusetts first congressional District it was As much labors win As anyone a. _ in a Campaign that spent a bit less than $500,000, organized labors political action committees packs contributed a More than $125,000.&Quot along with phone Banks and direct mailings to members said John Perkins director of the Al Cio committee on political education Cope. William Rosen press spokesman for inc new congressman was simply confirming the obvious when he said a we received a lot of support from labor both financial and people on the Street. It was the key to our that is so a commonplace for democrats it is hardly news. But this example occurred just after the democratic leadership of the House and Senate had abandoned labor s top priority legislative Issue so far this year by helping pass the a fast track authority that opens the Way for president Bush to negotiate a free Trade agreement Between the United states and Mexico. Labors pressure a and its arguments that the agreement would shift . Jobs to Low wage mexican factories a persuaded most democratic senators and representatives to oppose the measure. But with Many of the top democrats supporting the president. Bush got what he wanted a and labor got an embarrassing defeat. Among the defectors in the Senate were majority Leader George Mitchell Maine and such big shots As Sens. Lloyd Bentsen Texas Joseph Bitch Del. Bill Bradley Gore or. Tenn. Edward Kennedy mass Bob Kerrey neb and Jay Rockefeller . In the House speaker Tom Foley did not vote but three of his four Washington state democratic colleagues opposed labors position. So did majority Leader Dick Gephardt to ways and Means committee chairman Dan Rostenkowski 111. A and even rep Vic Fazio Calif j. The chairman of the democratic congressional Campaign committee. Which counts on labor to support its candidates. Leadership aides say privately that Al Cio president Lane Kirkland and labor overplayed i hair band that the movement toward a North american trading bloc has too much economic logic and political momentum to derail. But whatever the merits this Issue and others have put the democratic labor Alliance under heavy Strain. Even though he pointed out in an interview that labor will base another shot when the negotiated mexican agreement comes Back to Capitol Hill Tor approval Kirkland did not hide his that on a great Issue that affects the livelihood and survival of our the democratic leadership took a walk. The Only prospective presidential candidate who is singing labor s tune is sen. I us Markin of Iowa perceived As a Long shot by Many but quietly rallying Strong support from the libera labor and pro Israel forces important in Derma uralic primaries. But labor is not waiting for next year s primaries to flex St Muscles. On aug. 31. The Al cd will hold a Solidarity Day aiming to assemble More than 2bd Jmst rank and file members in Washington to Call for a National health care plan and passage of legislation barring employers from permanently replacing striking workers with new employees. Kukland is Well aware that although the striker re placement Bill is sponsored by almost halt the members of the House some key democrats would like to delay a vote indefinitely because they think it too. Is a Bill on which labor is at Odds w Ith broader Public sentiment. A we re not in any Way Kirkland said of his attitude toward the democratic leadership. But he. Also warned that the vagueness of the democratic message causes More and More working families to question if it really makes a difference who gel elected. A i would go a step further and say that is Why they Are losing at the National Kirk and said the democrats need a candidate Quot who can shake the Barley. On issues that ale important to the traditional not the Quot new age issues Quot that he said have come to define liberalism. A a it a is poo
