WASHINGTON — President Bush ratcheted up his confrontation with Democratic leaders Wednesday, laying out what he said is a stark ideological divide between a fiscally prudent, free-market-loving GOP president and a Congress that aims to raise taxes and nationalize health care.
His remarks were part of a broader effort to seize the offensive against the Democrat-led Congress in a series of legislative battles involving budgetary matters and health-care policy. But, particularly aggressive in tone, the speech also had the appearance of throwing down a political gauntlet.
As part of his argument, Bush took a not-so-veiled swipe at Sen. Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, despite promises to stay out of the political fray. In seeking to prove that Democrats really are working toward federalized care as a replacement for the current private medical system, he criticized the comprehensive and famously unsuccessful effort led by the then-first lady in the early 1990s to reshape U.S. health care and dramatically expand access.
Even without mentioning Clinton’s name, he set her up as a chief target by invoking the biggest failure of her past.
“We’ve tried by the way here in Washington to have a major effort to put the federal government square in the center of health care – in 1994 – and the legislation didn’t pass,” Bush said before a friendly audience, the fall conference of the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Products Association.
“Believe me, the Democrats in Congress who supported that legislation have learned from the experience. So instead of pushing to federalize health care all at once, they’re pushing for the same goal through a series of incremental steps. With each step, they want to bring America closer to a nationalized system where the government dictates the medical coverage for every citizen.”
Many Democrats suspect the White House is trying to fire up the Republican electorate in the 2008 race by subtly bolstering the view of Clinton, a controversial figure in their party, as a shoo-in on the Democratic side. But White House press secretary Dana Perino said politics weren’t behind Bush’s speech.
“I can assure you the president has no intention of getting involved in primary politics,” she said.
According to Bush, Democratic baby steps toward nationalized health care include allowing younger people into programs designed for senior citizens, allowing adults into programs aimed at children and allowing the middle class into programs for the poor.
“I’m not making it up,” Bush insisted.
The main evidence the president offered of Democratic ambitions on health care was an ongoing debate over expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP. Bush opposes the large expansion pushed by Democrats and opposes using tobacco taxes to finance the measure.
“It’s really a ‘trick’ on the American people,” he said in his speech delivered on Halloween.
