Bush's too-typical visit to Missouri
I'm surprised that Bush doesn't head to my home state more often. Missouri's Blunt family should really remind Bush of his own, just on a smaller scale.
There's the patriarch, House Majority Whip Roy Blunt. He's been around forever, but really hit his stride in the neo-fascist era as Tom DeLay's lieutenant. Acting pious while raking in the special interest dollars his benefitted him almost as much as "The Hammer" himself. But Roy has more of an edge than Bush the First. He's sorta Bush I with Barbara's mean streak thrown in. Bush the Second is a lot like Missouri's current governor Matt Blunt. Matt is kind of a dumbass, and coasted to his prominent position solely on his father's name, only to find himself in completely over his head and among the least popular governors in the nation. Roy Blunt's other son is a lot like Neil Bush. He isn't in politics per se, but family connections have landed him a cushy lobbying job for Phillip-Morris-- a big contributor to Daddy's campaigns. He's content to make a living saying "I'm Roy Blunt's son" while passing the hat.
Anyway, Bush headed to the capital yesterday to pitch his failed healthcare policies, and did it in his usual style:
Both events are closed to the public. The state Republican Party distributed most of the roughly 500 tickets for the Arts Center event, which are primarily going to party loyalists, a spokesman said.
The thing is, the governor took a powder. Blunt is facing an uphill re-election battle this year, and apparently he's joined the growing ranks of Republicans who'd rather not be tied to the White House.
Never fear, though. GOP activists were on hand to do the heavy lying... errr, lifting.
State GOP spokesman Paul Sloca said Bush selected Missouri as a backdrop to promote [Medicare] Part D because "it's been a total success here. In Missouri, about two-thirds of those eligible have applied for it."
You can guess what's coming next. Although embattled Missouri Republicans have been boasting about this 66% success rate, it's apparently total horseshit.
Only 17%, not 66%, of Eligible Missourians Have Self-Enrolled in a Part D Plan. As of March 18, 2006, only 157,088 Missourians had self-enrolled in a stand-alone Part D plan, despite what [Senator] Talent has claimed. That is 17% of all Medicare beneficiaries. [Kaiser Family Foundation, "State Health Facts," 3/18/06]
There's the patriarch, House Majority Whip Roy Blunt. He's been around forever, but really hit his stride in the neo-fascist era as Tom DeLay's lieutenant. Acting pious while raking in the special interest dollars his benefitted him almost as much as "The Hammer" himself. But Roy has more of an edge than Bush the First. He's sorta Bush I with Barbara's mean streak thrown in. Bush the Second is a lot like Missouri's current governor Matt Blunt. Matt is kind of a dumbass, and coasted to his prominent position solely on his father's name, only to find himself in completely over his head and among the least popular governors in the nation. Roy Blunt's other son is a lot like Neil Bush. He isn't in politics per se, but family connections have landed him a cushy lobbying job for Phillip-Morris-- a big contributor to Daddy's campaigns. He's content to make a living saying "I'm Roy Blunt's son" while passing the hat.
Anyway, Bush headed to the capital yesterday to pitch his failed healthcare policies, and did it in his usual style:
Both events are closed to the public. The state Republican Party distributed most of the roughly 500 tickets for the Arts Center event, which are primarily going to party loyalists, a spokesman said.
The thing is, the governor took a powder. Blunt is facing an uphill re-election battle this year, and apparently he's joined the growing ranks of Republicans who'd rather not be tied to the White House.
Never fear, though. GOP activists were on hand to do the heavy lying... errr, lifting.
State GOP spokesman Paul Sloca said Bush selected Missouri as a backdrop to promote [Medicare] Part D because "it's been a total success here. In Missouri, about two-thirds of those eligible have applied for it."
You can guess what's coming next. Although embattled Missouri Republicans have been boasting about this 66% success rate, it's apparently total horseshit.
Only 17%, not 66%, of Eligible Missourians Have Self-Enrolled in a Part D Plan. As of March 18, 2006, only 157,088 Missourians had self-enrolled in a stand-alone Part D plan, despite what [Senator] Talent has claimed. That is 17% of all Medicare beneficiaries. [Kaiser Family Foundation, "State Health Facts," 3/18/06]
posted by Matt Sandwich | 6:30 PM
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