Western Dems meet Bush: Schweitzer not impressed
You can take the cattle rancher/governor out of Montana, but you can't make him love George W. Bush. Both Brian Schweitzer and President Bush are ranch type of guys. You would think they would look into each others eyes, and see souls or something like that.
A no-nonsense rancher and wheat farmer who took office six weeks ago in a Republican state, Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer likened the president's pitch to a magic show trick featuring a rabbit in a hat.He also compared it to a bull auction hawking lousy studs.
"I was watching the governors around the room," said Schweitzer, comparing the group to potential livestock buyers who assess the wares and express their intentions with head-nods or nose-crinkles.
"I was seeing more of this," he said, crinkling his nose as if detecting a foul odor, "than I was of this," he said, nodding his head. "I didn't see a lot of buyers in the room."
Such harsh words were surprising coming from Schweitzer, who was elected after building a public image as a non-ideological problem-solver; he even chose a Republican running mate.
Just because Schweitzer was elected governor of a so called Red state, doesn't mean that he has to cowtow to a Red president. The way Schweitzer is attacking the President isn't based in a partisan stance, it is based on a regional one. Schweitzer is saying :"We don't trust this guy. Not because we're Democrats and he's a Republican, but because he's not from here. He doesn't know our problems, and he's trying to steal from us."
On the other hand, another great Western Democrat was playing much nicer:
Schweitzer's more seasoned colleagues were not quite as blunt as he was. Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, a Democrat, called Bush "gracious" in his willingness to negotiate on Medicaid financing.
Emmett O'Connell | March 1, 2005 | Comment on This Post (3 so far) |
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Comments
The difference is, Schweitzer is a real rancher. Bush is a faux rancher who likes to play pretend.
Posted by: Sid | Mar 1, 2005 10:21:56 AM
Bush is aristocracy. That ranch he owns was purchased back in 1999 or 2000 as a photo op/political prop. He doesn't know anything about it, and to real folks, it shows.
But then again, the Bushs have always been fake. They try to pass themselves off as America's family or something, when all they are is over-priveleged elitists.
Posted by: Matusleo | Mar 1, 2005 5:50:42 PM
Richardson calling Bush "gracious" is just stupid.
Now I see why some are skeptical of his value as a prez contender.
The more I see of Schwietzer, the more I like.
Posted by: Duke Shepard | Mar 2, 2005 7:55:54 AM
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(and yes, we know that sometimes they're very, very wrong. Other times, they're right on.)
