The Badger Herald

OPINION & EDITORIAL

Despite failings, Bush right on water bill veto

Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.

Also by Charles Lim:

Blackwater security firm raises questions of sovereignty, authority (October 4, 2007)
Compassionate care measure heartless (September 19, 2007)
Breast feeding an unnatural target (September 5, 2007)
Despite failings, Bush right on water bill veto (November 14, 2007)
Fake press raises disturbing questions (October 31, 2007)

by Charles Lim

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

More than six years after Sept. 11, our world has shifted significantly, but we still play into the same mechanisms as before. Saddam Hussein is gone, but our anger is still there, not directed toward Iraq but instead at home. The pariah of the moment is our own President George W. Bush. Popular opinion of the man ranges from "partisan politician" to "asshole" to everything in between. Is he easy to hate? I won't deny the facts: The man's actions make it hard to defend him in any aspect. What is important, however, is no matter the frequency of his outrageously antagonistic gaffes, we must not lose our objectivity or our impartiality.

The greatest example in this context is Mr. Bush's most recent veto (and subsequent overriding by the House and Senate) of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007. Outwardly taglined as "one of the most important public infrastructure works of the century," the bill aimed to pour funds into various water projects around the country and funnel cash into the coffers of the Army Corps of Engineers, the main government arm in charge of national construction.

Passed overwhelmingly by both the House and Senate, it sounds like the quintessential bill of the people, and indeed it drew fierce criticism of the president when he practiced the power of his veto.

Most people's reactions were that "Bush wants people to drown/dehydrate/not have toilets." If I too gave into the mental defense of labeling Mr. Bush as pure maleficent sin, I would be right there with them shouting "baby eater" at the top of my lungs. However, we, as rational students, owe it not only to the president (He is human after all, somewhere in there.) but also to ourselves to delve deeper into the issue to truly comprehend the motivation of the veto beyond the convenient knee-jerk reactions.

Surprisingly, some of Mr. Bush's qualms with this bill have merit beyond the insidious motivations some claim. Some founded concerns include the bill's containing more than 900 "pork barrel" earmarks solely intended to fund pet projects such as "beach beautification" for the wealthy communities of certain senators' hometowns. That excess is accompanied by the lack of significant accountability measures for funds directed toward the Army Corps of Engineers, which has received criticism for incompetence in its levee construction in New Orleans, a factor in the extent of catastrophic damage Hurricane Katrina caused. This is all without mentioning the Corps has also been historically ripe for abuse and embezzlement, which Wisconsin's own Sen. Russ Feingold cited as his reason for supporting Bush's veto. That the bill has ballooned to almost 10 billion dollars over its original proposal to a total of $23 billion over 14 years is reason enough for suspicion.

Of course, one could make the argument that Mr. Bush could give two shits about all that and is simply using the veto as a ploy to appeal to his fiscally conservative base, as well as to come off strong against Congress, which has an even lower approval rating than himself.

In either case, we as people of even and rational opinion must make a tough choice. Are the funds in the bill — which are meant to be allocated to severely needy areas such as the drought-stricken South, post-Katrina gulf and deteriorating Everglades — worth it, given the knowledge that we are perpetuating a pet-project Congress? Or should we take a stand for accountable government spending and apply that practice here and hope for a reformed, more fiscally responsible amendment proposal?

In either case I hope the decision we make is based off of logic and rational thought, rather than emotional portrayals and superficial reactions. I would hope America is brave enough to be able to not only acknowledge the necessity in accepting that the world is never black and white, but that it is also enthusiastic in exploring and holding intelligent discourse on all the shades in between.

Charles Lim (celim@wisc.edu) is a junior with no declared major.

Feedback

Show all comments

Hide anonymous comments

Anonymous (November 14, 2007 @ 6:42am):

Wow. Bush and Feingold agree on something...and they're both right. Congress should have cut out the pork and sent the bill back to the President. Alas, we're the one stuck with the massive national debt.

Anonymous (November 14, 2007 @ 1:27pm):

I would rather see a few billion in congressional "pet projects" then a few trillion on the president's one pet project.

Anonymous (November 14, 2007 @ 7:28pm):

First two sentences: 9/11... Saddam Hussein.

Someone's confused.

Add a comment

We welcome your thoughts, but please keep your feedback thoughtful, on-topic and respectful. Offensive language, personal attacks, or irrelevant comments may be deleted.