Cost of Katrina relief splits Republican ranks - Yahoo! News
Cost of Katrina relief splits Republican ranks - Yahoo! News: "From vouchers for education and Medicaid to the creation of a giant 'opportunity zone' where Katrina struck, the Bush reconstruction effort - which he called 'one of the largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen' - is reviving prospects for policy initiatives that GOP leaders say could make or break their party's future.
At the same time, fiscal conservatives, often outside of leadership, are calling for deep cuts in existing spending to pay the costs of reconstruction. They, too, see this as a fight for the soul of the Republican Party.
'It's too early to tell. It could wind up being the New Deal on steroids,' says Mike Franc, vice president for governmental affairs at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
For a president who campaigned on
Ronald Reagan's legacy of limited government, the vast scope of needs in the region pose a special challenge. While President Roosevelt's New Deal and President Johnson's War on Poverty offer templates for a federal response, Republicans have campaigned for decades to roll them back.
'If people can agree that the last 40 years didn't help win the War on Poverty in New Orleans and the Gulf - and even hurt it - then the debate shifts into not replicating the last 40 years,' says Mr. Franc."
At the same time, fiscal conservatives, often outside of leadership, are calling for deep cuts in existing spending to pay the costs of reconstruction. They, too, see this as a fight for the soul of the Republican Party.
'It's too early to tell. It could wind up being the New Deal on steroids,' says Mike Franc, vice president for governmental affairs at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
For a president who campaigned on
Ronald Reagan's legacy of limited government, the vast scope of needs in the region pose a special challenge. While President Roosevelt's New Deal and President Johnson's War on Poverty offer templates for a federal response, Republicans have campaigned for decades to roll them back.
'If people can agree that the last 40 years didn't help win the War on Poverty in New Orleans and the Gulf - and even hurt it - then the debate shifts into not replicating the last 40 years,' says Mr. Franc."
posted by Blackgold at 10:08 PM
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