Cord Byrd: “on Friday, June 9, I noted with particular interest the headline in The Washington Post which read, ``Bush Aims at…”

“on Friday, June 9, I noted with particular interest the headline in The Washington Post which read, ``Bush Aims at `Discord' in Capital.'' Not surprisingly, candidate Bush's solution to too much partisanship in Washington is to increase the power of the Presidency. We have heard that before. We have heard it from the current President, and we have heard it from previous Presidents. But now we hear it again. Imagine that. The solution to too much partisanship in Washington is to increase the power of the President. Now imagine that! Among the ``power grabs'' the candidate advocates are biennial budgeting, a congressional budget resolution which would have to be signed by the President--get that--a version of the line-item veto--how preposterous--and a commission to recommend ``pork-barrel projects for elimination.'' What a joke. While I readily agree with candidate Bush that there is too much partisanship in Washington, and have said so repeatedly for years, the solutions candidate Bush proposes will do absolutely nothing to eliminate partisanship. In the highly unlikely event that any of these proposals will ever be enacted, their most likely impact would be to hand the next President a club with which to beat into submission members of Congress who might not be leaning the President's way on key issues of importance to him.”