Denny Rehberg: Toeing Whose Line
April 8th, 2008 by Wiley CodyI commented on this story before. There’s a lot of good stuff there. I mean a lot. Go read it. Even if you already read it. It’s sort of like Moby Dick - a new meaning at every reading. Inspiring.
Anyway, it’s also interesting because the part of the story that makes it fair journalism - the entire section dedicated to Montana Democrat’s spinmeistering. From it, we can catch a glimpse at what The Democrat Machine has in store for 2008 (and beyond?).
Rehberg’s biggest vulnerability, Democrats say, is his pro-war, pro-Bush record and lack of legislative initiative. He’s voted in lock step with the Bush Administration and fellow Republicans 92 percent of the time, according to the Washington Post, including votes on major issues like the federal budget, tax cuts, and the Iraq War.
This meme is likely to manifest itself quite a bit because if the man is popular you just have tie him to someone that’s not popular. That’s the politics of personal destruction that the Montana Democrats perfected with Burns in 2006, and they’re polishing up their picks to take out another bull.
Trouble is, the varas aren’t sticking, and the bull as strong as it ever was as their neophyte mariachi enters the arena.
The first problem for Montana Democrats is that the suggestion that Rehberg votes in lock-step with President Bush is demonstrably false.
The evidence cited in the Independent article talk paritsanship and claims that Rehberg voted with his party 92 percent of the time. But this measures how he votes with his Party in Congress, not President Bush. Beyond that, it only counts “key votes” which is a subjective measurement.
According to the Billings Gazette, when you tally all 730 votes in 2007 Rehberg votes with his party 88 percent of the time, which puts him right in the main stream: 3 percent higher than the average Republican. The news here: Republican Denny Rehberg votes for Republican legislation. Shock!
And did you noticed the slight-of-hand here. Democrats aren’t trying to tie Rehberg to other Republicans. They are trying to tie him to President George W. Bush. And here the story gets even harder to sell. From the Gazette:
On issues last year where Bush took a clear position, Rehberg cast 68 percent of votes in agreement with the president. That’s less than the average presidential support among House Republicans of 72 percent. He broke with Bush on major issues including water and spending bills, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and prescription drug reimportation.
“I don’t pay any attention to whether a bill was written by a Republican or a Democrat or whether it has the president’s backing or not,” Rehberg said. “My only concern is what’s best for Montana. If I think a piece of legislation is good for Montana, then I’ll vote for it. If it’s not, I won’t. It’s that simple.”
68 percent! Congressman Rehberg voted against President Bush almost one time out of three. That’s just 27 percent more Bush Love than Democrat Max Baucus mustered.
Hardly the vote record of a “lapdog.” Of course, Democrats have never let facts get in the way of a good attack campaign. So you’ll hear about how Rehberg and Bush are basically the same person for the next eight months. But now you know the truth.
