Covering the flap over Rep. Pete Stark's (D-Calif.) assertion that President Bush likes to see American soldiers die for sport, Washington Post reporter Jonathan Weisman tossed in a swipe about Republicans of his own, characterizing a vote to uphold Bush's SCHIP veto as a vote to "deny children health care."
[Video of Stark's comments available on YouTube via the NRCC here]
Here's the relevant portion from Weisman's October 19 article:
Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) declared that Stark "dishonors not only the commander in chief, but the thousands of courageous men and women of America's armed forces who believe in their mission and are putting their lives on the line for our freedom and security." He called on Stark to apologize.
The 18-term congressman, however, responded only by calling those who voted to deny children health care "chicken hawks."
Of course the vote to uphold the president's veto was in no way a vote to "deny children health care" or even to deep-six the entire SCHIP program. Indeed, President Bush has insisted he is committed to renewing SCHIP, just with a smaller appropriation than Democrats pushed through Congress.
