Just days after President Bush announced he would try to earn the trust of those who did not back him, the chances of that are beginning to disappear. Just a few days ago, Bush said of Kerry supporters, "To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust. A new term is a new opportunity to reach out to the whole nation."
Thw word is this is how he plans on accomplishing that:
For reasons of personal style and long-term political strategy, President George W. Bush can be expected to pursue his second-term goals in a hard-edged manner, marshaling Republicans behind sharply defined proposals and offering few concessions to Democrats.
As a result, there is little reason to believe that the acidic partisanship that has characterized Washington in recent years will ease in the wake of an election that granted Bush a second term and expanded Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress.
Bush has signaled his intention to take on two large and contentious political projects: partially privatizing Social Security and overhauling the federal tax code. He needs to strike quickly, probably in the first half of next year, before lawmakers begin focusing on midterm elections in 2006 and the next presidential campaign, analysts and strategists said.
Despite post-election statements offering to reach out to those who opposed him, Bush is unlikely to show much flexibility on the key items on his agenda in dealing with either Democrats or recalcitrant Republicans on Capitol Hill.
The article goes on to note that Bush sees this as a chance to build an ongoing Republican electorate while eroding the Democratic base.
"He and Karl Rove are looking at consolidating Republican power and expanding the breadth of the party through a legislative agenda, building their majorities in Congress and solidifying their conservative base while eroding the Democratic base through the use of the cultural issues," said Wittman, referring to Bush's chief political strategist.
Or, as he calls it, reaching out.
Cross posted from here.