Bush warns budget will boost taxes

President Bush said yesterday that the Democrats’ budget will lead to tax increases, reflecting an awareness that his vow to veto bloated spending bills won’t connect with his conservative base the way a tax fight will.

The president, speaking to a supportive audience in Rogers, Ark., said Americans would have to “listen carefully to this budget debate” between the White House and the Democrat-controlled Congress.

Mr. Bush told the crowd that if he allowed the Democrats to pass a budget that is $22 billion higher than the one he requested, it would cost $205 billion over five years and lead to higher taxes.

He then framed his veto threats against 11 of 12 appropriations bills as a way of keeping taxes low.

“You’re fixin’ to get stuck with a tax raise, unless of course, you know, I prevent them from raising your taxes, which I fully intend to do,” Mr. Bush said, prompting applause from the crowd at the John Q. Hammons Convention Center.

“And so you’re fixin’ to see what they call a fiscal showdown in Washington,” he said.

Mr. Bush and Republicans in Congress have said for months that the Democrats’ budget would prompt “the largest tax increase in history.”

But the president’s comments yesterday were one of his first attempts to speak to the public and connect the dots between his veto threats on spending and tax increases.

Influential conservatives have complained recently that Mr. Bush’s attempt to rally his base over a spending fight has fallen flat precisely because it does not directly affect the voter’s pocketbook.

Mr. Bush, in what is his more preferred format, eschewed a traditional podium speech and strolled back and forth with a microphone, interacting with the audience. The message on two large signs hanging on the walls read, “Fiscal Responsibility.”

Mr. Bush’s increased focus on the tax issue prompted no queries on that topic from the audience during a question-and-answer session.

Meanwhile, Democrats ignored the tax issue, accused Mr. Bush of “posturing” and pointed to the amount of money being spent in Iraq.

“The president’s priorities are deeply misguided,” said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat. “At the same time that he is proposing cuts to key domestic programs, he is demanding that Congress appropriate another $190 billion for the war in Iraq.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, said, “The president should stop playing politics and work with Congress to invest in America’s domestic priorities and strengthen the middle class.”

Mr. Reid’s office released a laundry list of funding initiatives — children’s health care, veterans funding, military pay and border security — which they said Mr. Bush was threatening to cut.

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