Rehberg criticizes Bush

September 18, 2007 in Bush administration, Denny Rehberg

by Pete Talbot

Some of the progressive folks I chat with refer to Montana’s lone congressman as George W. Rehberg. That’s because Denny votes lockstep with the president on so many issues: Iraq, the environment, taxes, health care, etc., etc…

So I was surprised to see a letter in today’s Missoulian from Rep. Rehberg criticizing Bush’s support of Mexican truckers plying our nation’s highways.

Could it be that Denny is trying to distance himself from Dubya? You can’t blame him. In the latest CBS poll, Bush has an approval rating of 29 percent (64 percent disapprove, 7 percent unsure). If I were Denny, I’d be jumping off those Bush coattails too.

Mexican truckers aren’t the most important issue facing America these days. It’s not even on the top ten list. But it’s still a rare day in Montana when Denny disses the Prez. Like so many other Republicans running in 2008 are doing (if they even mention the president at all) they are criticizing one or more of his policies. Denny seems to be taking the hint.

Let us not forget, though, that until just recently, Rehberg has been one of Bush’s biggest boosters.

(Personally, I thought that Denny’s letter had some merit, which is a scary thought. However, if Mexican truckers are allowed to use our highways, let’s hope it’s a level playing field: the same safety requirements for Mexican truckers and access for American truckers to Mexican markets. I’d also hope that Mexican truckers’ pay scales approach those of American truckers — which is something that Denny didn’t mention in his letter.

One other thing he did write [and I found amusing] was his adamant demand that Mexican truckers traveling our roads have a decent command of the English language. While this is probably not a bad idea, he didn’t say that American truckers in Mexico need to know Spanish. No quid pro quo there.)