Bush's Veto of SCHIP Could Cost Southern Children Dearly

The "Compassionate Conservative" rejected expansion of health insurance to more working class children and indicated that he is willing to "negotiate" for some coverage of fewer kids. Get that? President Bush is willing to use adequate health care for working-class children as a bargaining chip with Congressional Democrats.

Meanwhile, a large number of children who would suffer from this veto are southern children.

TexObBlog shows us that the Iraq War sucks the necessary funding away from worthwhile conservative programs like SCHIP:

[T]he proposed CHIP expansion of $35 billion (over five years) is about three months’ worth of spending in Iraq. The total allocated funds for the war in Iraq is surging past $600 billion, which would have paid for CHIP expansion 20 times over.

Yet, the "Compassionate Conservative" is using the veto to pose as spending restraint, while working-class children go without adequate health coverage.