Democrat ads to attack Bush policies

By Major Garrett
CNN White House Correspondent

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Democratic National Committee will soon air television ads in Washington and across the country attacking President Bush's economic and budget policies.

"We believe this is a defining moment for President Bush," said DNC Chairman Terry McAullife. "The bills for Bush's irresponsible fiscal policies are coming due. We are determined to take every measure to ensure that the American people know what is at stake in the upcoming budget battle."

Bob Shrum, a chief strategist for Gore 2000, developed the TV spots, which will run on Washington, D.C., cable stations and in "a few" cities around the country.

"It's a modest campaign," said DNC spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri. Democrats will stage protests in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Monday and in Independence, Missouri, on Tuesday. The president is traveling to Milwaukee to address the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention. He travels to Independence, birthplace of President Harry Truman, to push his budget and Medicare and Social Security reform.

The TV spots will accuse Bush of tapping into the Medicare trust fund and coming dangerously close to touching the Social Security surplus, Palmieri said. Democrats argue that the Bush tax cut and a sluggish economy have gobbled up billions in projected surpluses.

As a practical matter, tapping into either trust fund means nothing to current beneficiaries. All benefits remain the same. The question deals with the long-term health of both programs. With larger surpluses, the government could devote more funds to the programs in later years.

The Bush White House announced this week that it was devoting $4.3 billion in revenue to congressional spending this year. Budget analysts said that revenue will give the White House the cushion it needs to avoid tapping into the Social Security surplus, projected to be $160 billion. The White House "found" the money after reviewing tax receipts for the past three years and concluding Social Security had been shortchanged by $5.6 billion. After subtracting $1.3 billion for a projected Postal Service deficit, the White House said Congress could spend the leftover $4.3 billion.

Democrats denounced the move as a budget gimmick and said it could not obscure the real difficulty the White House was having keeping its pledge not to touch the Social Security surplus.

The White House rejects the Democratic criticism, saying the Clinton White House left it with a struggling economy that had to be rescued by means of stimulative tax cuts. The White House also argues that many Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle among them, proposed a larger tax cut than Bush this year to stimulate the economy. If that tax cut had been passed, officials say, budget surpluses would be even smaller.

Lastly, the White House says this year's surplus, which will be between $160 billion and $170 billion, is the second-largest in U.S. history and laudable in the midst of a dramatic economic slowdown.

As for the street protests, a dismissive White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told CNN: "We like street theater."

Nevertheless, the Republican National Committee is gearing up to respond to the Democratic protests, although a spokesman said no counter-demonstrations are planned. The RNC is mobilizing regional media teams to contact reporters in Wisconsin and Missouri to buttress White House efforts to defend the Bush budget.