Democrats lambaste Bush's 100-day record

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democrats commended President Bush on Saturday for his handling of the China spy plane crisis, but said many of his other actions during his first 100 days in office showed he was willing to cut programs critical to millions of average Americans to pay for a tax cut that would disproportionately help the rich.

In the Democrats' weekly radio address, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, said Bush's proposed tax cut would give half the money to the nation's wealthiest 1 percent. "We wonder whose side he's on," she said.

To pay for the tax cut, Bush "weakened health standards for our water and safety standards for our workers. He cut funding for environmental enforcement and law enforcement," she said.

And, though Bush has championed education reform as his top priority, he would eliminate a program that has made classrooms less crowded for 2 million students, Murray said. "Parents are asking why."

The president has also sought to cut funding for rural health care programs and family farms, has allocated "virtually no money" for a prescription drug benefit, has eliminated funding for community policing, and cut funding for agriculture, energy conservation and child abuse prevention programs, Murray said.

"Americans are wondering who he is fighting for," she said. The country deserves a tax cut this year, Murray said. "After all -- it's our money," she added, taking a line that helped Bush win the presidency. "But it's also our national debt. Our overcrowded classrooms. Our prescription drug costs. And our drinking water. We can't walk away from those responsibilities."

Then, reprising a populist line that did not help Bush's Democratic presidential challenger, Al Gore, Murray said: "Democrats are fighting to invest in the things that help all Americans -- not just a lucky few."

She declared that, during the remainder of Bush's term, Democrats "will continue to fight for average Americans -- for our tax cut, our drinking water, our neighborhoods and our health care."

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