Explosive Dave Obey

Wisconsin Congressman Dave Obey, Democrat, has issues.

He has a storied reputation for vulgarity. He doesn't seem to know the meaning of self-control.

Read more about powder key Obey.

I think Obey could benefit from an anger management class.

Read on.

Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) -- "I said, `The hell with you.'''

Representative David Obey, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, is describing an exchange with the rock star Bono, who came to Washington in December to lobby for international AIDS programs.

``I don't need any lectures from an Irishman to tell me what the hell our obligation is,'' says Obey, 69, who adds that he is himself of Irish descent and held hearings on AIDS ``before I ever heard of Bono.''

I guess Obey wasn't exactly starstruck by Bono.

Now Obey is the Democrats' leader in a looming battle over spending with President George W. Bush, who has threatened to veto their plans to spend $23 billion more next year on education, health care and veterans' programs.

Bush had better be prepared. Over the years, Obey has called President Bill Clinton a ``goddamn liar,'' labeled New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's aides ``thugs'' and tagged House Minority Leader John Boehner as a ``third-rate'' Joseph McCarthy.

``Who is getting screwed in George Bush's budget? It's the little guy,'' Obey, who's in his 38th year representing Wisconsin in the House, said in an interview. ``He's going to veto our bills'' because Democrats want to give ``a few table scraps to the people in this society who get so damn little.''

The fight will play out over the coming months as Democrats, writing their first budget in a dozen years, begin sending Bush the 12 annual appropriations bills needed to fund the federal government. Leading the negotiations for the administration will be White House Budget Director Jim Nussle, 47, a former Republican congressman with a history of frosty relations with Democrats. Obey recently called Nussle a ``belly-bumping, hard- line conservative.''

``I can't imagine how he and Mr. Nussle are going to be even in the same room,'' says Bill Hoagland, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's top budget aide. ``It would just be gasoline on the fire.''

...Yesterday, he said he would propose a $150 billion surtax to pay for U.S. military operations in Iraq, with rates that may reach 15 percent for the wealthiest Americans. The plan faces opposition from Bush and some Democratic lawmakers.

``If this war is important enough to fight, it's important enough to pay for,'' Obey told reporters. ``If you don't like the cost, then shut down the war.''

...Since arriving in Washington, Obey's caustic one-liners have become well-known on Capitol Hill. He has called the Iraq war ``stupid,'' ``misbegotten'' and a ``long-term babysitting service'' for Iraqi politicians. At the same time, he was caught on tape this year arguing with antiwar activists, whom he called ``idiot liberals.'' He says they have an unrealistic view of the Democrats' ability to force Bush to change course in Iraq.

``They thought we could wave a magic wand and end the war,'' Obey says of the incident.

During a budget dispute with Clinton, Obey once issued a statement designed, he said, to let the administration know he wouldn't be led around ``like a puppy.'' ``I think most of us learned some time ago that if you don't like the president's position on a particular issue, you simply need to wait a few weeks,'' Obey said.

...Obey shrugs off questions about his sharp tongue: ``In this town, there's too much tolerance for bull.''

He adds a syllable at the end.

Obviously, Obey's colleagues don't seem to mind his "sharp tongue."

The Dems have Obey leading the charge against President Bush on spending.

I think it's clear that this is a calculated move by the Dems. Unleashing attack dog Obey is the plan.

Obey says, "In this town, there's too much tolerance for bulls**t."

I agree with Obey on that.

Witness the smear job on Rush Limbaugh. That's total BS.

But isn't there also too much tolerance for incivility?

Obey is the poster boy for incivility. That's not a proud legacy.