The attack came after the NGA issued a news release sharply critical of the recently enacted economic-stimulus bill, a big win for President Bush that included nothing for struggling state budgets. Jeb Bush responded with a withering letter complaining that the organization was "once again ... in opposition to the president" and pushing "its own rather un-Republican agenda."
Governors, President Don't Always Get Along
Governors from both parties, as well as Republican and Democratic lobbyists for states, say the White House is applying at least some pressure for governors to fall in line politically.
Michigan Gov. John Engler, a Republican who chairs the NGA, blamed lower-level staff at the White House. They are confused, he said, and do not understand or respect the role that governors play.
Engler said he understands that Jeb Bush wants the president to succeed.
"He'd like us to be more helpful, but that isn't our role," he said.
Katie Muniz, a spokeswoman for the Florida governor, said he has been frustrated for a long time by the NGA, which many Republicans believe leans Democratic.
"We believe that the NGA should reflect the priorities of the majority of governors," she said.
A Unified Voice
When it speaks with one voice, the governors' group can be a powerful advocate for states. In recent years, governors have played critical roles in designing the national tobacco settlement, creating a health insurance program for children and shaping a massive overhaul of the welfare system.
But with the welfare law up for renewal, partisan politics have divided the governors, and some wonder if the group will be as influential.
"The White House is going to have to change their tune," said Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, a Democrat. "They can't ram everything down the states' throats."
Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, a Republican, put it more mildly.
"There are efforts made by the White House to explain the position of the president. Would they like the support of the governors? You bet," he said.
Asked if the White House pressures governors for support, spokesman Scott McClellan noted that Bush, a former governor, is friends with many governors and that many governors "strongly support his agenda."
"We recognize that like other organizations, there are internal politics present within the NGA," he said.
The risk is that politics will divide governors and make it harder for them to unite on behalf of states, said Thomas Mann, an expert on government at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.
"It's only when they come to agreement when they can have an impact" among both Democrats and Republicans, he said.
Welfare Reform, Economic Stimulus Package Cause Trouble
This month, partisan tempers flared over a survey of state welfare directors. The survey found most states critical of the president's demand for increased work requirements for welfare recipients. The increased requirements would put more pressure on states and run counter to the governors' request for more control over the program.
When the survey became public, Republican governors and White House officials were furious that it left the impression governors opposed the Bush plan.
Scampering to control the damage, leaders of the Republican Governors Association wrote a letter praising the president's plan. Rowland, who heads the RGA, belittled the survey's findings, saying: "Some person four times below me doesn't speak on behalf of me."
He also said the NGA's credibility was put into question by Vermont's Dean, who was quoted in stories about the welfare survey and is considering a 2004 presidential run.
"He's not the [NGA] chairman; he's a candidate for president," Rowland said.
In his March 8 letter, Jeb Bush argued that since 27 of the nation's 50 governors are Republicans, their association should lean Republican.
He was angry about the NGA's response to the stimulus package. Specifically, states were upset because it included a tax cut for businesses that meant lower tax revenues for states. At the same time, states were given no help paying rising Medicaid costs. A sharply critical news release said the legislation "continues the assault on the states' revenue base" and would lead to painful budget cuts.
Bush wrote that the NGA should not attack the legislation "on a day when our Republican president deserves credit" for moving the bill through Congress.
"Republican governors are in the majority across the nation," he wrote. "So there is no reason why the National Governors Association should continue to serve as a paladin for Democrat causes."
Rowland issued a letter saying the NGA was making itself irrelevant.
"During the last year, the association has emerged as a complaining, negative organization effectively turning off the decision-makers in Washington," he wrote. "Common sense, logic and maybe a little political savvy are needed now more than ever."
Copyright 2002. Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
