Walk the plank?_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Walk the plank?

That means economic growth would be shot, and the government may be toppled – be voted out and replaced.

All right, here are media examples of people who are forced to walk the plank, i.e. embark on a road to ruin, defeat or doom, in one form or another:

1. In a warning of the partisan warfare that lies ahead, leading congressional Democrats on Sunday urged President-elect George Bush to convene an economic summit on slashing the nation’s budget deficit, and to put “everything on the table,” including proposals for new taxes.

Sen. J. Bennett Johnston (D-La.), a strong candidate to become the next Senate majority leader, charged that Bush's election-year support for increased defense spending and new social programs such as child care is not “mathematically feasible” without new revenues. Bush, he said caustically, should admit that he “over-promised” during the campaign.

However, Republican congressional leaders dampened speculation about a quick economic summit, saying that a bipartisan solution to the nation’s budgetary ills would not come before July or August at the earliest.

Although Bush has said he intends to work with the Democratic-controlled Congress, party leaders indicated that they expect the new President to make the first moves, especially on the thorny issue of cutting the nation’s $155-billion budget deficit. In particular, they served notice that Bush would have to join them in advancing any politically unpopular solutions.