http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/02/gop.stimulus.worries/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
Now, I don’t have a problem with some of these. I think we DO need an arctic ice breaker because the resources of the arctic are being hotly contested. The FBI employee salary is probably a shortfall from taxes.
But do we need tax breaks for Hollywood? And is THIS the bill to put in the green program money? I just don’t get why they are trying to force this stuff through in this particular package.
The actual point of this, which the media seems to be ignoring, is that the few points the GOP seems to be harping on represent a tiny portion of the overall bill, but allow them to continue their kabuki dance.
And yes, green program money is perfect for this bill.
The only one I think could be wasteful is the Amtrak one. I don’t know much about what Amtrak does, however, other than passenger trains. Maybe they’re vital to the upkeep of our railways.
Of course they are tiny, relative to the whole thing. But it’s still like 20 billion plus dollars, right? It’s not peanuts. If it’s so tiny and unimportant, why not omit these things then, and get the thing passed?
Do you really think omitting these things would suddenly cause the critics to come around and support the bill?
They are tiny and unimportant to the size of the package, they may not be tiny and unimportant in getting it passed. I’m sure it could pass now, but Obama wants republican support and like Fierce said, it’s unlikely the Republicans would come around if these were omitted.
They’d just argue over tax-cuts then.
I’m not sure. Are you and Hawkeye suggesting that the Republicans really are just trying to make Obama fail? I mean that wouldn’t work, and it would only make them look bad. If the Republicans stand in the way of every attempt to stimulate the economy, they’re just digging their own political graves.
I think they have some real concerns with some of the proposals. Amending the package might help, or at least expose some hypocrisy.
What’s with the Republican change of heart? Did these kind of pork barrel additions stop them from passing bills when they controlled the congress?
I find it absolutely astounding at how well Republicans can dominate the narrative. They truly are Kabuki masters.
Edit: And really, they only need to delay the stimulus long enough that they have something to run on come 2010. That’s what this is really about. When our economy recovers slowly, they’ll point at their charade and blame the democrats.
Suddenly the GOP is against tax breaks? I guess you only deserve to pay less taxes if you give money to the Republicans.
See, they’ve honed their message. All the schlubs they have doing the cable news circuit are talking sensible about “targeted stimulus and tax cuts.” As if suddenly they are into meaningful distinctions. None of them talk about where they should target them or how, or mention that 38% of the bill is tax cuts.
Edit: I watch too much Morning Joe. It should be Morning Joke. That Dylan Ratigan (sp?) guy is a tool.
Because they’re not legit complaints, they’re things the Republicans have latched on to because they want to be dicks about this bill.
Yes, a lot of things on there are retarded, but I can’t understand why Republicans are obsessed with 2%. The list is about 2% of the bill, and McCain in his campaign bleated endlessly about earmarks that make up 2-3% of federal spending. They are no different than the other party regarding the other 98%, but the level of rage makes it seem like a bigger divide. What a joke.
There are so many better things they could complain about, like when the stimulus money would be spent and have an effect or whether marginal income tax rate cuts would work better – really pretty much anything other than hacking at leaves.
Well, if your son wants more than 2%, he’s gonna have to go after Steve Holt, so I want you to tell me every awful rumor you’ve ever heard about this kid.
I think the key to Republican success is that they keep going on and on with platitudes we can all agree with until you end up nodding along at the end of their segment.
It’s obvious context doesn’t matter because people will miss the forest for the trees like Rain Man.
They’re trying to convince the public, and thus indirectly Obama and the Democratic majority in the House and Sentate, that they are relevant and that their concerns should be listened to.
They know they’re going to lose this one. The message is that they are unwilling to be left out of this or future policy decisions. It remains to be seen whether their definition of being included is reasonable given the the extent of the ass-whipping the public has given them in the elections. That is, if they’re not careful, this will backfire on them badly.
Points
1- I find it funny that the party that invented the Department of Homeland Security is now against building it a centralized office.
2- The incentives to make films in the U.S. are important, because currently, we culturally dominate the entire planet through our entertainment industry.
3- The Republicans are acting like they won, and they didn’t. They lost quite badly. That said, we owed them a chance to be reasonable and come in from the cold. They pissed on that opportunity, I think it’s time to freeze them out.
3 is an interesting point. The stubborness of the GOP may be their downfall, ultimately. If they are just trying to be contrary, they certainly won’t get a lot of sympathy for that.
I’m hoping that the Dems will wake up and give them more than “a lack fo sympathy”.
One thing that’s interesting is how long it’s been since any really big, controversial, bills have had to go through congress. The last one I can think of is the Medicare nonsense.
Time for the circus to wake up and remember how the show actually goes.
I meant public sympathy, not party sympathy.
That’s my issue with this current situation. If Obama once again says, “Ok, fair enough, let’s remove some of this infrastructure spending and give the Republicans some of the things they’re asking for,” they’re still not going to vote for it. They’re still going to go on television and denounce and nitpick.
I’m not a hyper-partisan Obama supporter, but from what I can see the Republicans aren’t interested in making this stimulus work, they’re interested in naysaying anything the new administration is doing. I think it was Ezra Klein that mentioned this, but their best hand is to end up with a stimulus that doesn’t work, and that they didn’t vote for.
I’m not at the point where I think Obama should drop his bi-partisan overtures, but I think it’s time to accept that the opposition party is not arguing in good faith.