It's up to us: grassroots participation in the President's economic recovery strategy
Rep. David Obey was questioned on NPR this morning about how the decision to eliminate earmarks from the stimulus bill would impact Congress' ability to direct spending.
Obey acknowledged that the federal government was effective ceding a much of its customary control over the disposition of spending. His response was direct and to the point: "So what?"
He pointed out that the bill included strong measures to assure accountability, measures he described as unprecedented. But the subtext was clear: spending decisions should be made at the state and local level.
I found his candor refreshing, if at times cavalier. But the question remains. Who will insure that the money is spent now, spent wisely, and spent on its intended purpose: strengthening our safety net and putting people to work?
We, the people.
Citizen involvement at the grassroots level was the cornerstone of Obama's campaign and the foundation of his commitment to change our politics. It has never been more important than it is now. When this bill passes -- and it will -- we must seize the opportunity.
This is the first real test of Organizing for America, the President's citizen outreach initiative. It is the first real test for us, who supported his candidacy and sought a voice in shaping his agenda.
For my part, my first step will be to draft a letter to my local party chair asking for a full-court press to mobilize local party members and Democratic legislators.
We all have a voice. We all need to get involved.
What are your thoughts?
What will you do?
For my part I will work for universal healthcare every day through letters, postings and meetings with like -minded people. There can be no economic recovery without universal healthcare.
The inclusion of the Cobra partial coverage in the stimulus bill shows how crucial medical insurance is to people. The logical extension of that idea is that health insurance is crucial to everyone and not just the recently unemployed.
February 6, 2009 10:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for taking the lead, Kali. I'd like this thread to be a focused discussion that reflects the full diversity of our interests and experience. Let's keep it going!
February 6, 2009 10:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
bluemeanie, you got it right, "We, the people" brought change to America, but our job isn't close to done. We need to live, call, blog each day like the election is still going on.
President Obama put out his hand to the Republican leadership, they pulled their hand away.
Disrespect me, I won't disrespect you, but I will defeat you at your game, give you a thumping you won't forget.
Looks like 06, and 08 weren't enough message to the Republicans.
What can we do:
Blog: There is a collective unconscious, if enough of us speak up it will be heard.
Call: Got a Republican Senator in your state, tell em' what you thing of what they are doing to our country, to you.
Participate: Go to open houses, town hall meetings, our President needs you.
Economic Recovery House Meeting
The Republicans are on the ropes, it's up to us to finish the job.
February 6, 2009 11:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, Steve. I've thought about hosting a house meeting. Have any TPMers taken the plunge? If so, what were your impressions?
February 6, 2009 11:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
For one thing, Obama has promised to establish a public database where the money doled out to the states can be tracked BY PROJECT, to assure that the money is going where it's supposed to.
Hopefully he follows through. I've read numerous horror stories about the block grants issued to states and municipalities by Homeland Security intended for upgrades to first responders, and the money being spent on uniforms for some fire department's softball team (for example).
February 6, 2009 11:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
I know there were transparency and accountability measures in the House bill to prevent the horrors you mention. I believe Obama is serious about this.
All the more reason, though, to make sure our elected representatives at all levels are aware we are watching ... and want our money spent as it was intended.
February 6, 2009 8:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm a Democrat, but not a "liberal" in the true sense. (Maybe that makes me a "Blue Dog Dem"??)
I can therefore understand the uproar by the Republicans over some of the programs dropped into this proposed "stimulus" package. But I can also understand WHY Pelosi, et al., did it: In my business, we used to call it putting fat in at the beginning and hoping for a workable middle ground eventually.
That said, I don't think Obama should have gone along with all of it. He should have known there would be political opposition, regardless of his personal popularity among Republicans. Obama should have first compromised with the Democratic leadership before the Republicans had a chance to pounce.
I'm hoping the Obama economic team spends the weekend at Camp David preparing a Plan B, which would include separating the package into three priorities: (1) Real, immediate job creation, (2) recovery programs, and (3) long-term revival of the economy.
For discussion purposes here, you can put your own personal preferences into one of the three.
February 6, 2009 11:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
Obama is making a crucial mistake by not insisting that Pelosi remove hot button issues from this proposal. He is wasting important political capital in a time of crisis. But he has repeatedly asked Americans to make demands upon him. He said we were not sheep. Let's not act like sheep.
February 6, 2009 11:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
Kali Star wrote: Obama is making a crucial mistake by not insisting that Pelosi remove hot button issues from this proposal. He is wasting important political capital in a time of crisis. But he has repeatedly asked Americans to make demands upon him. He said we were not sheep. Let's not act like sheep.
****
I couldn't agree more. I used almost the same language in an e-mail to my Senators, reminding them that Obama didn't win by a landslide, in spite of McCain's weak performance, and that it was independents who put him over the top. If the President succumbs to the far left, in 2010 Dems can expect a repeat of 1994 when the Republicans swept in and re-took control of the House and Senate.
If anyone wants to write a similar e-mail, here's the link for all the Senators' e-mail addresses:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm:
February 6, 2009 4:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Second all of the above. I knew there was a reason why I had hope for the members of both parties!
February 6, 2009 7:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Agree. I've long argued that Obama is well aware of the nature of his mandate and is reluctant to spend political capital on the economy, which helped put him in office. He needs the support of independents to make any real progress on the rest of his agenda.
February 6, 2009 8:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm with you sage. It's not about politics it's about the people.
February 6, 2009 12:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree with your priorities. And this is all about the people. We need to step up and do what we can to assure that government at all levels is held accountable and the money -- our money -- is being spent as intended.
February 6, 2009 1:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Grassroots is all. Fully recommend this blog.
As a progressive republican, I am going to continue to support local candidates on the right who support that idea and then vote my conscience in the general depending on who wins the primary. I am going to keep speaking to fellow republicans about raising their expectations for our representatives.
I am going to keep blogging and encouraging moderates of both parties to follow Obama's lead with regards to the tone and tenor of our political debates. I think the partisan divisions we have killed each other over these last 40 years is the number one thing that will keep us from succeeding as a nation. It is the foundation on which our renaissance will be built.
Other than that? Try to get my creative career going so I have a bigger pulpit. :O)
February 6, 2009 8:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Unfortunately, there are those on both sides of the aisle who seem to prefer gridlocked government based on party-first ideologies.
As a former Republican who voted for her first Democrat (Clinton), what moved me most was the realization that ideologies (whether left or right), once proven time and again to be unworkable as the country evolves technically and therefore globally, it's time to take a long look at reality on the ground and develop policies that work accordingly. If it's a Republican that shows me that, s/he will get my vote.
February 9, 2009 12:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
As a former independent turned republican, mostly for the sake of tilting at windmills than any real agreement with their current stances, I totally understand what you are saying.
We are at a place where ideology is almost done tying us up and tossing us in an early grave, even while we still possess the individual might to get rid of our bonds and go in a different direction.
If not this year, then someday soon. I suspect the ideologues will need to die off at some point, leaving the rest of us to hash things out.
February 9, 2009 1:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good point. Six hundred pages of legislation. The levels of government involved is an important consideration here.
The people should have a voice here.
February 6, 2009 8:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
The legislators who complain about the SIZE of these bills are just whining for the sake of the cameras. They know how to "read" a bill. There's an awful lot of WHEREASES and repitition in them that can easily be skimmed over to get to the meaty substance.
Also, several times over the weekend on the cable talkathons, I heard Republicans complaining about the 600-page bill which they only had 24 hours to read. What bull. It's the same bill they've had on their nightstands for a couple of weeks, with the only changes being those negotiated by Senators Collins, Nelson, et al., and announced on Friday. And it isn't as though the Senate has had a FULL floor schedule with anything BUT the stimulus package!
February 9, 2009 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Looks like Reid will bring a $780 bill to the full Senate for a vote, probably over the weekend.
According to the Times, there were Dem givebacks on education, crime prevention and future Head Start spending, but they got Repubs to concede on business tax breaks. None of the spending cuts leaves a good taste in my mouth, but both sides came together and worked something out.
Negotiations with the House over the final bill will be a thing to behold, but this is progress. I'm betting Obama has the bill on his desk by the end of next week.
February 6, 2009 8:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Update: seems McCain is on the floor of the Senate blathering about how Repub support for stimulus is limited to "a couple" senators and the deal is not yet done.
For crying out loud. McSame's "contribution" the the debate so far seems to be a payroll tax holiday. Apparently eight years of zero-sum job growth and wage stagnation isn't evidence enough for the Maverick. How he figures this stroke of fiscal genius will solve the problem is beyond me.
February 6, 2009 10:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
And of course a payroll tax holiday ultimately will bring to the fore the empty coffers of the Social Security Administration, which is a GOP favorite attack issue. In other words, this is a Dem bill, and a payroll tax holiday would all but guarantee insolvency of SS long before the projected 20 years, which the Pubs would turn into a Dem problem since it happened on their watch.
Ah politics. It's why I love it!!
February 9, 2009 12:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
We're on the same wavelength here, S2.
February 9, 2009 1:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't think we're lone voices, Blue. I have many Republicans in my family who certainly haven't abandoned core principles but voted for Obama. To me, that's really the "change" that is happening in politics and among the grassroots. But my family has always been middle-road: A little liberalism and a little conservatism, with no overload of either.
February 9, 2009 6:41 PM | Reply | Permalink