« Republicans Follow The King Bee - Just like Worker Bees to the Queen Bee | coonsey's Blog | $7,500 Tax Credit for First Time Home Buyers »
If Republicans Won't Vote Yes: Reverse Course
If Republicans won't join you in boosting the economy and thereby helping the American people, even if you compromise with them, then reverse course and do everything that you had planned on doing and more.
President Obama, you and the Democrats have pushed the stimulus package since before getting elected in November of 2008. You have pushed for tax cuts for over a year now. You began putting your economic team together even before getting elected. You and your team have been working and planning since that time to get the economy that you were going to inherit back in shape. That's why it's odd to hear people say, "why the rush, why not study the problem, debate it first?" You and the Americans that voted for you, have done this for over a year now. They voted for 'your' vision and and 'your' plans -- not the Republicans.
Not one Republican, after you went out of your way to communicate and listen to them individually and as a group, even going so far as to dropping some of the things they didn't like (angering your Party) and adding some they did, was willing to vote for the Democrats stimulus package voted on in the House yesterday.
It appears they may do the same thing once the bill is sent to the Senate. They will insist on you gutting the plan and vision that voters voted for in November. Even then there is no guarantee they will side with you and the American people.
I strongly suggest that if it appears they are going to vote down anything that is voted on in the Senate or that they won't go along unless you completely scrap your (voters) plans, you and the Democrats go ahead and reverse course. If they keep demanding changes and offering nothing in return - reverse course.
Instead of passing a bill, close to what 'the Republican Party' wants, have a press conference or make a speech to the American people. Tell them that you've tried to work with the other party but they won't budge. Tell them you are scrapping the current bill and going back to your original bill. Them you may even add more infrastructure money (experts say this is what stimulates the economy) and even more tax cuts for businesses.
If the Republicans try to filibuster it -- they will be the ones to pay in 2010 for refusing to help the economy . You have more than proved your willingness to comprimise and work with them to get the people's work done. They are the ones not showing any give and take now.
If the stimulus bill works and the economy picks up, you and the Democrats will get the credit. And if it fails to do the trick, you would have been blamed anyway - even with Republicans voting for it. So you may as well 'have at it' sir.
Go hogwild sir and do what most economists and businesses say needs to be done and then do a lot of praying for the American people (the world for that matter), that it works.
Americans know we've never been in this situation before. It's not like the Great Depression, there are different circumstances involved this time around. I doubt they will expect miracles.
President Obama, you and the Democrats have pushed the stimulus package since before getting elected in November of 2008. You have pushed for tax cuts for over a year now. You began putting your economic team together even before getting elected. You and your team have been working and planning since that time to get the economy that you were going to inherit back in shape. That's why it's odd to hear people say, "why the rush, why not study the problem, debate it first?" You and the Americans that voted for you, have done this for over a year now. They voted for 'your' vision and and 'your' plans -- not the Republicans.
Not one Republican, after you went out of your way to communicate and listen to them individually and as a group, even going so far as to dropping some of the things they didn't like (angering your Party) and adding some they did, was willing to vote for the Democrats stimulus package voted on in the House yesterday.
It appears they may do the same thing once the bill is sent to the Senate. They will insist on you gutting the plan and vision that voters voted for in November. Even then there is no guarantee they will side with you and the American people.
I strongly suggest that if it appears they are going to vote down anything that is voted on in the Senate or that they won't go along unless you completely scrap your (voters) plans, you and the Democrats go ahead and reverse course. If they keep demanding changes and offering nothing in return - reverse course.
Instead of passing a bill, close to what 'the Republican Party' wants, have a press conference or make a speech to the American people. Tell them that you've tried to work with the other party but they won't budge. Tell them you are scrapping the current bill and going back to your original bill. Them you may even add more infrastructure money (experts say this is what stimulates the economy) and even more tax cuts for businesses.
If the Republicans try to filibuster it -- they will be the ones to pay in 2010 for refusing to help the economy . You have more than proved your willingness to comprimise and work with them to get the people's work done. They are the ones not showing any give and take now.
If the stimulus bill works and the economy picks up, you and the Democrats will get the credit. And if it fails to do the trick, you would have been blamed anyway - even with Republicans voting for it. So you may as well 'have at it' sir.
Go hogwild sir and do what most economists and businesses say needs to be done and then do a lot of praying for the American people (the world for that matter), that it works.
Americans know we've never been in this situation before. It's not like the Great Depression, there are different circumstances involved this time around. I doubt they will expect miracles.
Advertisement
This "stimulus" dwarfs the size of FDR's New Deal (even adjusting for inflation) and should be called a "spending plan" instead of a stimulus.
The money is going to good causes but a lot of the spending I don't see as effective to creating jobs or on projects that are mission critical. Funding art projects? HIV prevention programs? Forest services?
We need to stop the accelerating unemployment trends. And businesses aren't going to hire until they think the credit markets will start to function again. In order for that to happen we need to fix the banks and do something about all the mortgage foreclosures.
That's where the critical dollars need to go.
That's why I'm not so upset that some people aren't voting for it.
January 29, 2009 8:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
If Republicans have their way, nothing will be done to help Americans get thru this bad time.
So go ahead, keep nick picking out the small stuff and eventually nothing will be done.
As I said in the post. Since Republicans and some like you MiddleClassBill won't be supporting this bill anyway and since you will blame Obama no matter what happens -- Democrats and Obama should go ahead and do what they think is right. Get the most jobs for the buck.
January 29, 2009 10:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, the Republicans see this depression more as a wonderful opportunity to lower labor costs than a real crisis of historic proportions.
January 30, 2009 12:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
I agree. The Dems now have the chance to show their political approach is the strong suit here. With the courage of their convictions - and the freedom of having the GOP tell them "hey, you're on your own!" - the Dems should be extremely diligent in putting aside all pursuit of pork and other self-interests and do nothing but the right (LEFT) thing in establishing the most effective stimulus package possible.
It really is a great opportunity for the Dems if they can avoid the temptation to assume this can be handled in a politics-as-usual sort of fashion. Forget K Street and work for Main Street, and you will bury the GOP in the child's play sandbox in which they prefer to play.
January 30, 2009 1:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
Instead of passing a bill, close to what 'the Republican Party' wants, have a press conference or make a speech to the American people. Tell them that you've tried to work with the other party but they won't budge. Tell them you are scrapping the current bill and going back to your original bill. Them you may even add more infrastructure money.....
I think that in the next two years, this is exactly what is going to happen.
January 30, 2009 12:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
Obama should make a nationally televised speech and be honest with the American people. He should reveal as soon as possible that, although he ran for the presidency as a moderate, he is actually a hard left wing socialist.
His intentions are to bankrupt the country financially in order to transition the government to Marxism during the chaos.
When all the voices of opposition are silenced, the killing will begin ala all historic communist coupes. Those who wish to survive the pogroms had better shut up beginning NOW!!!!
January 30, 2009 7:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
Where the point of accepting a particular Republican request to alter the stimulus package was to try to win a Republican vote, but the White House thought it was a bad idea, the "concession" should not have been made in the first place. (or at least, now that the Republican bad faith MO has been revealed, such "concessions" should not be offered in similar situations in the future)
There are two basic reasons for the White House and the Democratic Congressional leadership to be open to accepting ideas/requests to alter a bill from Congressional Republicans.
The first is that a Republican member might have a good idea, one that improves the bill.
The second is to draw Republican votes so as to be able to claim whatever enhanced legitimacy and public support may (or may not) come from being able to point to those Republican votes.
With a group that is now showing itself to be every bit as intransigent as the Republican minorities in Congress in 1993 were with Bill Clinton, then the way the White House should think about the benefit of being bipartisan is solely for the first reason, to be open to ideas (and not to be able to say they had bipartisan support for something they did to try to obtain greater legitimacy).
If they think a particular idea improves the package, take that suggestion. Just don't imagine it will draw any Republican votes. Because if you take a Republican request that you don't think is a good idea, with the hope of getting some support from across the aisle, and then that member votes no on the bill anyway, where are you? You've made your bill and your policy worse, with literally no benefit to show for that.
January 30, 2009 8:29 AM | Reply | Permalink