Pelosi Not Taking Anymore Republican Crap

Nancy Pelosi is taking the fight directly to the repubs. It seems that there has been some "hypocrisy" on the part of repubs. It turns out that repubs, who voted no on the stimulus bill, are taking credit for the money going back to their districts coming from the stimulus.

"In a rare rebuke from the speaker, Pelosi is taking direct aim at individual Republicans, hinting at hypocrisy in their opposition to the stimulus package the saying it provided hundreds of thousands of their constituents tax cuts."

Well, it's about time. The dems message has been horrible and they need to find something to chip away at the repubs message of the bill being a waste of money. The repubs have been united and the dems fragmented on how to get things done. Repubs obstruct and dems legislate. Does the public know this? No. That is the problem. The message has been hijacked and the dems are to blame. Take the fight to the doorstep of every republican hypocrite.

Stimulus Bill ASuccess

The first major piece of legislation under the Obama admin seems to have been a success.

The stimulus bill "has added 1.6 million to 1.8 million jobs so far and that its ultimate impact will be roughly 2.5 million jobs. The Congressional Budget Office, an independent agency, considers these estimates to be conservative."

Do you realize the biggest problem with the stimulus bill. The repubs were able to frame the message about the stimulus bill. More people think the bill was a failure when it did exactly what dems/economists said it would do.

Dems still have really learned the power of framing the message.

Repub Gov's Really Don't Like the Voters

Ever since the stimulus passed some repub govs have been saying they won't take the money for political aspirations financial reasons. (Mainly, they want to run for pres in 2012.) Now, both dem and repub state reps are turning against them.

"But what began with a bang is ending with something closer to a whimper. All three of those governors have been forced to scale back their expectations, to varying degrees, as the push of conservative philosophy gave way to the pull of political reality....All three found that praise from the conservative movement in Washington meant nothing to furious state legislators of both parties."

Basically, they wanted to cut unemployment from the money and some wanted to cut health care as well.

I can tell you how sick it makes me to think that these fools would trade money/benefits for those down and out for political aspirations of the future.

Discouraging News For Education

I hate to pick on states with repub majorities but this is one reason why I, a teacher, don't live in these states.

It turns out that school districts in red states with  already deep cuts don't anticipate the stimulus money. Even with the language in the law expressly saying that school districts in the red get this money, the superintendents aren't holding their breath. From CQ Politics

"The economic stimulus package (PL 111-5) included a $53.6 billion state fiscal stabilization fund intended to be used to shore up the budgets of local school districts. But some Republican governors have rejected the funds outright, prompting concerns that even governors who accept the money might divert it to other uses."

This really chaps my ass. To divert money away from education when it was written in for poorer districts. For a governor, dem or repub, to take money away from students because they have some political agenda is infuriating. 

There is also a nastier side of it. Govs might give them the money now, because of the law and then take away other money later. 

"But even educators in states with governors who are taking stabilization funds say they’re worried that funding may never make it down to the school district level, or that states will make education budget cuts in the future knowing that districts have received the federal money." (emphasis mine.)

Sick!

Bobby Jindal's Mistake

Bobby Jindal, Louisiana's govenor/rising GOP star, mocked the stimulus bill for many things. One of which was an increase in the volcano monitoring in Alaska. Well, look what happened today. A volcano in Alaska erupted spewing a pyroclastic cloud (super heated ash/lava) over the state. Endagering crops/health/wildlife.

What might have helped better see this coming? Maybe an improved volcanic warning. While the money was not cut it shows a history of GOP tactics and how they affect us. What the GOP does to effectiveness is nit pick on items. Stomp their feet and hold their breath in front of the cameras about things like this. Then, when they get their way, real people suffer. 

This is why we can't really take the GOP seriously. They don't legislate. They whine. 

Over at TPM, they have a much longer breakdown.

Breakdown of Stimulus' Job Creation

Out is a breakdown how many jobs will be created in each congressional district. It looks like a lot of jobs will be created. (No thanks to the repubs.) I never thought repubs would be anti-job but it looks like they are. A new leaf for them. 

Also, dailykos has a good breakdown as well. It lists how many jobs would be created in the congressional district of each repub who opposed the stimulus bill.

Stimulus Bill Passes with NO GOP Votes

Its almost as if the GOP loves being so lost in the political forest so much they are ensuring they never come close to finding the path to power again. Not one GOP house rep voted to help America get back on its feet.

As I read on dailykos, "the 2010 campaign ads are just writing themselves."

Stimulus Bill Update

The stimulus bill passed yesterday by a 61-38 margin. Now the next step was to take the senate bill and compromise it with the house bill. They are close to done with that. Some stuff is going to be cut but I am baffeled that they are cutting health care and school building updates. Their reasoning is that it's states who are required to do that. INSANE.

The thing is that in reading several sources, the most powerful players in this were the 3 repub senators who voted for it. In all the negotiations, what was definitely left in the bill was what the 3 repubs wanted. 

That is the world we live in right now. Everyone has said if the dems have 60 senators (filibuster proof) then they would become too powerful. By contrast, it is the few who have the power while the majority want to govern. 

If, by 2010, the dems have a 60 proof margin, I would like to see what could really be done to help this country. 

These Headlines Need to be in Every Newspaper

The headline above is from dailykos. I would have the second part as "Republicans are trying to prevent these jobs from coming to Michiga." It's a bit longer but needed. 

Every state should do an analysis of the stimulus bill and figure out how many jobs could be created if only the repubs weren't such obstructionists. Imagine if headlines like these were done in every state. The repubs wouldn't know what to do. 

Obama Selling and Leading on Stimulus

Obama is off to Elkhart, Indiana today to sell the stimulus to the public. A new Gallup poll already shows Obama doing a good job of selling it already.  He is owning the bill right now which is good. By owning it and it succeeding (hopefully) he will be able to do more in the future with the credit he gets. 

"The numbers: Obama has a 67% approval and only 25% disapproval on how he's handled the stimulus bill, compared to Congressional Republicans' 31% approval and very high 58% disapproval. Congressional Democrats aren't as popular as Obama himself -- explaining the GOP's efforts to tie the bill to Nancy Pelosi, instead of Obama -- but they're still in the black at 48%-42%."

If the congressional dems can ride the coat tails the GOP will be left out hanging in the wind. 

Dems Might Need New Deal Image

It seems that in order for the repubs to come out against the president they might be trying to indirectly go after him by going after FDR and the new deal.

Because this stimulus is being compared to, quite rightly, the new deal of FDR, they are trying to tarnish Obama in a round about way. McConnell recently said:

“But one of the good things about reading history is you learn a good deal. And, we know for sure that the big spending programs of the New Deal did not work. In 1940, unemployment was still 15%. And, it's widely agreed among economists, that what got us out of the doldrums that we were in during the Depression was the beginning of World War II."

This is very dishonest but par for the repub course. Don't like the history, make an alternative story. FDR's new deal was the backbone for getting out of the depression.

So, by going after the new deal, it is a side way to go after Obama. Or maybe at least by attacking the new deal, they can use a their false history as a reason why they aren't supporting it.

So it might be a in the dems advantage to prevent the repubs from tarnishing the new deal.

The GOP Are Starting To Lose It

The GOP are up in arms that the stimulus didn't involve them. Are they crazy? 42% of the stimulus are tax cuts (the only way to get the three repub senators votes (Snowe, Collins, and Specter) necessary to end debate.) Even Pelosi is pissed off with the cuts to education and other things in order to get necessary votes.

Is it over? Hell no. It then goes to committee so that the house and senate can work out a compromise. But again, I don't understand what the repubs are thinking. At no point have they taken into consideration the tanking economy or the welfare of the nation. While I don't think dems always have all the answers, at the end of the day they govern better than the repubs.

Repubs Finally Show Their Partisan Heads

Republicans are finally coming out of their shell shocked caves and continuing their obstructionist attitudes. While Obama is making concessions to try and get as much buy in as possible for the stimulus package, Republicans are picking it apart and saying they are not going to support it.

The politics of it is this: They will gain hardly anything by supporting a democratic bill should it do well and the economy starts to improve. They gain a whole lot more by having the new pres and dem congress holding the bag should it fail. They will go running (yes running) to the cameras yelling "I told you so."

Now, there are many problems but what sticks out for me is a TOTAL lack of leadership on the repubs part. Their leaders don't see the common cause that is there. They need the country's economy to repair itself. They are staring at a depression potential situation that they ochestrated and now show no leadership in trying to get us out.

They don't see the bigger picture (putting the U.S. back on track) they see only the political bet. 

They are betting against Obama, dems, and the U.S. economy.  

Look at what they did today.

Then this morning, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) went for the jugular, urging his members to oppose the economic centerpiece of Obama's first term just hours before the president paid the Republicans the compliment of coming to the Capitol for a private meeting — even before he did the same for House Democrats. 

Obama's aides cast the visit as an outstretched hand — and it got slapped. 

This is why I am so cinical about the repubs. The new breed of repubs is hell bent on the struggle for power and has no vision on what is good for the country. This is why they will continue to live in the forest. They need leadership bad!

Update: Well, it looks like they might just vote for it after all. They are so confused, I don't think the repubs know what the other repubs are doing. 

an interesting quote:

 "Boehner already said he wouldn't vote for it, so why are they bothering to meet with the President if they've already decided they will oppose?" he wondered. "Will they even say what they want now or just constantly moving the goalposts?"