8 Comments

1. CabinInTheWoods  •  Jan 31, 2009 @2:07 pm
   

   Gotta love Gov. Mitch Daniels’ quote in The Hill article: “I talked a lot about getting your hands dirty; being with and connecting and really understanding the lives of real people.”

   To these right wing ideologists, we “real” people are dirty. Ewwww. As Chomsky says, what we are to these folks is, in reality, non-people. Daniels throws us a bone by calling us “real people,” but it was a left-handed compliment.

2. joanr16  •  Jan 31, 2009 @2:44 pm
   

   Yesterday, a coworker of mine said, “I heard that some of this stimulus money is going to people who aren’t even U.S. citizens.”

   I asked if she’d heard that from Rush Limbaugh. She didn’t reply. I said, “If you heard that from Rush, you and I are done talking.” That was the end of it.

   Next week, she’ll hear some other race- or immigrant-baiting bullshit from Faux News or Rush, and start spreading it around like a flu virus. I may be her workplace Lysol, but I can’t follow her everywhere. These people are so tiresome.

3. Comrade Rutherford  •  Jan 31, 2009 @4:58 pm
   

   The Hill rightly points out that the GOP is in full control over all of the Fed, and if the Dems and the President don’t do exactly what they say, their will be hell to pay.

4. Jeany  •  Jan 31, 2009 @4:58 pm
   

   I’m so happy someone else remembers Gilly’s busting Michael Steele. I just wrote Ken Silverstein of Harper’s about the gaping hole in his post “A Trip Down Memory Lane With Michael Steele.”

   My hunch was always that someone in the RNC gave Steele a reach-around; having no faith in Steele’s ability to compete on the issues, they reached past Steeled and played the race card with the WaPo editorial board while the candidate was still sorting his hand. It was shameful of Steele to play along, and Steve’s impeccable shit-detector was the first to expose Steele’s lame character.

5. Doug Hughes  •  Jan 31, 2009 @9:46 pm
   

   The GOP is engaged in the politics of self-preservation.. And it’s a nasty conundrum they are in. Think politically.

   1) If they support the stimulus package and it works, the Democrats will be strengthened.
   2) If they oppose the package (successfully) and the economy worsens they get the blame.
   3) If they oppose the stimulus and it passes and it works, the GOP is toast.
   4) The only safe course is to wrestle enopugh concessions so that if the plan works, they can claim it was the Republican elements of the bill that worked, and if the stimulus fails, they can claim it was the Democrats provisions that dragged the plan down.

6. Jon  •  Feb 1, 2009 @2:56 am
   

   Doug: 2) If they oppose the package (successfully) and the economy worsens they get the blame.

   No, they’ll say “See, you should have done what we said.”

   They are hoping that the economy gets worse.

   From the first link:

   “Republicans left their retreat Friday evening feeling optimistic, particularly toward the 2010 election. In off-year elections, the party opposite the president’s traditionally pick up several Congressional seats.”

   They are hoping that they can be obstructionists for the next two years, that everything goes down the toilet, and then try to blame it on Obama and the Democrats.
   This is the hard part of Obama’s job, and why it is so important for him sincerely try to overcome partisanship. He has to sincerely look for compromises with the GOP and then, when they dig their heels in (as they inevitably will) make sure the voters understand exactly what happened. The party in power always gets the blame for what goes wrong, and Obama has to make sure that everyone knows that the reason we’re in this mess is because of the implementation of largely republican ideas.

7. jarhead  •  Feb 2, 2009 @11:32 pm
   

   So only Republicans are obstructionists. Democrats never obstruct. Answer this for me left wing geniuses: Why does Barry Hussein want or need Republican votes? The bill passed the house. In the Senate, Republicans can vote present and let one or two RINO’s vote with the Dems. If it works, you guys should be happy for it will be the end of the Republican Party. The messiah doesn’t need Republican votes, or does he? What excuse will he use if and when this package fails to stimulate the economy? Or is it that he knows government spending doesn’t stimulate anything and he needs political cover? Look, you left wing loons have the ball and you are in on our 10 yard line. Run, pass, kick, do whatever it is you guys think is best and quit worrying about the Republican Party. You control the Whitehouse, the House and the Senate. Do your worst. You have until 2010 to show us what you can do. If it fails, you will not be able to blame anyone else. The only thing you have to fear is liberalism itself!

8. Jon  •  Feb 3, 2009 @10:07 am
   

   “Or is it that he knows government spending doesn’t stimulate anything and he needs political cover?”

   I guess we’re supposed to cut taxes. Hey, Jarhead, BUSH DID THAT ALREADY! It’s one reason the U.S. has the largest deficit in history. Cutting taxes creates from 3 cents to negative 30 cents in additional revenue. Spending (i.e., giving people jobs; got something against that?) creates an additional 30 to 70 cents in local spending.

   “Do your worst. You have until 2010 to show us what you can do. If it fails, you will not be able to blame anyone else.”

   See what I mean about hoping for failure? Republicans can continue to put forth proposals that have been shown to fail in the past, (like for the past thirty years. Both Reagan and Bush II took the U.S. from budget surplus to budget deficit.) and obstruct and water down solutions that might work, whine that we’re not listening, and pray the economy gets worse so they can blame the Democrats. The problem is large tax cuts for the rich and laissez faire economics on Wall Street. Both of these are Republican policy, and this is exactly why the economy is now so fucked up.

   Oh, and those comments about “Barry Hussein” (do you also refer to Bush as “George Walker”?) and “the Messiah” indicate that you are not thinking rationally, but rather emotionally. Those are thinly veiled ad hominem attacks designed to evoke an emotional response. They do. They emotion they evoke is pity.