After listening to a critique of the nearly nine hundred billion dollars stimulus package from Republican Congressional leaders, along with some helpful suggestions on how to fix it, President Barack Obama had a two word answer.
"I won," President Obama said, indicating why the Republicans were not going to have any significant input into the bill. President Barack Obama was echoing sentiments by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who had explained by the House Democratic leadership version of the stimulus bill was going to pass with or without Republicans.
The reaction that comes to mind is, "It's like that, huh?"
Previously President Barack Obama had indicated that he wanted as much bipartisan buy in for the stimulus package as possible. In the normal course of things, that would mean incorporating some Republican ideas for using tax cuts rather than spending programs into the stimulus bill in the spirit of bipartisan compromise in order to get large bipartisan majorities for passage of the same.
So, what changed?
One suspected that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, neither of whom had ever seen a bipartisan deal they liked that didn't involve total GOP capitulation, put their feet down. They likely informed President Barack Obama that, with padded majorities in the House and Senate, the Democrats can pass a stimulus bill more to their liking. Also, one suspects Pelosi and Reid told Obama, if Obama tried to reach out to Republicans, the Congressional Democrats would walk.
This situation sounds eerily familiar. In 1993, then President Bill Clinton, urged on by advisors such as then Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen, proposed tax increases as a means to lower the deficit. President Clinton might have reached out to Republicans by also including spending cuts. But then Speaker Tom Foley and Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell had laid down the law. There would be no nonsense about reaching out to Republicans.
"I won," President Obama said, indicating why the Republicans were not going to have any significant input into the bill. President Barack Obama was echoing sentiments by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who had explained by the House Democratic leadership version of the stimulus bill was going to pass with or without Republicans.
The reaction that comes to mind is, "It's like that, huh?"
Previously President Barack Obama had indicated that he wanted as much bipartisan buy in for the stimulus package as possible. In the normal course of things, that would mean incorporating some Republican ideas for using tax cuts rather than spending programs into the stimulus bill in the spirit of bipartisan compromise in order to get large bipartisan majorities for passage of the same.
So, what changed?
One suspected that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, neither of whom had ever seen a bipartisan deal they liked that didn't involve total GOP capitulation, put their feet down. They likely informed President Barack Obama that, with padded majorities in the House and Senate, the Democrats can pass a stimulus bill more to their liking. Also, one suspects Pelosi and Reid told Obama, if Obama tried to reach out to Republicans, the Congressional Democrats would walk.
This situation sounds eerily familiar. In 1993, then President Bill Clinton, urged on by advisors such as then Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen, proposed tax increases as a means to lower the deficit. President Clinton might have reached out to Republicans by also including spending cuts. But then Speaker Tom Foley and Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell had laid down the law. There would be no nonsense about reaching out to Republicans.
Comments
:)
Nohing new. Same ole flip-flop from Obama.
Steven B. Todd
(Guest)
(Guest)
01/24/2009
A lot of this is speculation. But this much is not: Obama won. The Republicans had their chance to make THEIR policies work for the past eight years. They failed. Trickle-down economics don't work. We've been there, done that. All the Republicans seem interested in at this point is having their way. But they had their way. Eight years they had their way. I don't think Obama's response, wherever it came from is unreasonable. It's true. Unpleasant to Republican ears, but true.
I am not surprised, at all.....
So this is how it is going to be... who really runs the country? The president or Congress? We all know that Obama won; he didn't need to say "I won" just to rub it in. But clearly it is Pelosi and Reid who are running the show here. So much for reaching across the aisle. The Repubs were upset at being left out of bailout legislation drafting and look how they voted? Most against. Just because you are in a majority doesn't mean that you ignore the others who are not.
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