Compromise is for Wussies

"Bipartisanship is safe and effective, when used as directed. In the present circumstance, however—dire economic crisis, hardheaded Republicans, time running out—bipartisanship is doing more harm than good. President Obama and the Democratic majorities in Congress can no longer afford to let comity defeat common sense.

An additional 600,000 Americans lost their jobs last month. If the loyal opposition chooses to obstruct economic recovery, those who hold power are obliged to use it."

Does the US Government have what it takes to stimulate this economy? My personal opinion - President Obama should take the proposal back to it's original and mostly useful, if still woefully modest proportions - less all the Democratic pork (even if some of it might be stimulating) and all the ridiculous Republican tax breaks which make no sense at all. And he should make our lawmakers (term used loosely) swallow it whole. And if they cry like the spoiled little girls that they are... he should go on national TV (because that's where the voters are,) and make an appeal to the American public that's proportioned to their tiny attention span. He should say something like, "Folks, you elected me because you wanted change... a new direction. But your elected officials are not interested in changing anything and they are not going to let me do what you've asked me to do. So now you need to take it up with them, and I'll be here waiting to get things going when you do." At the end of the ad - should be a screen with contact info for each state, because most good Americans have no idea how to contact their Senators and Reps (most good Americans might be fuzzy on just who those people are...)

It would be interesting to see what would happen now, wouldn't it?

This is not an issue where the answer is to be found in the “middle.” This isn’t a matter of left, right and center; it’s a matter of yes or no: Does the federal government try to get the economy moving again, or not? This will sound ridiculous, but the fact is that the details of Obama’s plan don’t matter that much. If anything, many economists believe, the government needs to spend even more than Obama proposes.

Republicans are using this debate as a branding opportunity, positioning themselves as careful stewards of the public purse. This is absurd, given their record when they were in charge. It’s also cynical. They know that some kind of stimulus will get passed anyway. If it works, they’ll claim their principled intransigence made the plan better; if it doesn’t, they’ll say “I told you so.”

Obama and the Democrats have public opinion on their side and the wolf at the door. Republicans need to get out of the way—or get run over. "

Read all of the excellent article by Eugene Robinson (quoted material) here.
And for an even more heated argument... click here.