Rebublicans and Democrats, inspired by with the outpouring acclaim for new President Obama, and imbued with a new sense of purpose to engage immediately the problems we face and work together to find solutions to our economic crisis, have all agreed to put aside their petty partisan bickering and work together to pass the necessary legislation to get our country moving forward.
Yeah, that’s a nice fantasy, isn’t it? Elected government representatives of “We, The People” actually working for the common good in a time of economic catastrophe for the millions of their unemployed, underemployed and uninsured constituents to put our nation back on the right track. Giving hope to the hopeless, jobs to the jobless and confidence to the many who have come to doubt that our country cares about them. Now for the reality.
Just days after taking office vowing to end the political era of “petty grievances,” President Obama ran into mounting GOP opposition yesterday to an economic stimulus plan that he had hoped would receive broad bipartisan support. […]
Hoping to recapture the bipartisan spirit, Obama will host nine congressional leaders at the White House today for talks about the economic recovery package, which he has asked to be on his desk by Feb. 16, Presidents’ Day. He also agreed to talk with House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) and other GOP lawmakers next week about their proposals for more tax cuts.
Republicans have a long list of grievances.
Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.), who gave Vice President Biden a 17-page list of spending requests, said he opposes the proposed increase in funding for Pell Grants for college students because it would do little to spur short-term economic growth. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (Ohio) said the plan lacks enough “fast-acting tax relief,” such as a temporary halt to payroll taxes and more relief for businesses. Sen. John Thune (S.D.) said the nearly $1 trillion price tag would add too much to a federal deficit that is already predicted to top $1.2 trillion for 2009.
Gee, where were all these GOP budget hawks when Bush was blowing buh-buh-buh-BILLIONS of UNACCOUNTED and WASTED TAX DOLLARS in Iraq on a war and occupation which was based on a lie? When the bloated Medicare Drug Bill was written to the specifications of lobbyists for the Pharmaceutical and Insurance industries? I guess bipartisan means never having to do anything a Democratic President wants to help ordinary Americans in trouble …
The number of new unemployment claims jumped last week, as companies continue to cut jobs at a furious pace.
The Labor Department said initial jobless benefit claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 589,000 in the week ended Saturday, from an upwardly revised figure of 527,000 the previous week.
… but giving Republican campaign contributors whatever they ask for — and more — no matter what it costs!
Now that we understand the concept of bi-partisanship better, we can see that Congressional Republicans are acting in bi-partisan manner. Bi-partisan whiny ass tittie babies, true, but bi-partisan nonetheless. Which begs the question: Why does Obama want the dubious (cough– euphemism – cough) benefits of bi-partisan agreements with Republicans?
