Republicans stiff Obama on stimulus before he arrives on Capitol Hill

President Obama had not even arrived on Capitol Hill yet for his personal attempt to lobby reluctant Republicans on his $825-billion stimulus plan when House leaders started telling GOP colleagues to vote against it. Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, chairman of the Republican conference, said:

The Democrat bill won’t stimulate anything but more government and more debt. The slow and wasteful spending in the House Democrat bill is a disservice to millions of Americans who want to see this Congress take immediate action to get this economy moving again.

The thumbs-down seemed particularly ungracious given the unprecedented nature of Obama's outreach.

First, most presidents ask Congress to come to them -- not the other way around.

Next, it is very rare for a president to sit down to lunch with the opposing party before he's dined with his own.

Finally, Obama had already offered a concession to Republicans. Responding to GOP complaints, Obama urged Democrats on the Hill to drop the provision allowing states to offer Medicaid reimbursements for contraceptives without federal permission. Speaker Nancy Pelosi had defended the provision but Republicans ridiculed it as an example of spending that does not stimulate jobs.

Freed from the burden of defending President Bush, House Republicans are complaining loudly that taxes work better to stimulate the economy than spending increases. And mindful that the last stimulus plan seemed only to engender more job losses -- and that many of their conservative constituencies opposed it -- they are trying to score political points at home by opposing a popular president in Washington.

There was some hint that Obama's attempts to win some Republican votes for the stimulus package might be starting to irritate some Democrats. Obama was clever enough to ask Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a former Republican congressman, to accompany him.

California Sen. Barbara Boxer, while welcoming the president's bipartisan outreach, reminded the White House that Democrats have enough votes to pass the stimulus package without the Republicans.

"We'll do it without them if we have to," she said on MSNBC this morning.

-- Johanna Neuman

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Comments

[Thomas Mc]

Obama should respond by removing ALL tax cuts for the rich from the stimulus. He doesn't need the votes of the OBSTRUCTIONST PARTY anyway.

[Realist]

I know that attempting to reach Republican troglodytes is a necessary first step, but one does question how long these attempts should be made. With 62,000 job losses announced just yesterday alone, the nation needs quick and effective relief lest we careen over the cliff created for us by Republican tax cut policies. I sincerely hope that the Obama administration has some kind of defined cutoff point so that they won't take the fall for Republican intransigence.

[Go Steelers]

Oh, yeah -- those Republicans know all about stimulus. :)

[A Sacchetti]

Sometimes you can't make any money if you do not spend it. The money needs to be spent in the right areas. Research development, rebuilding infastructure, education, health care. Depositing money into these areas will create more jobs. Citizens and government need to work together to refine the list of the areas where the money will be best spent. It needs to be a cooperative process all cylinders working together.

[Jeff]

Fortunately for we the people, the republican party has been made irrelevant in the congress. We are 2 years away from the final emasculation of the republican party, when they lose the ability to filibuster in the senate. The republican party is nothing but a bunch of whining has-beens.

[Samilton]

It will get done with or without them! Might as well get on board. All of these folks blocking it will come to terms with it when it's time for them to be re-elected - count on it. The peoples wallets are crying out. The decision makers pretty much have comfort and sufficiency financially. Many people don't. This is no time to play around with the livelihood of the people with politics. They are playing around while folks are losing jobs daily in record numbers.

The people NEED help. Come up with solutions if you don't like what has been presented, but get it done!

[Freedom Eagle]

Shouldn't crediting www.talkingpointsmemo.com be appropriate for the clip you're featuring?

[Caryn]

I think the President needs to address America and tell us what's in it. (I've read it, and I think it's great). Also, I was bit disturbed by a couple of Republican Senators last night talking about how this would not put anyone back to work. I then realized that these two guys don't know anyone who gets dirty for a living. They don't know people who use equipment, dig ditches, build road and houses. Again, it showed how out-of-touch they are with real America.

[ESchatmeier]

Spending on infrastructure would be a worthwhile expenditure even if this weren't a time of economic crisis. Unfortunately, to Republicans, ALL government spending, (except spending that directly benefits them) is wasteful spending. I only hope our new President doesn't forget or delay his promise to raise taxes on those with incomes over $250,000. I see nothing wrong with asking those who don't even feel the recession to pay a larger share of the cost of getting us out of it. To those who say that the the rich already provide a disproportional share of tax revenue, I answer that whatever share they provide is less than the share they paid before George Bush and Ronald Reagan. To get back on track, we must break the cycle of the rich getting richer while the poor get poorer. Our economic survival demand this.