The House Democrats passed Obama's huge $819 billion stimulus bill tonight by a vote of 244-188.It was pretty much a straight party line vote,with all of the Republicans opposing it. They finally learned to say no to obscene government spending the hard way, and it's a pity the lesson wasn't learned years ago.
The House minority leader, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, said the measure "won't create many jobs, but it will create plenty of programs and projects through slow-moving government spending." A GOP alternative plan mostly based on tax cuts got voted down 266-170 moments before the final vote.
Now it goes to the senate.
That this obscenity passed when the American people are overwhelmingly opposed to it shows exactly how much contempt the current congress has for the electorate. And they're counting on the public's short memory and ability to be diverted to avoid any political consequences.
According to the Washington Post article you've linked, the Capricorn & Gemini astrological signs are not in his bag. Yes, they have a table for voting by astrological signs! To the best of my knowledge, that's a 1st for anything in the news section in the Anglo-Saxon media. (I'm not referring to the comics sections with their adjoining entertainment columns, which perfunctorily include a daily astro section.) I have seen this before in papers from other countries in other languages, but this has to be a pioneering effort in this pseudoscience. One to be added to such pseudosciences as psychology, sociology, socialism, national socialism, communism, & c. I wonder if things will go to the extremes I witnessed years ago in the media in Mexico, which could become obsessed with trying to tie every conceivable news event to something astrological.
ReplyDeleteQuote, 'They [viz, the Republicans,] finally learned to say no to obscene government spending the hard way, and it's a pity the lesson wasn't learned years ago.' End of quote. Excellent! I like to think of the Republicans & Democrats as 2 warring, but similar, sororities on an university campus : they hate each other , but, unless you're a member of 1 or the other, they are a toss-up as to which group is the bigger bunch of jerks.
ReplyDeleteThere will be political consequences for someone. Who the consequences fall on will be decided by how things play out in the near future.
ReplyDeleteThe Republicans voting against this is a good start. This stimulus plan will likely fail. The Republicans need to keep their alternative plan based primarily on tax cuts before the public. This way they can put their alternative in place when the stimulus package fails, which in all likelhood it will.
Tax cuts in concert with DEEP cuts to Government spending are the way to get the economy moving in the right direction again. I agree that it is a pity that it took the Republicans so long to figure this out.
I suppose their is still the possibility of a veto in the Senate but all the Democrats have to do is pick off two or three Republican Senators to get this passed. I can only pray that there are still enough elected officials with enough common sense to realize this bill won't work. Even if it could, we CANNOT afford it.
When the stimulus package fails as it very likely will, the Republicans will probably be accused by the Democrats and their allies in the main stream media of "obstruction" or something of this nature. This is why it is vitally important that the Republicans keep their alternative plan in front of the American people.
Finally, the miserable failure of President Jimmy Carter led to the Presidential election of Ronald Regan. Mr. Regan was probably the best President in American history. It seems likely to me that Mr. Obama's policies are going to fail miserably. Perhaps this will lead to the election of someone like Ronald Regan.
Finally, I hope and pray for the sake of the nation that Mr. Obama's economic policies succeed. If they do, I will be the first to admit I was wrong and to congratulate him and his team.