Jonathan Martin, Manu Raju - Politico.com
February 9, 2009
In the gauzy days of bipartisan good feeling before his Inauguration,
there was talk of President Barack Obama linking arms with
Republicans to pass a massive stimulus bill, with a big bipartisan
Senate majority as proof the parties could come together
in a time of national distress.
So much for that.
Now Obama and the Democrats are poised to push through an
$827 billion package Tuesday with as few as three Republican
votes in the Senate, after notching zero on the House side.
The risks for Obama are considerable. He and the Democrats
will have no one else to blame if the package fails to boost
the economy. Obama himself has said his first term can be judged
on whether it succeeds, whether it creates or saves the 3 million
to 4 million jobs he promises.
And if the economy fails to show marked signs of improvement — a
possibility indeed — Republicans will have a megabillion-dollar “I
told you so” in their pockets, just in time for the 2010
midterm elections and Obama’s own reelection bid in 2012.
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, chairman of the National Republican
Senatorial Committee, said the fallout from a Democrat-only
bill will be “squarely in the president and the Democratic
leadership’s lap.”
If Obama signs a stimulus bill that has been approved on a
party-line vote, “which I have no confidence will work,
then I think this is very serious blow early on to his presidency,” Cornyn
said.
Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) acknowledged the lack of bipartisan
support “weakens the bill” and said voters should
try to withhold judgment until a final product emerges from
conference. But he warned that the GOP would suffer from withholding
support.
Yet Republicans are gambling themselves — and perhaps
with even higher stakes.
Still seeking a way forward from their Election Day thumping,
they risk appearing out of touch as the unemployment rate jumps
to 7.6 percent and a popular new president is appearing to
seek their support to address the crisis. By turning their
backs on him and opposing action at a time when millions of
Americans are in need, they may invite a “party of no” bull’s-eye
on their backs.
Polls show the public is giving Obama good grades and a 65
percent approval rating for trying to do something to stem
the recession and for reaching across the aisle. And there’s
the chance it just might work.
“I think they are stunned by their defeat and their
minority status, and, sadly, some of them are not willing to
cooperate,” said Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin
(D-Ill.). Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that the Republicans
are “helping dig their own grave.”
Both sides spent Sunday previewing these battle lines. Obama’s
chief economic adviser Larry Summers blasted the Republican
contention that the Democratic stimulus bill was just a return
to big-government days.
“Those who presided over the last eight years — the
eight years that brought us to the point where we inherited
trillions of dollars of deficit an economy that’s collapsing
more rapidly than at any time in the last 50 years — don’t
seem to be in a strong position to lecture about the lessons
of history,” Summers said on ABC News.
But Obama’s presidential rival, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.),
said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that the
bill itself amounts to a repudiation of Obama’s campaign
call for a new day in Washington, because it was constructed
with little or no Republican input.
“I thought we were going to have change,” he said
in a shot at Obama’s campaign slogan, “and that
change meant we work together. This is a setback. This is a
setback to all Americans because you promised Americans we’d
work in a more bipartisan fashion, and that certainly is not
the case in this bill.”.
“I know we’re in trouble. I know America needs
a stimulus, we need tax cuts, we need to spend money on infrastructure
and other programs that will put people to work. But this is
not it,” McCain said.
As of Sunday, there was no sign of a groundswell of Republican
support beyond what Obama seems to have in hand — Olympia
Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.
That’s enough to squeak over the goal line with 60 votes — but
far from the 80 votes once floated by some Democratic strategists.
“That was never realistic,” said White House press
secretary Robert Gibbs in an interview about the prospect of
assembling as many as 80 votes for the stimulus package. “It
was never something we talked about.”
Now, Gibbs said, “The number that matters is the number
of jobs you create.”
Obama had spent weeks courting congressional Republicans — over
lunch, over cocktails, at his place and theirs — but
mustered no GOP votes from the House. His efforts to woo Senate
Republicans also met stiff resistance.
So he changed course dramatically Thursday — when the
president gave a stemwinder of a political speech to House
Democrats at their retreat, all but mocking George W. Bush’s
economic policy that left him with a doubled national debt “wrapped
in a bow” when he walked into the Oval Office.
He also made clear that he believed his own economic philosophy,
and the need for a big stimulus plan, were on the ballot with
him in November — and reminded Republicans that he emerged
victorious.
Still, Obama will be judged on this bill as much, if not more
than, the lesser-known members of the legislative branch.
His handling of the stimulus represents the first test of
his ability to keep the Democratic-controlled Congress in line,
and to bring Republicans across the aisle.
Unlike George W. Bush, who often tried to force Congress to
bend to his will, or Bill Clinton, who did the same on health
care, Obama has shown deference to congressional leaders — laying
out a vision for his stimulus but not writing the legislative
details.
Some Democrats suggested that Obama erred by giving lawmakers
too much leeway, resulting in extraneous provisions in the
bill that gave the GOP fresh ammunition to argue that the bill
lacks focus and that what was at one point a $900-billion-plus
price tag was unwarranted.
“My advice would be next time the administration should
write the bill, and not leave it to all the disparate odds
and ends of the Congress,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein
(D-Calif.). “It’s kind of an institutional problem
because everybody has worked for years and has certain things
that they really want to get in a bill.”
Gibbs tried to remain philosophical, insisting the stimulus
fight carried no “downside or long-term effect” in
their relationship with Republicans.
“I mean, look, this is a place ... where old habits
die hard, and it’s going to take a little while to trust
each other and work together,” he said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed
without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes. BadConcress.com has no affiliation
whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is BadCongress.com
endorsed or sponsored by the originator.
|
