McCain and Thune on the Pork-A-Palooza
Taken from Ace and we have to agree with him. The past tense John Thune uses is priceless; music to our ears. First up is the most loathed maverick in the Senate that seems to get it, and doesn't sound like he's going to waver on the Pork-A-Palooza:
The polls are rafting (?). The American people are beginning to figure out what this package is. That it's not a stimulus package, it's a spending package. And when they see many of the items in this, and some of them are very big items, for example, wiring for broadband and wireless, that's a very laudable goal. But it would take years to achieve. And it's a six billion dollar item. I mean, so, the American people are beginning to figure it out.
OK, we're lost on the "rafting" in the first sentence too, but at least he's being honest about the crap stuffed in this sandwich. Although we think it'd carry him a little further if he actually named names. The GOP didn't have a say in the creation of this bill. This was created wholly by Democrats, which is likely just one reason why it got no GOP votes when it passed out of the House. (Yes, the excessive spending is the biggest reason, but with the way Nancy Pelosi is acting the snub still stings.)
And now, John Thune:
22 cents on the dollar went into tax relief. That's far too little in terms of the overall package and what it's going to cost. If you look at the way it's scored by CBO, 12 percent is spent out in the first year, 49.5 in the second year. It's hard to argue that's really stimulus. A lot of this stuff goes into the baseline, almost 200 billion dollars of this drops into the baseline, so it's going to be ongoing costs not one-time costs. It wasn't targeted, it wasn't temporary, it wasn't timely, it was slow, unfocused, and ongoing.
Like the past tense there? Sort of gives you hope that Mitch McConnell can hold the caucus together, peel off a couple Democrats, and filibuster this thing in the Senate. Richard Shelby is all for a filibuster but he's not sure they can keep the Republicans on board. If we want to avoid eating this for many years to come, let's hope McConnell can keep everyone on board, and mount a successful filibuster. As Geraghty the Indispensable notes, Obama's getting a tad ticked at the Democrat congressional leaders:
But two Democratic sources with knowledge of the meeting said the president took a blunt tone with the lawmakers, urging them to drop whatever needs to be cut from the bill to gain bipartisan support and to pass Congress soon.
One source said Obama appeared to be frustrated by the public perception that the recovery bill was becoming laden with partisan pet projects.
Um, thanks to efforts like this one people are becoming aware that the Pork-A-Palooza is full of little pet projects and payoffs to the groups that helped get Obama elected. It has nothing to do with stimulating the economy. Senator Thune is correct: It isn't targeted, it isn't temporary, it isn't timely, it's too slow, unfocused, and ongoing. This bill will do little, if anything, to alleviate the economic woes plaguing the nation right now.
Call up your senators and tell them to stand firm in opposing this bill. Tell them not to vote for this at all. Tell them to force the Democrats to craft a new bill with more fiscal responsibility; less spending, and more directed tax cuts.
Publius II
UPDATE: Sort of an update. First, I forgot to include the number for readers to call and raise Hell -- (202) 224-3121. Also, Ace and Eeyore, AKA Allahpundit have a story up about David Vitter, and his admission that the GOP in the Senate is "afraid of Obama's polling numbers." If you're Allah, insert "Uh-oh" here.
If you're us, don't sweat it. As Allah points out, Obama had an 83% approval numbers during the transition, and they're 64% now. After Daschle and Killefer imploded today, his numbers are going to end up taking another hit.
We still believe that as long as McConnell can hold his caucus together and maybe peel off say, oh I don't know, maybe three to four Democrats, we have a chance to beat this thing in the Senate. Who would the four be? Lincoln has a touch reelection bid in 2010. Gillibrand opposed the TARP bailout, and is on record opposing the stimulus package. If McCain stays on the reservation, we might be able to peel off Lieberman.
Micheal Bennet may be the other one that can be targeted. Bennet took over Ken Salazar's seat when Salazar accepted the offer to join the Obama administration. Salazar barely pulled out a win over Pete Coors in 2004, and if he runs again, he might be able to take Bennet out. WE'll have to wait and see on that, but if McConnell is smart, he'll be targeting vulnerable Democrats to bring them over to our side just to make sure we have enough even if one or two of the usual suspects jumps the shark, and sides with the party trying to ram this bill down our throats.
The polls are rafting (?). The American people are beginning to figure out what this package is. That it's not a stimulus package, it's a spending package. And when they see many of the items in this, and some of them are very big items, for example, wiring for broadband and wireless, that's a very laudable goal. But it would take years to achieve. And it's a six billion dollar item. I mean, so, the American people are beginning to figure it out.
OK, we're lost on the "rafting" in the first sentence too, but at least he's being honest about the crap stuffed in this sandwich. Although we think it'd carry him a little further if he actually named names. The GOP didn't have a say in the creation of this bill. This was created wholly by Democrats, which is likely just one reason why it got no GOP votes when it passed out of the House. (Yes, the excessive spending is the biggest reason, but with the way Nancy Pelosi is acting the snub still stings.)
And now, John Thune:
22 cents on the dollar went into tax relief. That's far too little in terms of the overall package and what it's going to cost. If you look at the way it's scored by CBO, 12 percent is spent out in the first year, 49.5 in the second year. It's hard to argue that's really stimulus. A lot of this stuff goes into the baseline, almost 200 billion dollars of this drops into the baseline, so it's going to be ongoing costs not one-time costs. It wasn't targeted, it wasn't temporary, it wasn't timely, it was slow, unfocused, and ongoing.
Like the past tense there? Sort of gives you hope that Mitch McConnell can hold the caucus together, peel off a couple Democrats, and filibuster this thing in the Senate. Richard Shelby is all for a filibuster but he's not sure they can keep the Republicans on board. If we want to avoid eating this for many years to come, let's hope McConnell can keep everyone on board, and mount a successful filibuster. As Geraghty the Indispensable notes, Obama's getting a tad ticked at the Democrat congressional leaders:
But two Democratic sources with knowledge of the meeting said the president took a blunt tone with the lawmakers, urging them to drop whatever needs to be cut from the bill to gain bipartisan support and to pass Congress soon.
One source said Obama appeared to be frustrated by the public perception that the recovery bill was becoming laden with partisan pet projects.
Um, thanks to efforts like this one people are becoming aware that the Pork-A-Palooza is full of little pet projects and payoffs to the groups that helped get Obama elected. It has nothing to do with stimulating the economy. Senator Thune is correct: It isn't targeted, it isn't temporary, it isn't timely, it's too slow, unfocused, and ongoing. This bill will do little, if anything, to alleviate the economic woes plaguing the nation right now.
Call up your senators and tell them to stand firm in opposing this bill. Tell them not to vote for this at all. Tell them to force the Democrats to craft a new bill with more fiscal responsibility; less spending, and more directed tax cuts.
Publius II
UPDATE: Sort of an update. First, I forgot to include the number for readers to call and raise Hell -- (202) 224-3121. Also, Ace and Eeyore, AKA Allahpundit have a story up about David Vitter, and his admission that the GOP in the Senate is "afraid of Obama's polling numbers." If you're Allah, insert "Uh-oh" here.
If you're us, don't sweat it. As Allah points out, Obama had an 83% approval numbers during the transition, and they're 64% now. After Daschle and Killefer imploded today, his numbers are going to end up taking another hit.
We still believe that as long as McConnell can hold his caucus together and maybe peel off say, oh I don't know, maybe three to four Democrats, we have a chance to beat this thing in the Senate. Who would the four be? Lincoln has a touch reelection bid in 2010. Gillibrand opposed the TARP bailout, and is on record opposing the stimulus package. If McCain stays on the reservation, we might be able to peel off Lieberman.
Micheal Bennet may be the other one that can be targeted. Bennet took over Ken Salazar's seat when Salazar accepted the offer to join the Obama administration. Salazar barely pulled out a win over Pete Coors in 2004, and if he runs again, he might be able to take Bennet out. WE'll have to wait and see on that, but if McConnell is smart, he'll be targeting vulnerable Democrats to bring them over to our side just to make sure we have enough even if one or two of the usual suspects jumps the shark, and sides with the party trying to ram this bill down our throats.
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 1:35 PM
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