All of the House Republicans voted against the stimulus package. Good for them. President Obama doesn’t need their support, and he shouldn’t expect it when the legislation being proposed doesn’t achieve (or come close to achieving) what should be the primary objective — stimulating the economy. This is pork-laden legislation as well as some tax cuts to people who don’t EVEN PAY taxes (otherwise known as welfare). Bad proposals are bad proposals. It does the Republicans no political good to go along with all of President Obama’s plans, and it might continue to hurt them with the conservative base. In addition to that, if this stimulus fails to get the job done (and it will), the blame will be solely on the president and the Democrats. That is, unless the Senate Republicans fail to follow the lead of their colleagues in the House.
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Does this mean that Republicans have found their way? I mean not one time when they had power did they ever vote against a spending bill. They approved every single spending bill George Bush gave them and then some. I’d be a little bit more encouraged by a vote while in power when it actually matters. Of course that’s just me 🙂
Of course not. They are still struggling, and electing Michael Steele as RNC chair won’t automatically fix that. I’m not harboring any delusion that this will start some kind of lasting resurgence in the Republican Party. It is the minimum we expect of our legislators, whether Republican or Democrat, to oppose bad legislation. That said, I do think Republicans deserve some credit, even if they weren’t risking very much by opposing this stimulus.