The Note, 1/29/09: No Contest — GOP Finds a Voice as Opposition Party, But Who Has More at Stake?

Never listen to Rush Limbaugh, so I don’t know much about him. But, Obama asked for it, so Rush is giving him his plan. Because, ABC news only cares about the Liberal side of the story and won’t post this. I will. AND PLEASE, before you mouth off.. READ IT. Democrats whine for bipartisanship.. so, at least read it before you run yer mouth.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123318906638926749.html

I wonder what our star celebrity President has to say about no getting one Republican vote and losing a dozen Democrat votes too?

(The GOP spin, in unison, is that Republicans were the bipartisan ones, having grabbed 11 Democrats in voting against the bill.)…politics as usual.
I wonder how far the country will have to fall before Congress begins to act like mature responsible adults and not spoiled bratty children.
The best thing that Obama can do is to continue openly with the bipartisanship proving he is the bigger man.
While Rush continues his own little agenda…of political gaming. For sure Rush will not be hurt by these tough economic times… if anything, he’ll only become wealthier…
Too bad we are in the steep of a Recession or it might be more enjoyable to watch.

@ braith morgan,
I am more of a middle of the road Republican and a few times in my life have voted Democrat. It is funny that all of you gripe about bipartisanship and point fingers at the GOP, but Obama asked RUSH for a plan and to be honest.. I thought it a fair plan.
It put it on the table.. you get the 54%(adding other party votes) percent of your votes into office for your spending and your projects… let the republicans have the other percentage for tax relief and see which one works.
All this Bipartisan talk, but yet, the plans the House republicans tried to put forth, Nancy would not hear. Obama scrapped 1 spending off the bill and CALLED THAT BIPARTISANSHIP!
As a Republican.. I say let the Democrats have it. They DON’T need republicans on board, nor do the want them on-board.

Sad and sick, Rep. Boehner appears to be “playing” a game with the American people livlihood and well being. It appears he just wants to stand out and so “no”, as evident by saying “no” before he and “them” met with the President. Americans are watching. By the way the fat, drug-addict is a good role-model for the Republican party. Go, Rush, continue to validate what we already knew. Who in their right mind would follow an egotistical maniac, coupled with low-self esteem. He’s not angry at any one thing, he has misplaced anger. But the American people are not responsible for his daddy maybe playing with his wee-wee, and his mother didn’t give a damn. Go spend time with your therapist, instead of spreading your misplaced hatred, and then calling it “patriotism”.

ajax; Do you actually watch and listen to Rush? Are you a wrestling fan too? Don’t you know those shows are for entertainment purposes only? Don’t you know he used to toot cocaine, the Superman drug? Gotta make more money so I can buy more coke so I can work more so I can make more money so I can buy more coke….Sorry. My bad. Obama was the coke head. Now I remember. Rush is the old mellow white guy.

The Republican Opposition’s “LAST EIGHT (8) YEARS.”
* The Economy became cancerous.
* The Budget went bust.
* The Debt went crazy and went East.
* The Housing Market imploded.
* Trade became toxic.
* Unemployment became contagious.
* Jobs deminished.
* Financial Markets yielded to greed.
* Public Education declined.
* Oil Prices became noxious.
* U.S. Leadership became resentment.
* We Failed to Protect during a Natural Disaster.
* Governmengt Power became abusive.
In the 2008 Cycle America voted for “Change”, “Bipartisanship” and invited “Civility to go to Washington.”
Now in the New Administration’s first attempt to positively impact the Economic Priority, and what happens? The Republican Opposition follows the Strategy of it’s “Not Elected, but Preferred Leader; Rush Limbaugh.” H encourages “Oppose Everything proposeCd by the New President.”
So now, the Republican Opposition Claims to have “A Better Plan.” Where were their “Better Plans” when they were in control and we were being “Driven Over The Cliff?” To claim the New President’s Stimulus Plan ‘will be bad for the economy’ is a bit disingenuous!!!
Seem like a Classic Case: “The Fox is demanding that he Guard the Henhouse!”

Go Sara
Go Sara
Go Sara
GO

*oops “another year” should have been “another month”

ajax…
I just see this as power plays between the two parties.
I am a liberal, I know Republicans call all Democrats liberal but I am a real liberal that has voted both parties. I am willing to go at least to the center. The way I see Republicans is that they seem to want it their way or no way. And their joined at the hip association with the conservative often religious right is their undoing.
And,I have Republican friends of whom I respect and value very much.
IMO, we need tax cuts for immediate relief to businesses and the people but throwing money at these are not going to solve the problem and I never did buy into that trickle down economics… Big Corp. have proven that they are going to soak up as much as they can before it ever gets down very far.
So we do need spending on those things that could in the long term create jobs and even benefit the people…
Like to me. if my tax dollars could pay for contraceptives and prevent an unwanted pregnancy, that’s tax money saved from possibly going to welfare later.
Yeah, I understand Republicans don’t think that way…so I had no problem with Obama asking for that measure to drop…
And I will say, that Dems are not innocent from power playing too…After being shut out when Bush was in office they feel they have things atop their agenda that they want to get done.
IMO, Obama can keep an open door to Republicans but if they want to shut themselves out, well that’s a power play to me.
I just think the country and the people deserve more and I am still hopeful as the plan goes before the Senate…
I just wish when Republicans did have Congressional power they would have had the foresight to head off Bush spending. And to have sought accountability then as the Bush Stimulus passed. It would make their arguments of wasted spending much more credible now.

Morning Amy; Hope you rested well. Good to see you again today. The right wing viewpoint is that private businesses should be allowed to prosper or fail, adapt to change, innovate or stagnate according to their needs. Not much involvement or interference from a conservative government, certainly no government subsidies for private businesses. What the right wing has tried to accomplish since the first fuel crisis in the 70′s is control of our fuel supply. The last administration did try to increase domestic fuel production. The practical approach was and arguably is to harvest our own oil and natural gas and refine the oil for diesel and gasoline. Those are our immediate needs. Stably priced fuel for current technology equipment. As long as we buy our fuels from other nations we are at their mercy for pricing. Without arguing the dangers or validity of global warming, the endangered species list, or any other environmental concerns, I hope you can think back and recognize the thing that started our downward spiral into this recession. Environmentalists have blocked every effort to drill for our own oil for years by entering suit against the driller. Rising fuel costs, the price of gas tripled, were the first domino that fell into the next. Now here we are in an economic crisis. That point is not arguable. Yes! We do need to seek clean, renewable if possible, energy technology, but this is the here and now. We need here and now solutions. The mid-east countries will continue to cut production until crude oil reaches a trading value of at least $80/barrel. Gas prices will rise to (you plug in the blank) $___/gal. When that happens again, many citizens/families who financially speaking are hanging on by hairs will fall. It will take years to convert to any new energy technology. Even our president says so. Don’t you think Bush knew that too? Why don’t we do what we should do now to match up to the needs of now? Stop the lawsuits against drillers is the solution. Sure, Obama would lose the votes of some environmentalists, but I for one would be more likely to support him if he used common sense instead of spending to buy votes. I think a lot of people would jump on the Obama bandwagon. The real change we need is a move away from party politics, a move away from political backscrathing, less lawsuits in general for low cost energy, for affordable healthcare, for less business operating expense, for better affordable education, for inexpensive auto insurance…. you name it.

All the while President Obama makes attempts to bring the Republican establishment to the table to come to a consensus about a plan that will work for America, they silently carry on the tactics of the Bush administration behind the scenes and take advantage of the taxpayers. This from ProPublica:
House Republican Whip Eric Cantor [1], a rising star in the Republican party, has been a prominent voice demanding accountability in how the government doles out hundreds of billions for bank bailouts.
“I think most American taxpayers now are sort of scratching their head,” Cantor told CNN in December, “wondering when all this bailout stuff is going to end. And probably thinking, ‘You know, when is my bailout coming?’”
This Thursday, Cantor cast a high-profile vote opposing release of another $350 billion in bailout funds. Unpublicized until now was a recent development: The Treasury Department used $267 million of taxpayer funds to buy preferred stock in a private banking company that employs Cantor’s wife.The bailout for New York Private Bank and Trust (NYPBT) [2] came earlier this month as part of a Treasury Department program to boost “healthy banks” with extra capital. NYPBT is the holding company for Emigrant Bank [3], a savings bank with 35 branches in and around New York City. Diana Cantor runs the Virginia branch of Emigrant’s wealth-management division, called Virginia Private Bank & Trust, which targets an ultra-rich clientele.A spokesman for the bank said Diana Cantor “has nothing to do with the operation of the main bank” and was “never aware that the parent bank was seeking or received [bailout] funding.”
Is this not strange, that Republican Eric Cantor’s wife who RUNS the wealth-management division of this bank knew nothing about her bank seeking taxpayer funds. Seems to me that’s kind of like Saturn that’s owned by GM, saying they were never aware their parent GM was seeking public funds.

Good morning to you, mmonroeliveson
My understanding of the problem with the “Drill Baby Drill” argument is that whatever oil we find here would be sold on the international market, which sets the price. China and India are driving up the price with their demand. The oil itself would not stay here, the price would not drop much, and the international companies are the ones who get the profit. That’s my understanding.
I just read an excellent article in the NYT analyzing the stimulus package. It really sets it all out.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/us/politics/29assess.html?_r=1&hp

Monroe, do you hear what you’re saying? You’re saying; “If President Barack Obama changes his position on most of his policies, and agrees with YOUR Position and YOUR Proposed Policies, YOU will support him.”
Don’t you think that is overly Persumptive, and a bit Ridiculous?
I don’t think he’s overly concerned about The Oppositions “Support.” But it’s reasonable to think he would appreciate some “Reasoned Bipartisan Support” from the MINORITY PARTY, to assist in correcting the “Massive Problems” that WE the American People face.

Bobj; Good morning. At this point I must ask you if you sincerely believe 1)this Economic Stimulus Package will bring stimulus to the economy any time in the near future? 2) Did the bill get loaded up with pet projects or is it pure stimulus as advertised in the title? 3) How long will it take to pay our way out of the debt this bill represents? I know it will provide some security for poor and unemployed people in this time of need for such. I don’t begrudge that. I am concerned about the obvious politics of flossing support groups at taxpayer expense.

SHUMWASHA: Bush already put our children and grandchildren in the hole for generations to come. What about the 4 trillion dollar war he started you don’t think are children and grandchildren will be paying for that. Obama is trying to get us out of that mess but we have to spend money in order to fix the mistakes Bush put us in so lets not throw stones at glass houses. Let tell it like it really is.
RJ

Bobj; He doesn’t need my support anyhow. He just proved that in the house. Partisan politics are being played in Washington. He is conducting a financial experiment during a time of crisis. That bothers me. Sometimes the best offense is to do nothing at all. Not to say the private sector doesn’t need to do something. What I’m saying is maybe the government needs to let the private sector do what it does, feed the government.

Remember that this bill is not the bill sent to the house by Obama. It was stripped of most of the provisions put in to gain replican support and loaded down with pork and other projects as give away’s to democratic interest groups. The republican opposition is more to the destruction of a bipartisan bill and the house democrats refusal to listen to republican ideals then to the obama plan. Note while Obama may have listened pelosi never has.

Amy; Technically speaking public enterprise would only be socialist if the government takes a profit. The Republicans probably wouldn’t support my idea but then I’m not a Republican so I wouldn’t expect them to support anything outside of party ideas. That is the reason we need to stop the party politics. There are lots of good ideas that neither party would support. I’m a free thinker. I don’t think a little socialism is a bad thing anyhow. We’ve been a socialist nation since insurance companies took over. Seatbelt and helmet laws are perfect subtle examples of socialism at work. According to Supreme Court decisions in the early 1800′s, the government has pretty much a free reign on what they do in the interest of “providing for the general welfare”. They’ve nullified religious considerations, took over the educational system from the states, allowed labor unions to control state county and municipal governments. Why not tap our natural resources? They do after all ultimately belong to all of us. We the people are the United States of America.

“Why not tap our natural resources?”
I’d rather tap wind and solar power over oil, their cleaner and the supply is limitless. Why aren’t we investing in these technologies? FDR converted Detroit into a rip roaring war machine in short order, we need the same kind of effort to switch technologies.

I’m sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and disagree with this administration, somehow you’re not patriotic. We need to stand up and say we’re Americans, and we have the right to debate and disagree with any administration -Hillary Clinton “

To liberals, bipartisanship = agree with their side. Just look at the voting records…far more Republicans side with Democrates on issues than Democrates with Republicans. That is why the GOP is so broken…cause it is full of Democrates. The most notable being John McCain.

The argument about tax cuts for the rich not doing anything is extremely tiresome to listen to and frankly false. The percentage of taxes paid by the ‘rich’ is so proportionately out of whack that it’s laughable. I’m not rich by any stretch of the imagination but I can tell you that any money that I don’t see going to the govt for taxes sure the hell is gonna get put to some use. I’ll either buy something which boosts the economy or invest it – which also helps the economy. What do you think the ‘rich’ do with their money. What ‘poor’ person owns a successful business that employs people? What the hell good is it to spend millions of dollars (as this plan does) on Arts, Studies, ATV trails, etc when I don’t have the money in my pocket to visit the Smithsonian or buy a ATV? This isn’t a question anymore about which party is in power or right – it’s about how do we fix our problems. Frankly, with all the insane ideas being thrown around Washington my plan of giving every adult (18 or older) in the US (there are currently 218 million of them) a Million dollars each seems perfectly sane. It’s a massive socialistic endeavor but it’s far cheaper than a Trillion dollar spending bill and I’m damn sure that there isn’t anybody in the coutry who would oppose it and I’m also fairly certain that the money would find its way into the economy.

Amy; Wind and solar power would be feasable if the equipment lasted long enough to recover the initial investment before it wears out. So far we haven’t found a way to make durable windmills. Solar energy, at this time is more viable, but limited to weather conditions, so solar as a supplement is the best it can offer. Wave energy, ocean wave generated energy, another inexhaustable source is also being R&D’ed. Great ideas but what about the next ten years and beyond? We have all this equipment and vehicles that run on gas and diesel. To replace them immediately would be cost ineffective. Time will make them unserviceable and replacement will be necessary so we need to have something better for replacement. Conversion technology to allow the use of alternate fuels in existing equipment would be a logical interim move, but we don’t have an alternative fuel that is cheaper and cleaner than gasoline.

So now, the Republican Opposition Claims to have “A Better Plan.” Where were their “Better Plans” when they were in control and we were being “Driven Over The Cliff?”
bobj,
Was your head in the sand or between your legs when Barney Frank & the Dems were blocking Republican efforts to add regulation to Freddie/Fannie from 2003 on?
Try listening to someone besides Keith O. for your talking points!

I’m proud to be a liberal. Puts me on the right side of history.

Why does anyone care if Obama has the Republicans on board or not? We already know they are sore losers and want him to fail. Rush Limbaugh said he wants Obama to fail and i believe the rest of the Republicans do as well. They do not care about the good of the country, they care about their party ideology and their fat cat patrons with whom they are in alliance. So I don’t see why anyone cares what the Republicans think or if they are on board or not. They have already shown they are not interested in being truly bi-partisan. To them, bi-partisan means ‘their way, or the highway’.. Besides, isn’t this the party that drove our country over the cliff in so many ways during the last eight years? Since when were they concerned about “overspending”, seeing they ran up multiple trillions in debt during the tenure of George W. Bush when the Congress was also under GOP control. So why all of a sudden is their opinion so important? I believe the mainstream media is complicit in giving too much play to the right wing noise machine. I mean, after all, these people LOST at the polls during the last election. They set up this economic depression we are in, they ruined our international alliances and fostered terrorism by their stupid, short-signted jingoism, so again. WHY are we supposed to care what these un-American hypocrites think? They are not interested in helping out the average citizen. A lot of them should go to jail for the crimes they committed while the GOP was in power.

Since no republicans will support the bill, Democrats ought to strip every provision they compromised on to gain bipartisan support. There is no purpose in compromising with Republicans if they refuse to negotiate in good faith. And I hope Rush keeps running off his mouth. He and his ilk are the reason Republicans are in the minority and I hope they stay there after what they and their buddies have done to this country.

dave,
Are those You Tube videos you mention anything like the one that was edited to remove one very important word from a comment Michelle Obama made… that has become a rally cry used by right wingers in order to slander her?
Her comment was: “this is the first time in my adult life I am REALLY proud to be an American”
The “really” was clearly edited out [in several You Tube videos touted and linked on forums by people who at the time were supporting the McCain/Palin presidential ticket] — without it, the sentence takes on a very different meaning.
I am politically registered NP (non-partisan) and I do my own research. I only expect and certainly hope for honesty in the information those on any side of an issue put forth.
******
monroe, I lived in Houston for years… you may want to re-think your idea that NEW oil production, refining etc could “start up immediately”. That just isn’t possible – it is a major undertaking to build and start up the machinery involved. We could just as well fix problems with alternative energy sources in the time required.
For the record, I am against any new offshore drilling… I would rather see existing platforms, areas, leases, etc. be drilled more efficiently. And considering oil is a finite resource and wind, solar etc. is not — developing these energy sources for the future is absolutely necessary.

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