Jake, please ask Gibbs why Obama readily voted for the first TARP with no oversight – everyone seems to forget that he was a Senator who rolled over for Paulson and gave away 350B.
Now he’s angry? He exhibited no leadership in the Senate when given a chance.
Posted by: Martin | February 6, 2009, 8:45 pm 8:45 pm
“Jake, please ask Gibbs why Obama readily voted for the first TARP with no oversight – everyone seems to forget that he was a Senator who rolled over for Paulson and gave away 350B.”
While you’re at it, ask Him about how He thinks that “emergency” Patriot Act he voted to renew — and the “emergency” eavesdropping He supported — is coming along …
Oh: and ask Him what stimulus there is for those ALREADY poor, especially the elderly and disabled. The price of everything HAS doubled … which may have escaped the notice of the capital-acquiring classes, including “our” representatives (has ANY of these geniuses ever talked to an actual poor person for longer than 30 seconds?).
Waxing rhapsodic about chidlren is fine, as far as it goes, but the real “future” for many is being really sick, crippled to one degree or another, and without … everything — in some cases, even a bed of one’s own.
Shame on them all.
Posted by: Dr. Zhivago | February 6, 2009, 9:18 pm 9:18 pm
Jake,
I am beyond disgusted with this stimulus package. As a Democrat and someone who voted for Obama I can’t believe how disappointed I am. Seriously….to the point I am ready to change parties. How could Obama just turn this over to Reid/Pelosi, who essentially, turned this into a wish list of spending programs that will do NOTHING to help stimulate the economy. What it will do is create so much debt that our children and their children so forth will be paying for eons.
Heather: “Seriously….to the point I am ready to change parties. How could Obama just turn this over to Reid/Pelosi, who essentially, turned this into a wish list of spending programs that will do NOTHING to help stimulate the economy. ”
Please do, the Republican party welcomes ignorance. “NOTHING to help stimulate the economy”??? Are you serious? There is no debate whether it will stimulate the economy, only whether the cost is worth it.
@jhw539, There are a lot of Economic People that think the bill is not good. There are a lot that do.
Sad fact is.. NO ONE knows whether this will work or not. The FACT is, we won’t know until time goes by.
Some say that when FDR tried it to fix the Depression that it did not work. And some say, if it had not been for WWII, there is a possibility, the economy would have gotten worse.
You know, I wish we could afford to do nothing and just let things coast along and just do the tax cuts that apparently a lot of Repubs thinks will do the trick.
I would just love to see what some of you would be asking the government for when you have no job, no home, begging for food, and no hope. I guess you could always call the everloving fiscal conservative House Repubs or better yet John McCain or John Boehner and see how fast they return your call.
Posted by: Lisa | February 6, 2009, 10:00 pm 10:00 pm
Looks like they are actually going to accomplish something and get this passed.
Talk about revisionist history that certain Republican’s are trying to peddle over the New Deal. I have an idea – everyone who buys that schtick can volunteer to turn over their social security payments to help balance the budget.
It was a stupid socialist idea that came out of that losing New Deal type stuff anyway. Think how much better all us Senior Citizens would do if we could just have a few tax cuts instead!!
Posted by: Liv | February 6, 2009, 10:13 pm 10:13 pm
@Lisa, So.. the only people that have lost their jobs in this Country Are Democrats?? lol.. get real.
I have not read the final bill so I will withhold judgement. I’d like to point out that under the George Bush administration over a trillion dollars a year extra was spent each and every year of his Presidency, with little or no transparency. Obama may spend us somewhat further into debt, but at least it is now being aimed at projects that should move us in the other direction. If it doesn’t then it was already too late by the time Obama got there. Listen people, everybody, and I mean everybody has to get on the stick, become more productive on a value-added basis, and become less energy dependent.
ajax: “Sad fact is.. NO ONE knows whether this will work or not. The FACT is, we won’t know until time goes by. ”
The FACT is that Republicans have been running economic policy the last 8 years. The FACT is Republicans controlled both houses of Congress for 11 out of 12 years and the national debt grew for 11 out of 12 years. The FACT is Bush cut taxes further and deeper than anyone other than Reagan and saw a pathetic expansion (worst job and income growth associated with an expansion in over a decade) and now Republicans are pushing… more Bush tax cuts.
Do you really want to discuss the FACTS?
DOH-BAma and ABC news both ignorant, how about George talk about his conflict of interest
Posted by: DOH-bama Cabinet of Corruption | February 6, 2009, 10:43 pm 10:43 pm
Learn the parable of the POST TURTLE…….a midwestern farmer was driving home after tending to his fields when he spied what appeared to be a TURTLE straddled atop a fence post on the road he was travelling…..the poor turtle was sitting atop the fence post with his legs flailing….the farmer stopped to ponder the situation…the farmer concluded that:
1) That turtle did not climb that fence post by himself;
2) Somebody had to put the poor turtle up there;
3) The poor turtle has no clue what to do in his high position…..and no idea about how to get down.
Jake, you are doing a great job questioning Gibbs at the daily briefing.
Posted by: Larry of Ohio | February 6, 2009, 10:43 pm 10:43 pm
ajax: “Looks to me you said.. If you join with the Repubs, you are Ignorant.
Maybe that is just the way I read it.”
Yes, it is just the way you read it. I said the Republican party welcomes ignorance, not that all Repubs are ignorant. This is pretty basic logic and reading comprehension – all gold is shiny, but not everything shiny is gold. And it is based on the Republicans actively courting an anti-science, anti-education, anti-elitist voter who appears actively opposed to critical thoughts.
” The Democrats have supermajorities in both chambers of congress.”
The Democrats do not have a large enough majority in the Senate to overcome a Republican filibuster. Interestingly, the number of filibusters DOUBLED as soon as the obstructionist Republicans fell into the minority in 2007. They have set a new record for filibustering to stop legislation (which is odd considering they held the Whitehouse and therefore veto power).
“As a Democrat and someone who voted for Obama I can’t believe how disappointed I am.”
DON’T change parties: become an “active” Democrat — go to the meetings of your county committee (with some searching, you can find out where they meet).
JOIN your county committee, or run for a seat on it — from the top to the bottom, there’s precious little “democracy” in the Democratic Party, with local committees made up of … well, you can probably UNSEAT most of your county committee, if that seems like the thing to do: all you have to do is find enough people to run against them next year.
Your county committee is probably self-selected middle-aged and middle-class people with nothing much to do … the committee may never have HAD a seat contested in an election.
Go to all the fund-raisers and dances and picnics. Become Secretary. Check out your State Senator and Assemblyperson. Keep track of what you find.
If thousands of people do this …
And remember: you can QUIT the Democratic Party and run for an office as non-partisan a LOT easier than you can qualify to run for anything as a Democrat — the requirement is probably a year in the Party, and the election season is almost here.
Try it: you might not like it, but you’ll feel — and, indeed, BE — very virtuous and democratic.
Posted by: Dr. Zhivago | February 6, 2009, 10:54 pm 10:54 pm
“anti-science, anti-education, anti-elitist voter ”
lol.. Now, that is funny. Trust me.. the Repubs don’t corner the market on that one.
Posted by: JV | February 7, 2009, 12:12 am 12:12 am
I would not vote for this package !!
No Way No How .Not enough job creation,Tons of Pork. We need to create jobs that will last and develop alternative energy.
Posted by: steve | February 7, 2009, 12:40 am 12:40 am
Is’nt this fun!…getting to know Obama…
What happened to “No Drama Obama?”…he’s turned into a bonified Drama Queen…
He tried “charming’ the republicans..I guess he figured all he had to do was grace them with his presence, and they would fall in line with the rest of the ‘cult’…when that did’nt work he threw a hissy fit….
I wonder how this is gonna play out with his foriegn policy dreams….he’s been pushing his ‘sit down and talk with Iran and company diplomacy deal’
Whats gonna happen when they are’nt ‘charmed’ either?
Here’s the deal Bama…You were a very convincing commercial….A lot of people bought it…
And now that they’ve tried you….not so many will buy you again….
Posted by: J Moore | February 7, 2009, 5:47 am 5:47 am
Jake, please ask Coburn and McConnell WHO these governors and mayors are that don’t want this stimulas passed. According to Coburn/McConnell, the money is going to mess up the governors and mayors budgets. I hate to call them liers, but that’s what I think they are. They should be willing to name names .
Posted by: Josh | February 7, 2009, 7:25 am 7:25 am
Where can we find the highlights of the stimulus package listed? Specifically the tax cuts proposed.
Posted by: Wade | February 7, 2009, 8:24 am 8:24 am
Jake,
You are the man! It is about time someone from the mainstream media started asking real questions instead of drooling all over the Obama Team. Chris Matthews needs to take lessons in real journalism from you! Keep up the great work!!!
Posted by: Tim | February 7, 2009, 11:37 am 11:37 am
This is totally unnecessary!
Stop the politicking Mr President and
pass this non-stimulative, wasteful
spending bill of yours!
If it’s such a good bill why do you
need to sell it to the American
People and get more Republicans on
board? You were elected to make decisions not run national polls on what
you should do!
If you’re not up to the task, resign,
and take Biden. Pelosi, and Reid with
you! Stop Whining and Trashing our
economy! Pass your bill.
Posted by: reaganfan | February 7, 2009, 11:54 am 11:54 am
Yeah I think Jake is a cool dude too. He’s fair and balanced just like Fox. This stimulus package stuff is just dragging on forever and forever. The Dems and Reps need to just wrap it up. I think wrapping it up with some valentines paper and bows would be too cute. Im just kidding on that one.
Saracrats 2012!
I think nobody is going to be listening to our new President if he’s talking about the stimulus bill. First of all it’s probably all nonsense. (Mrs. Pelosi wrote it, didn’t she?) I think he’s looking like a fool for saying we need that stimulus bill. And when did you say it would be too late? Mr. President, I think you’re a fear mongerer. So don’t be casting that name on anyone but yourself.
This President is making a real fool of himself. I think the Republicans can stand back as he’s trying to tell us something we don’t believe.
END H1B VISAS NOW FOR BILLIONS OF ECONOMIC STIMULUS IMMEDIATELY!
US Senate imposes strict conditions on H-1B hiring
In what could be seen as a setback to Indian IT professionals, the US Senate has voted for imposing strict conditions on hiring of people with H-1B visas by American companies receiving federal bailout money.
The amendment to the pending stimulus bill restricting the hiring of foreign workers, passed by the Senate through a voice vote on February 6, was a watered-down version of what was introduced earlier.
The original amendment had called for a blanket ban on H-1B hiring by companies that would have received money under the Troubled Assets Relief Programme (TRAP).
The amendment approved by the Senate was co-sponsored by Republican Senator from Iowa, Chuck Grassley, and independent Senator from Vermont, Bernie sanders.
Posted by: Common Sense | February 8, 2009, 11:39 am 11:39 am
I think that the current bill is way too complicated. They should start with a smaller amount, include only items that have IMMEDIATE impact, and keep it very simple and straight forward. The longer term items should be revisited in a few months.
The current bill should include tax credits that are directly linked to each new hire, not just generic tax cuts. They should be linked to each new DOMESTIC job. The bill should include measures that will force banks to re-structure the loans that have an interest rate > 5.5%, no matter what the loan amount is versus the property value. These are the 2 main problems right now in real-estate: rates have increased and people cannot re-finance because their loan amount is greater than the property value and banks typically don’t lend in that situation. Given the current extra-ordinary crisis, banks should have to lend anyway, and at a lower rate. I think that for all the people whose loan is worth more than the value of their property, they should have their rate reduced to 4.5% for the next 10 years. Real estate will recover in 10 years. Maybe the 2nd half of the 700B approved under Bush can do that, but the bottom line is that it has to be acted upon asap.
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CPAC: Romney Struggles to Convince Voters 
Obama Backs Off Birth Control Battle?
Jake, please ask Gibbs why Obama readily voted for the first TARP with no oversight – everyone seems to forget that he was a Senator who rolled over for Paulson and gave away 350B.
Now he’s angry? He exhibited no leadership in the Senate when given a chance.
Posted by: Martin | February 6, 2009, 8:45 pm 8:45 pm
“Jake, please ask Gibbs why Obama readily voted for the first TARP with no oversight – everyone seems to forget that he was a Senator who rolled over for Paulson and gave away 350B.”
While you’re at it, ask Him about how He thinks that “emergency” Patriot Act he voted to renew — and the “emergency” eavesdropping He supported — is coming along …
Oh: and ask Him what stimulus there is for those ALREADY poor, especially the elderly and disabled. The price of everything HAS doubled … which may have escaped the notice of the capital-acquiring classes, including “our” representatives (has ANY of these geniuses ever talked to an actual poor person for longer than 30 seconds?).
Waxing rhapsodic about chidlren is fine, as far as it goes, but the real “future” for many is being really sick, crippled to one degree or another, and without … everything — in some cases, even a bed of one’s own.
Shame on them all.
Posted by: Dr. Zhivago | February 6, 2009, 9:18 pm 9:18 pm
Jake,
I am beyond disgusted with this stimulus package. As a Democrat and someone who voted for Obama I can’t believe how disappointed I am. Seriously….to the point I am ready to change parties. How could Obama just turn this over to Reid/Pelosi, who essentially, turned this into a wish list of spending programs that will do NOTHING to help stimulate the economy. What it will do is create so much debt that our children and their children so forth will be paying for eons.
Posted by: Heather | February 6, 2009, 9:35 pm 9:35 pm
Heather: “Seriously….to the point I am ready to change parties. How could Obama just turn this over to Reid/Pelosi, who essentially, turned this into a wish list of spending programs that will do NOTHING to help stimulate the economy. ”
Please do, the Republican party welcomes ignorance. “NOTHING to help stimulate the economy”??? Are you serious? There is no debate whether it will stimulate the economy, only whether the cost is worth it.
Posted by: jhw539 | February 6, 2009, 9:45 pm 9:45 pm
@jhw539, the man disagrees with you and you call him ignorant? LOL
Posted by: ajax | February 6, 2009, 9:50 pm 9:50 pm
@jhw539, There are a lot of Economic People that think the bill is not good. There are a lot that do.
Sad fact is.. NO ONE knows whether this will work or not. The FACT is, we won’t know until time goes by.
Some say that when FDR tried it to fix the Depression that it did not work. And some say, if it had not been for WWII, there is a possibility, the economy would have gotten worse.
Posted by: ajax | February 6, 2009, 9:58 pm 9:58 pm
You know, I wish we could afford to do nothing and just let things coast along and just do the tax cuts that apparently a lot of Repubs thinks will do the trick.
I would just love to see what some of you would be asking the government for when you have no job, no home, begging for food, and no hope. I guess you could always call the everloving fiscal conservative House Repubs or better yet John McCain or John Boehner and see how fast they return your call.
Posted by: Lisa | February 6, 2009, 10:00 pm 10:00 pm
Looks like they are actually going to accomplish something and get this passed.
Talk about revisionist history that certain Republican’s are trying to peddle over the New Deal. I have an idea – everyone who buys that schtick can volunteer to turn over their social security payments to help balance the budget.
It was a stupid socialist idea that came out of that losing New Deal type stuff anyway. Think how much better all us Senior Citizens would do if we could just have a few tax cuts instead!!
Posted by: Liv | February 6, 2009, 10:13 pm 10:13 pm
@Lisa, So.. the only people that have lost their jobs in this Country Are Democrats?? lol.. get real.
Posted by: ajax | February 6, 2009, 10:13 pm 10:13 pm
I have not read the final bill so I will withhold judgement. I’d like to point out that under the George Bush administration over a trillion dollars a year extra was spent each and every year of his Presidency, with little or no transparency. Obama may spend us somewhat further into debt, but at least it is now being aimed at projects that should move us in the other direction. If it doesn’t then it was already too late by the time Obama got there. Listen people, everybody, and I mean everybody has to get on the stick, become more productive on a value-added basis, and become less energy dependent.
Posted by: WestCoastMessenger | February 6, 2009, 10:22 pm 10:22 pm
ajax: “Sad fact is.. NO ONE knows whether this will work or not. The FACT is, we won’t know until time goes by. ”
The FACT is that Republicans have been running economic policy the last 8 years. The FACT is Republicans controlled both houses of Congress for 11 out of 12 years and the national debt grew for 11 out of 12 years. The FACT is Bush cut taxes further and deeper than anyone other than Reagan and saw a pathetic expansion (worst job and income growth associated with an expansion in over a decade) and now Republicans are pushing… more Bush tax cuts.
Do you really want to discuss the FACTS?
Posted by: jhw539 | February 6, 2009, 10:33 pm 10:33 pm
DOH-BAma and ABC news both ignorant, how about George talk about his conflict of interest
Posted by: DOH-bama Cabinet of Corruption | February 6, 2009, 10:43 pm 10:43 pm
Learn the parable of the POST TURTLE…….a midwestern farmer was driving home after tending to his fields when he spied what appeared to be a TURTLE straddled atop a fence post on the road he was travelling…..the poor turtle was sitting atop the fence post with his legs flailing….the farmer stopped to ponder the situation…the farmer concluded that:
1) That turtle did not climb that fence post by himself;
2) Somebody had to put the poor turtle up there;
3) The poor turtle has no clue what to do in his high position…..and no idea about how to get down.
Posted by: socialism101 | February 6, 2009, 10:43 pm 10:43 pm
Jake, you are doing a great job questioning Gibbs at the daily briefing.
Posted by: Larry of Ohio | February 6, 2009, 10:43 pm 10:43 pm
ajax: “Looks to me you said.. If you join with the Repubs, you are Ignorant.
Maybe that is just the way I read it.”
Yes, it is just the way you read it. I said the Republican party welcomes ignorance, not that all Repubs are ignorant. This is pretty basic logic and reading comprehension – all gold is shiny, but not everything shiny is gold. And it is based on the Republicans actively courting an anti-science, anti-education, anti-elitist voter who appears actively opposed to critical thoughts.
Posted by: jhw539 | February 6, 2009, 10:46 pm 10:46 pm
” The Democrats have supermajorities in both chambers of congress.”
The Democrats do not have a large enough majority in the Senate to overcome a Republican filibuster. Interestingly, the number of filibusters DOUBLED as soon as the obstructionist Republicans fell into the minority in 2007. They have set a new record for filibustering to stop legislation (which is odd considering they held the Whitehouse and therefore veto power).
Posted by: jhw539 | February 6, 2009, 10:48 pm 10:48 pm
“As a Democrat and someone who voted for Obama I can’t believe how disappointed I am.”
DON’T change parties: become an “active” Democrat — go to the meetings of your county committee (with some searching, you can find out where they meet).
JOIN your county committee, or run for a seat on it — from the top to the bottom, there’s precious little “democracy” in the Democratic Party, with local committees made up of … well, you can probably UNSEAT most of your county committee, if that seems like the thing to do: all you have to do is find enough people to run against them next year.
Your county committee is probably self-selected middle-aged and middle-class people with nothing much to do … the committee may never have HAD a seat contested in an election.
Go to all the fund-raisers and dances and picnics. Become Secretary. Check out your State Senator and Assemblyperson. Keep track of what you find.
If thousands of people do this …
And remember: you can QUIT the Democratic Party and run for an office as non-partisan a LOT easier than you can qualify to run for anything as a Democrat — the requirement is probably a year in the Party, and the election season is almost here.
Try it: you might not like it, but you’ll feel — and, indeed, BE — very virtuous and democratic.
Posted by: Dr. Zhivago | February 6, 2009, 10:54 pm 10:54 pm
“anti-science, anti-education, anti-elitist voter ”
lol.. Now, that is funny. Trust me.. the Repubs don’t corner the market on that one.
Posted by: ajax | February 6, 2009, 11:01 pm 11:01 pm
Bush never vetoed a spending bill…
Posted by: JV | February 7, 2009, 12:12 am 12:12 am
I would not vote for this package !!
No Way No How .Not enough job creation,Tons of Pork. We need to create jobs that will last and develop alternative energy.
Posted by: steve | February 7, 2009, 12:40 am 12:40 am
Is’nt this fun!…getting to know Obama…
What happened to “No Drama Obama?”…he’s turned into a bonified Drama Queen…
He tried “charming’ the republicans..I guess he figured all he had to do was grace them with his presence, and they would fall in line with the rest of the ‘cult’…when that did’nt work he threw a hissy fit….
I wonder how this is gonna play out with his foriegn policy dreams….he’s been pushing his ‘sit down and talk with Iran and company diplomacy deal’
Whats gonna happen when they are’nt ‘charmed’ either?
Here’s the deal Bama…You were a very convincing commercial….A lot of people bought it…
And now that they’ve tried you….not so many will buy you again….
Posted by: J Moore | February 7, 2009, 5:47 am 5:47 am
Jake, please ask Coburn and McConnell WHO these governors and mayors are that don’t want this stimulas passed. According to Coburn/McConnell, the money is going to mess up the governors and mayors budgets. I hate to call them liers, but that’s what I think they are. They should be willing to name names .
Posted by: Josh | February 7, 2009, 7:25 am 7:25 am
Where can we find the highlights of the stimulus package listed? Specifically the tax cuts proposed.
Posted by: Wade | February 7, 2009, 8:24 am 8:24 am
Jake,
You are the man! It is about time someone from the mainstream media started asking real questions instead of drooling all over the Obama Team. Chris Matthews needs to take lessons in real journalism from you! Keep up the great work!!!
Posted by: Tim | February 7, 2009, 11:37 am 11:37 am
This is totally unnecessary!
Stop the politicking Mr President and
pass this non-stimulative, wasteful
spending bill of yours!
If it’s such a good bill why do you
need to sell it to the American
People and get more Republicans on
board? You were elected to make decisions not run national polls on what
you should do!
If you’re not up to the task, resign,
and take Biden. Pelosi, and Reid with
you! Stop Whining and Trashing our
economy! Pass your bill.
Posted by: reaganfan | February 7, 2009, 11:54 am 11:54 am
Yeah I think Jake is a cool dude too. He’s fair and balanced just like Fox. This stimulus package stuff is just dragging on forever and forever. The Dems and Reps need to just wrap it up. I think wrapping it up with some valentines paper and bows would be too cute. Im just kidding on that one.
Saracrats 2012!
Posted by: amber | February 7, 2009, 1:28 pm 1:28 pm
I think nobody is going to be listening to our new President if he’s talking about the stimulus bill. First of all it’s probably all nonsense. (Mrs. Pelosi wrote it, didn’t she?) I think he’s looking like a fool for saying we need that stimulus bill. And when did you say it would be too late? Mr. President, I think you’re a fear mongerer. So don’t be casting that name on anyone but yourself.
This President is making a real fool of himself. I think the Republicans can stand back as he’s trying to tell us something we don’t believe.
Posted by: elainekramer | February 7, 2009, 10:14 pm 10:14 pm
END H1B VISAS NOW FOR BILLIONS OF ECONOMIC STIMULUS IMMEDIATELY!
US Senate imposes strict conditions on H-1B hiring
In what could be seen as a setback to Indian IT professionals, the US Senate has voted for imposing strict conditions on hiring of people with H-1B visas by American companies receiving federal bailout money.
The amendment to the pending stimulus bill restricting the hiring of foreign workers, passed by the Senate through a voice vote on February 6, was a watered-down version of what was introduced earlier.
The original amendment had called for a blanket ban on H-1B hiring by companies that would have received money under the Troubled Assets Relief Programme (TRAP).
The amendment approved by the Senate was co-sponsored by Republican Senator from Iowa, Chuck Grassley, and independent Senator from Vermont, Bernie sanders.
Posted by: Common Sense | February 8, 2009, 11:39 am 11:39 am
I think that the current bill is way too complicated. They should start with a smaller amount, include only items that have IMMEDIATE impact, and keep it very simple and straight forward. The longer term items should be revisited in a few months.
The current bill should include tax credits that are directly linked to each new hire, not just generic tax cuts. They should be linked to each new DOMESTIC job. The bill should include measures that will force banks to re-structure the loans that have an interest rate > 5.5%, no matter what the loan amount is versus the property value. These are the 2 main problems right now in real-estate: rates have increased and people cannot re-finance because their loan amount is greater than the property value and banks typically don’t lend in that situation. Given the current extra-ordinary crisis, banks should have to lend anyway, and at a lower rate. I think that for all the people whose loan is worth more than the value of their property, they should have their rate reduced to 4.5% for the next 10 years. Real estate will recover in 10 years. Maybe the 2nd half of the 700B approved under Bush can do that, but the bottom line is that it has to be acted upon asap.
Posted by: Caroline | February 9, 2009, 10:29 pm 10:29 pm