A Stimulus Package and a Treaty
The big story of the recent stimulus package is the treaty that it will force politicians to maintain. Because of the speed that the stimulus package passed, and despite popular thought quick legislation is bad, it is a horrible mash up of ideals that doesn’t effectively engage either belief enough to make a difference. The misinterpretation of this treaty struck me because of the proliferation of articles that are heralding the current bi-partisan rhetoric as a win for the American people.
CQ TODAY PRINT EDITION – CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS
Jan. 25, 2008 – 7:42 p.m.
Lawmakers Wonder Whether Bipartisanship Can Outlast Stimulus Agreement
By Alan K. Ota, CQ Staff
During the House Republicans’ retreat, President Bush went out of his way to compliment a Democratic leader who has been a thorn in his side for the past year.Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John A. Boehner “have demonstrated strong leadership,” the president said, praising the main negotiators of the economic stimulus proposal.
The Pelosi-Boehner-Bush deal broke the pattern established with numerous other policy debates — a pattern of Democrats doing bills their own way, Republicans voting against them or filibustering them, and Bush brandishing his veto pen……
“We are hopeful Congress will work in a bipartisan manner and be more dedicated this year to ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, as the Democratic majority will surely not want a repeat of last year’s ‘Do Nothing Congress’ branding,” Kevelighan said.
The reason the treaty will last, and these journalists will get what they seem to be cheering for is that the first one to throw stones will be hit over the head as being a traitor of the American people. Furthermore, this issue has a chance to last longer than the usual news cycle because the the economy will not turn back into a boom overnight (30 days), stimulus package checks won’t arrive until May, and then the election is right around the corner.
Looks like a nightmare of a year for the American people.
——-Footnote: Yes Congress needs to work, but when nobody is willing to step out of line and face the possibility of major retaliation bad legislation tends to dominate.—-
