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Not a Single Republican Vote
By BrianHull | January 29, 2009
So, there’s a lot of talk about post-partisanship, about putting away partisan differences and working together to build a bipartisan majority to get things done and solve the bipartisan problems facing the U.S.
Let’s review, shall we…
Initially, Obama sought Republican support by “balancing†the stimulus bill with a large tax cut for individuals and businesses, creating a 2/3 spending and 1/3 tax cut bill. Obama’s “Making Work Pay†tax credit allows individuals and couples to receive a tax credit of $500 or $1000 respectively, with the hope that they’ll take this money and spend it. Of course, a similar strategy was tried in early 2008 (remember those rebate checks?) with very little economic benefit. Even the Heritage Foundation, the ardently anti-tax think tank, opposes this component of the economic stimulus package (albeit for their own reasons).
As for the business tax provisions, companies will be able to write-off losses which happened in 2008 and any incurred in 2009 and then reduce their tax bills retroactively for up to 5 years. The hope is that companies will use the money saved from the write-offs and invest it in expanding their businesses and creating jobs. But as we’ve seen in previous economic recessions, recoveries are never supply driven. Additionally, businesses which hire employees or forgo layoffs will receive a tax credit. Sounds good, but as William Gale says, “much of that money would likely go to companies that would have hired more people anyway … it is impossible to know what firms would have done without such a credit.â€
Next, at the behest of Obama, House Democrats stripped a bankruptcy provision from the bill that would have allowed “bankruptcy judges to shrink … mortgages for homeowners who owe more than their home is worth.â€Â In a show of “bi-partisanship,†Democrats chose to remove the provision in order to gain support among Republicans (and that of the financial industry who recently got $700 billion of taxpayer money) who opposed the measure.
Finally, the provision to support family planning was also removed from the economic stimulus bill so as not to offend the delicate sensibilities of Republican lawmakers who don’t want women to make important decisions regarding pregnancy, pre-natal care, or contraception with accurate information. I’ll admit, it’s hard to persuasively argue for the benefits of family planning in the context of immediate economic stimulus, but the provision was removed with the hope of gaining some GOP support.
After compromising on the legislation, removing items important to Democrats, and meeting with Republican lawmakers to gain bipartisan support, not a single Republican voted in favor. This begs the question, did Republicans actually try and work for a compromise bill, or were they purposefully obstructionist and demanding to dilute the effectiveness of important legislation for purely political reasons? I’m pretty sure I know the answer. More importantly, however, will Obama finally realize that bipartisanship isn’t feasible or even necessary right now? Rather than “work with†Republicans to develop a “bipartisan†bill, just ignore them, create better and more effective legislation, and ram it through Congress over the grandstanding protests of Republican lawmakers who are going to bitch and complain about everything the Democrats want to do anyway. Democrats need to realize that no matter how hard they try to “work with†Republicans, they’re never going to vote for a single piece of legislation sponsored by the Democrats. It would be best if they learned this lesson sooner rather than later, especially if they want to maintain a majority after the 2010 elections, because Republicans are already working to take back the House.
Topics: Democrats, Economy, Elections, Republicans, Taxes |
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:52 pm
You’re damn right there wasn’t a single republican vote, you democrats are trying to create a socialist Nazi regime, and we will have nothing to do with it.
Screw your ‘president’, he is not even a citizen of the United states. I refuse to call him my president, and I know plenty of other friends, family members, republicans and democrats that are both disgusted with him and regretful of their voting choice.
Who made you God and gave you the scepter of political knowledge? Fucking ass-hat. Go bury your head in an anthill you babbling fool.