The Great Recession; or, Why Do the Republicans Hate America?
The nation’s current recession is likely to be the longest since World War II, and by some measures could be the worst since the Great Depression, a new Congressional Budget Office forecast said Tuesday.
Without a major economic stimulus plan, “the shortfall in the nation’s output relative to its potential would be the largest – in terms of both length and depth – since the Depression of the 1930s,” said new CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf in testimony prepared for the House Budget Committee.
The analysis is sure to add important momentum to the effort to enact an $825 billion stimulus by mid-February. President Barack Obama is meeting Tuesday morning with House Republicans and plans to meet with Senate GOP members in early afternoon. The nonpartisan CBO is highly regarded by both parties.
Momentum may be added, yes, and the CBO may indeed be highly regarded, but, if the Republicans have their way — and, thankfully, they won’t — there won’t be any stimulus package.
“Republicans find their voice,” contends Politico, playing up GOP unity, but it’s the voice of right-wing ideology and obstructionism at a time when Americans are suffering and need help. In the House, where there is far more extremism among Republicans than in the Senate, the two top Republicans, Minority Leader John Boehner and Minority Whip Eric Cantor, again according to Politico, “told their rank-and-file members [this] morning during a closed-door meeting to oppose the bill when it comes to the floor Wednesday. Boehner told members that he’s voting against the stimulus, and Cantor told the assembled Republicans that there wasn’t any reason for them to support the measure.”
Really? There’s no reason to support the stimulus package? Not even to boost an economy that is bleeding jobs, to pull the country out of what is shaping up as the Great Depression II, to help Americans put food on the table, pay the bills, and support their children?
Seriously, why do these Republicans hate America so? Why are they such a bunch of selfish pricks? Democrats, if I remember correctly, rallied around Bush after 9/11, though it was Bush and the Republicans who partisanized the resulting war on terror? Why are Republicans not putting country first now?
But maybe some good will come of this. As Creature put it earlier today: “Since it is now crystal clear that the GOP will oppose any, I repeat, any, stimulus bill that comes before them, it’s time to write a bill that gives them no concessions and even less consideration. It’s time to ram a Democratic bill through and twist one, or two, moderate GOP arms and be done with this bi-partisan madness.”
Basically, it’s time for a “better bill,” in Steve Benen’s words: “The White House has been willing to make all kinds of concessions to win over Republican support, but it’s not enough. Since the GOP is going to vote ‘no’ anyway, why not make the bill as effective and progressive as possible? If there’s no point in the majority party offering unwelcome enticements to those who’ll remain obstinate anyway, then pull the enticements and let the majority party do the right thing.”
The Republicans are showing once again who and what they really are: a mean, nasty mob of self-interested, partisan zealots. At a time when it’s essential to do what is right for America, and for the American people, Obama and the Democrats will have to do it themselves.
(Cross-posted from The Reaction.)
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12 Responses to “The Great Recession; or, Why Do the Republicans Hate America?”
What makes the republicans think they have any reasonable or moral right to obstruct this process after the horrible job of governing they've done this century? 'it bad enough that most of this crisis came about on their watch? Maybe if they'd been paying attention to something besides their stupid and unnecessary war they might have been able to hear the warnings some economists were trying to give. Well, I guess they're all sufficiently well-heeled enough they won't have much trouble riding out the storm that's coming, so screw the other 90-some % of the country that will have to struggle to survive. It's more important the republicans circle the wagons and enable each other's lockstep march of opposition than concern themselves with what might actually be best for the country. I ask this question without any snark or sarcasm, but out of genuine puzzlement: Just how clueless and selfish are these people???
Hmm – you seem to have become what you used to hate. Not supporting a plan proposed by the President is now 'hating Americans'. I can remember just weeks ago how vile it was to even suggest such a thing.
Orwell was a Prophet.
Orwell knew which side was up and which side was down – unlike some of the characters in his books… and unlike some of the false equivalence banter that tries to pass as valid commentary.
Orwell would have seen through the false equivalence of that argument. in a heartbeat.
OK JS – if you are going to come to Michael's defense, why is it a false equivalence? Because you disagreed with Bush, but agree with Obama?
I made no comment on the specifics of what was being discussed, btw. I was pointing out the very obvious irony of someone who railed against any commenting of opposing Bush and his policies (pick one) being called anti-American. But now a few weeks later he calls opposing Obama's policy hating Americans.
It seems pretty damn equivalent to me.
p.s. – and don't go looking to Orwell for your defense. He despised anything that remotely smacked of Socialism, nationalization of assets, or wealth redistribution. And to be fair, much of the Bush policies on monitoring would have not met his approval, either (and frankly, the overall tendency in the US by all forms of government, on both sides of the aisle, to use cameras, databases, etc., to continually 'keep an eye on us')
AR, first of all, you are the one who brought up Orwell, all I did was take it a bit further, and to it's logical conclusion. I get tired of the tit-for-tat thinking that never bothers to examine matters in any real objective light, but only seeks to prop up or justify an existing belief. Is it ever appropriate to suggest that one person may hate America and another may not? If so, then we need to examine circumstances and reasons why one situation is different than another, and rather than give a history lesson, I'll just say I think there are differences. That said, I admit, there appears to be a certain amount of emotion influencing Michaels choice of words.
JS- I believe MS brought up that meme to purposely show irony— not because he believes that Republicans really “hate America”.
He's just revealing the hypocrisy of the whole my president right or wrong baloney- when either side tries to justify their positions.
A.R., Mikey not only consistently splatters waste on this site, but he is ironic time after time in that his most coarse and mean-spirited insults routinely constitute accurate statements about _himself_.
I'll address Obama-vs.-the-GOP elsewhere, in Mikkel's posting. It actually leads one to think of many things, as I have done again, including extending the scope of “change” to either superficially or actually saving Social Security.
K. Ritter: I hope you enjoyed the Inauguration. Festive, no doubt. Too bad about Roberts's momentary Bush-dyxlexia at the swearing-in.
Thanks DLS-
Uh— It was different. It took me an hour and a half just to park my car and get on the subway — I started from home at 3:30 am!
DC was so mobbed that I was never able to connect with the Inauguration team of volunteers I was assigned to. I ended up in a coffee shop near L'enfant Plaza handing out maps, handwarmers and giving directions to out-of-town visitors.
I did make it onto the Mall — but was overwhelmed by the enormous crowds, so I took the Metro back to my car and watched the ceremony on TV in my bedroom. Not exactly the same experience, but a lot more comfortable!!!
Michael, I have tried to hold my tounge at your posts, but I believe you have gone way to far this time.
Frankly, I don't think you are any better than a right-wing ideologe with your comments- you see those who disagree not only as wrong or different, but evil. You have every right to disagree with the GOP, but they don't have to simply roll over and accept what you think are the right views. They have different views and even though it might not be the right one in your eyes, that only makes it different. Republicans don't hate America, they just have different ways on how to fix it.
I am a Republican. I care about how to help those who are losing their jobs. I don't look at my Democatic friends as pricks simply because I happen to disagree with them.
I think this post was very mean spirited and you have basically become what you profess to hate. How shameful.
Given the devastating failure of republican rule this century so far, why on earth is it so shocking for someone to express a little passion when they suggest those aforementioned republicans have no business acting as self-serving and cynical obstructionists when somone else is trying to correct their damned mistakes? I think this is where Michael is coming from – he just happens to be doing it with a little more fervor than some of our more thinr-skinned brethren might prefer.
DLS – “Mikey not only consistently splatters waste on this site”
DLS, anyone who has been reading your posts here with any regularity knows how deeply steeped in hypocrisy your comment is.