It’s a basic military strategy. When you can’t hold a given line you withdraw, regroup, strengthen your own forces while your enemy over-extends himself, then counter-attack and win the field. That’s what has to be done now with the stimulus bill.
The measure now in a conference between the House and Senate isn’t big enough to really pull our fast-falling economy out of its swoon. But the public doesn’t yet fully buy into that fact, and is temporarily gulled by Republican talk about “waste” and “pork.” This is most unfortunate. Most counter-productive given the present economic maelstrom. But that’s the way it is.
So the majority Democrats have to withdraw a bit from their present line and pass a trimmed down version of the bill that totals less than $800 billion. They then have to do a legislative regrouping that puts a huge additional chunk of spending into a Stimulus II package that will be ready by the end of March.
Why the end of March? Because by then another Democrat from Minnesota will likely be in the Senate, meaning that a single Republican vote in that body could break a Republican filibuster. And almost certainly by the end of March, alas, so many more Americans will be unemployed, so many more local governments will be in such dire fiscal need, that even a few hard-edged Republicans in the Senate will feel an acute need for more government spending on things like school building and aid to states.
So here’s my note to Dems. Pull back on the size of the present stimulus package and get it passed. Claim a bipartisan victory. Then regroup, wait for your oppnents to feel a weakening of public support, and counter-attack in a month or two with a hefty new spending measure.
There’s a long economic battle ahead. Victory here will take many months. Even in the face of mind-numbing foolishness be prepared to be patient
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