Friday, February 06, 2009

'Inexcusable and irresponsible'

That's how President Barack Obama describes the 'delay' that is otherwise known as the deliberative process in Congress.

From The Wall Street Journal:

President Barack Obama decried as "inexcusable and irresponsible" the delay of his economic recovery legislation in Congress after a new data revealed that an estimated 3.6 million Americans have lost their jobs since the recession began. His remarks were some of his most direct and pointed in support of the stimulus package, which the Senate could vote on as soon as Friday afternoon. Obama acknowledged the current bill "is not perfect, but a bill is absolutely necessary."

Want to know what's "inexcusable and irresponsible"? Expecting to submit a pork-laden, cater-to-special-interest, non-stimulus, increase-the-debt piece of legislation and then have it voted on prior to the American public learning what's in it.

That's the sole reason for the intense pressure - because the more people learn about what, exactly, this bill will do, the more they disapprove of it. As I wrote this morning:

Americans are banging up on the so-called stimulus package (aka: porkulus). Rasmussen reports in their latest poll that support for the bill continues to fall with only 37% now in favor. Of course, President Obama is trying to scare us into believing that without the bill, we're doomed, so it needs to be passed right away. However, many people are beginning to think that the rush is just so we don't find out what's really in the bill - like insurance exemptions for companies that make boats bigger than 65 feet in length.

As we are all quickly seeing, this bill has more to do with catering to special interests than it does 'creating jobs,' especially because the same people saying we need it also say that government doesn't create jobs.

Or, as Columnist Charles Krauthammer wrote in "Crises, Catastrophe: Are these words of hope?":

"So much for the president who in his inaugural address two weeks earlier declared 'we have chosen hope over fear.' Until, that is, you need fear to pass a bill."

6 comments:

Jay Ott said...

What's truly astounding, is Obama's insistence that this stimulus bill is rushed through.

The fact that Obama wants to jam this down the throats of Americans with little deliberation or no deliberation at all, is very revealing about how Obama will govern as president.

Obama's non-stop pushing, urging ad hominems and who knows whatever else, has led to the question of why this rush to "act quickly?" What's in the stimulus that Obama doesn't want people to see and deliberate.

The purpose of the "deliberative process" in our system of government was put in place for a legitimate reason--to safeguard our society from tyranny.

Either Obama doesn't believe or doesn't understand this process or he rejects this ideal set forth by our founding fathers.

Either way, it doesn't give freedom-loving Americans very much real and objective "hope" nor is it likely that it is the "change" that Obama's voter's thought they were going to get when they elected him.

Timothy W Higgins said...

Maggie,

Knowing that you are a big SF fan, I pull this one out of the Wayback Machine:

If you think of yourselves as helpless and ineffectual, it is certain that you will create a despotic government to be your master. The wise despot, therefore, maintains among his subjects a popular sense that they are helpless and ineffectual.

Frank Herbert - "The Dorsadi Experiment"

Welcome to our brave new world.

Hot Dog Man said...

I listened to the president's "rant" last night at the Democrats' retreat. What I heard was the frustration that comes when a child doesn't get his way immediately. I heard a lot of stammering and he even had the teleprompter, he was very angry that his agenda is finding opposition. I think he expected to cruise into the job and sail through. It has only been 2-weeks but I think the Rush Limbaugh supposition may be true...Obama wants to BE president, not DO president. He likes the perks and fun stuff but doesn't want to work for it!

Frank said...

Isn't is odd that the fact that President Obama wants to put a cap on salaries of CEO's of banks that take bailout money and calls them irresponsible. Then turns around and cries to Congress to pass this obscene bill. The first half of the bailout has not done a thing for the economy and I seriously doubt anything else that resembles a stimulus bill will do what the President hopes it will do.
Because you know "we have to do something"!
If anything, they should have given all American a $1,000,000 and they would have only spent appoximately $300,000,000 (since there is appoximately 300 million Americans and not the 1/2 billion that Pelosi claims) and saved tons of money in the process.

-Sepp said...

Hey, you folks are all just insensitive! Great institutions like ACORN are counting on that money!

BTW, 2Bn11FA...I'm from 2bn30fa, 4bn29fa and, 4bn27fa!

Always good to see another redleg running loose!

Anonymous said...

President Obama's apocalyptic rhetoric is undermined by Democrats' continued efforts to reward political allies with taxpayers' dollars.

Today, the President signed an executive order that pushes union labor for federal construction projects. There's the pork. There's the Buy American nonsense. There's the refusal to rule out massive, automatic tax hikes on income, gains and dividends. At a time when we're to believe we need to run up another trillion dollars on the national credit card to avoid a catastrophe, these guys are engaging in Old Washington politics? A total disconnect.

They are clueless or they are liars. Could go either way.

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