# I'm surprised McConnell and Senate R's haven't tried to stimulus their way to election victory **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 6, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543 "2020-07-06T22:36:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/1 "2020-07-06T22:36:59Z")
If there were ever a time for Republicans in Congress to turn on the money spigot in hopes that it could buy electoral victory in November, this would be the time for it. Instead, McConnell and many Senate R’s have expressed reluctance to embrace more stimulus spending, even as Trump himself has said he wants more and bigger stimulus checks for Americans. It’s not like R’s haven’t been fiscal hypocrites before, so why the reluctance now? They could loosen that spigot and send out lots of stimulus checks to essentially buy some votes and also boost the economy back up in time for November. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/2 "2020-07-06T22:49:32Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > It’s not like R’s haven’t been fiscal hypocrites before, so why the reluctance now? They’re hypocrites, but they’ll never officially drop the “fiscal conservative” posture unless someone really forces their hand. Their donor class got the tax cuts and the business bailouts they wanted, so I wouldn’t expect a consumer bailout until House Democrats force their hand. So why haven’t House Democrats forced the Senate’s hand? It seems like both sides have calculated that it’s not in their interest to pass another big consumer-oriented stimulus. Perhaps the Democrats have calculated that helping Trump stimulate himself to re-election isn’t the wisest use of their political capital. Perhaps they’ve calculated that the Republicans won’t play ball. Why wouldn’t the Republicans play ball on stimulus? Maybe they’ve decided that a post-Trump world is inevitable, and they’re trying to shore up their conservative cred by working the “fiscal conservative” grift. Maybe they can’t stand to hand the Democrats a victory. Maybe they’re keeping the powder dry for a surprise last-minute SCOTUS nomination battle. Why is Trump himself not agitating for stimulus? That’s a mystery to me. He has the most to gain from it. I don’t know the answer to any of this, but I know that legislation has to pass both houses, which right now means that both parties would have to cooperate right before election. Maybe they don’t want to chance a strategy that might blow up in their faces later. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/3 "2020-07-06T22:53:17Z")
Pelosi would push this through in a heartbeat if she thought the Senate would take it up. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/4 "2020-07-06T22:54:28Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Why is Trump himself not agitating for stimulus? That’s a mystery to me. He has the most to gain from it. He has, but it looks like McConnell and the Senate R’s still hold the ultimate power. > **[Trump Wants A ‘Larger’ Second Stimulus Check](https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2020/07/01/second-stimulus-checks-trump/#2575fcb11181)** > > Trump supports second stimulus checks. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/5 "2020-07-06T23:52:06Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Why wouldn’t the Republicans play ball on stimulus? Maybe they’ve decided that a post-Trump world is inevitable, and they’re trying to shore up their conservative cred by working the “fiscal conservative” grift. Maybe they can’t stand to hand the Democrats a victory. Maybe they’re keeping the powder dry for a surprise last-minute SCOTUS nomination battle. That’s my suspicion so far, succesfully following up the CARES Act with the CARES SO MUCH IT HURTS Act too soon risks expending both political and fiscal capital that both sides wonder if they may need down the road, at a time when it will have dropped out from the American electorate’s mayflyish attention span by November 3. Better to posture with proposals each knows the other side will not pass or that will never get 60 Senators to decide to put to a vote, until they get to something they can capitalize on… One potential upcoming pressure point is end of this month when the $600/wk supplemental unemployment payments run out and the jobless revert to their regular unemployment allowance. Republicans even back when debating CARES were raising the issue that they would be willing to settle for payments that matched full wages or 600/wk whichever was less, the Ds may want to put them on the spot for _that_. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/6 "2020-07-07T16:36:29Z")
Now they’re on a 2-week break so they probably couldn’t get anything passed, much less implemented, before the $600 extra unemployment benefit ends. And if they do ever pass something it will probably be more “targeted,” even though just because you haven’t lost your job (yet) doesn’t mean you’re not (or won’t be) affected. I guess I just thought the GOP might grit their teeth and give another pittance to the peons in hopes that the money would go back into the economy and boost it. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2020, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/7 "2020-07-07T22:45:47Z")
People like McConnell and Paul Ryan voted for medicare part D in 2003. So they’ve been willing to spend trillions on social welfare programs before. The vast majority of rebublicans voted for it from what I can see. I think the GOP strategy is to intentionally let the economy crater knowing the democrats will win the senate and white house. Then the GOP can blame everything on the democrats and obstruct economic repair. I think their plan is basically to burn down the US economy, let the democrats pathetically attempt to revive it for a couple years, then the GOP rides a wave election back into power in 2022. ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/8 "2020-07-07T23:22:35Z")
So, in other words, do what they did in 2008-2010. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/9 "2020-07-29T22:05:29Z")
Q2 is coming to an end, hearing reports of a 37% annualized drop in GDP will be announced. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/10 "2020-07-29T23:26:52Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I think the GOP strategy is to intentionally let the economy crater knowing the democrats will win the senate and white house. Then the GOP can blame everything on the democrats and obstruct economic repair. I think their plan is basically to burn down the US economy, let the democrats pathetically attempt to revive it for a couple years, then the GOP rides a wave election back into power in 2022. This strategy has been going on for a while. The Republicans spend like drunken sailors as long as they are in power with fiscally irresponsible legislation, then when they are out of power complain about debt and deficits and stink-up any work by the Democrats to clean-up the mess. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/11 "2020-07-29T23:51:25Z")
McConnell will probably wait to see if there’s a post-convention bump. If not, then September through to election day he’ll dump Trump and try to protect the senate majority. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2020, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/12 "2020-07-30T00:30:14Z")
They hate helping poor people and minorities _a lot_. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/13 "2020-07-30T15:42:07Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > They hate helping poor people and minorities _a lot_ . This. What’s the point of doing the opposite of what you want to do just to win the election? winning is not the goal here. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/14 "2020-10-07T00:09:04Z")
Looks like Trump is playing (and losing) at 3-D Chess again: > **[Coronavirus stimulus: President Trump calls off talks with Democrats, tells...](https://money.yahoo.com/coronavirus-stimulus-president-trump-rejects-democratic-offer-191702208.html)** > > President Donald Trump publicly turned down the Democratic stimulus offer or the updated $2.2 trillion HEROES Act that passed the House last week, sending stocks plunging on Tuesday afternoon. Talk about a stupid move… ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/15 "2020-10-07T01:15:32Z")
Josh Marshall of TPM opines: > Feels right. May not be, but it feels right. McC couldn’t deliver the votes on even his package, so he maneuvered Donny Druggy Halfwit into doing it himself. ‘You cancel it, Mr President. It will make you look strong.’ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/16 "2020-10-07T01:29:16Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I think the GOP strategy is to intentionally let the economy crater knowing the democrats will win the senate and white house. Then the GOP can blame everything on the democrats and obstruct economic repair. It’s like the payroll tax suspension. They scheduled it so the taxes are suspended from September through December and then the unpaid taxes will be collected starting in January. The net effect is everyone pays the same amount of taxes. But the Republicans make it look like they cut taxes. And then when the taxes get collected in January, they can blame the “increase” on the Democrats - who they apparently are expecting will be taking over. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/17 "2020-10-07T09:00:04Z")
Deleted ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/18 "2020-10-07T17:09:26Z")
> [@Boycott](#): > > McConnell will probably wait to see if there’s a post-convention bump. If not, then September through to election day he’ll dump Trump and try to protect the senate majority. Apparently not. Stupid. Only Cal Cunningham’s inability to keep his pants zipped might save McTurtle. Also stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/19 "2020-10-07T19:55:18Z")
Cunningham’s opponent appears to have his own scandal now. Dumpster fire of a race over in NC. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543/20 "2020-10-07T20:17:42Z")
What’s Tillis’s scandal? I did some googling and all I find is Cunningham stuff. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-surprised-mcconnell-and-senate-rs-havent-tried-to-stimulus-their-way-to-election-victory/914543.md?page=2)