# Were Republicans consulted on the Stimulus Bill? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 20, 2009, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-republicans-consulted-on-the-stimulus-bill/486700 "2009-02-20T09:47:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-republicans-consulted-on-the-stimulus-bill/486700/21 "2009-02-21T09:28:43Z")
> [@Cliffy](#): > > Why? > > Look, if you read contemporaneous news accounts, it’s plain that the Administration had tons of discussions with the GOP, the Senate majority slightly less, and the House majority somewhat less than that, but in every case Republicans were invited to participate. Eric Cantor has admitted he’s patterning his behavior on Newt Gingrich, when GOP obstructionism to Clinton’s budget caused a mini-recession, which got the populace pissed off at the incumbents, and therefore swept the GOP into power. This is not controversial history, and this is what the GOP is planning now. And it’s not irrational for them to do so. It is _immoral_ but it’s not irrational – if the economy picks up under President Obama, then he’ll get the credit for putting right what President Bush fucked up. If it fails, then he’ll get blamed, and his party will not fare well as the ballot box. > > But I’m more interested in why you think it’s intrinsically valuable for parties to cooperate on major policy initiatives. This isn’t a sport. People who are Democrats and people who are Republicans these days are in those parties because they have vastly different ideas of how government should be run. Whichever party is correct (and the evidence of the last decade makes this a no-brainer, IMO), a first-order desire for compromise just means that **neither** approach will be properly tried. Instead, we’ll get half-measures. Bipartisanship is for cocktail parties. When you’re trying to keep people from getting kicked out of the homes or losing their jobs, you should be fucking **gunning** to do whatever you think is the best way to help them. > > –Cliffy I think it’s intrinsically valuable. If 49% of the country thinks one way and 51% thinks another it’s ridiculous to push that 49% down and declare your majority has a ‘mandate’ to rule how it wants. That’s the kind of bullshit that has ruined American for 8 years now. On the majority of the issues facing the country I think the best answer usually lies between the traditional ‘left’ and ‘right’ lines of thought. Nobody is right all the time and very very few people are wrong 100% of the time. Telling them to shut up and mind their place isn’t what a Democracy should be about. The only thing I regret is how childish the Republican party is being right now. I’ve gone from being pretty middle of the road to a left-winger solely on the basis of how corrupt and quasi-evil that party has become. They’re the Eric Cartman of politics taking their ball and going home because they can’t get their way on every little thing. I just hope that something comes along and shakes them up before more Democrats come around to your way of thinking and simply freezes them out when they come back to the table. ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-republicans-consulted-on-the-stimulus-bill/486700/22 "2009-02-21T09:40:13Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Oh sure… make me navigate the SDMB search engine… 😉 > > [Here ya go](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/11/AR2009021104078.html?hpid=topnews). It’s an article about Collins and the stimulus. Money quote: If I’m reading that right there were only “roughly a dozen” Democrats in the room, so the “roughly half a dozen” Republicans that came isn’t necessarily that bad. I’m not sure if a $700 billion ceiling counts as demanding “radical changes” to the bill, either. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-republicans-consulted-on-the-stimulus-bill/486700/23 "2009-02-21T16:03:14Z")
> [@cckerberos](#): > > If I’m reading that right there were only “roughly a dozen” Democrats in the room, so the “roughly half a dozen” Republicans that came isn’t necessarily that bad. Well, the Democrats aren’t complaining that they weren’t consulted and that they had a bill shoved down their throats. They’re happy with the among of input they had into the bills. The Republicans _aren’t_ happy about it, however it appears that at least one opportunity to sit at the table and talk about it was thinnly received to start with. Whether it was 5 or 6 or 7 is not really important since the swift end result was just Snowe, Collins & Specter remaining to have themselves heard. > [@](#): > > I’m not sure if a $700 billion ceiling counts as demanding “radical changes” to the bill, either. It was around a 23% reduction to the $900 billion Senate starting place. If you don’t like “radical”, use some other word. I think cutting out a fourth of the bill counts. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-republicans-consulted-on-the-stimulus-bill/486700/24 "2009-02-22T02:54:19Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > **Cliffy** , not everyone in each party is an extremist. There are centrists that can work well together. And keep in mind that there are conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans. > > One reason that I would like to see more bi-partisanship is because this administration has promised _change_. We’ve lived in an atmosphere of hostility and hatred in Washington for at least 16 years now. That doesn’t mean that it’s always been that way or that it has to be that way now. > > I say that as a 44 year member of the party in power. And pretty much all the liberal Republicans in the Senate sat down and negotiated. The ones in the Northeast in the House are pretty much extinct. In the old days, with a spread of ideologies in both parties, there was a lot more real negotiation and voting blocs created on a per issue basis. Now the Republicans are looking more like a party in a Parliamentary democracy, where total loyalty is required. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-republicans-consulted-on-the-stimulus-bill/486700/25 "2009-02-22T05:56:43Z")
How’s this for hypocrisy? (Bolding mine) > [@](#): > > _Posted Feb 17, 2009 @ 05:50 PM_ > > Hannibal, MO — A top Missouri lawmaker says the federal economic stimulus package has too much fat and not enough meat. > > In a visit to Hannibal, Republican U.S. Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond said the $787 billion spending plan signed Tuesday by President Barack Obama lacks fiscal responsibility. > > “Throwing a trillion dollars out the door is not going to solve the crisis,” said Bond, who is retiring when his term ends in 2010. > > The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will increase the size of federal government while substantially raising the nation’s debt, Bond said. > > The plan calls for spending “hundreds of millions of dollars on things that will not create jobs,” he added. > > . . . > > [http://www.hannibal.net/news\_local/x426330689/Bond-fears-some-results-of-stimulus-package](http://www.hannibal.net/news_local/x426330689/Bond-fears-some-results-of-stimulus-package) Oh really? > [@](#): > > _February 5, 2009_ > > WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Senate has adopted Senator Kit Bond’s bipartisan provision to provide much-needed affordable housing for low income and working families and create jobs to put people back to work now. > > “The reduction in available affordable housing has hit hard needy families already struggling to survive this economic crisis,” said Bond. “Today’s amendment will make available much-need housing to these struggling families while creating jobs and putting people back to work now.” > > **A bipartisan group of Senators, including Murray, Dodd, Reed of Rhode Island, Kohl, Voinovich, and Brownback joined Senator Bond in introducing this critical amendment to help provide needy families affordable housing. Bond’s amendment provides $2 billion to fund low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) projects that have been stalled by the financial credit crisis. This amendment was accepted unanimously by a voice vote.** > > . . . > > [http://www.suntimesnews.com/8C/news/02-February/0205senat.htm](http://www.suntimesnews.com/8C/news/02-February/0205senat.htm) Not only are they cowards, but they’re liars to boot. Bond has been touring Missouri touting his contribution to the Recovery Plan, nevermind that he voted against it. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-republicans-consulted-on-the-stimulus-bill/486700/26 "2009-02-22T08:11:32Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > How’s this for hypocrisy? (Bolding mine) Oh really? Not only are they cowards, but they’re liars to boot. Bond has been touring Missouri touting his contribution to the Recovery Plan, nevermind that he voted against it. That’s a ridiculous complaint. His belief that $2 billion for low-income housing will be an effective use of government funds _doesn’t_ mean he is obligated to feel the same way about the other $785 billion of spending just because it’s part of the same package. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2009, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-republicans-consulted-on-the-stimulus-bill/486700/27 "2009-02-23T10:29:09Z")
> [@Snnipe\_70E](#): > > During the making of this disaster which party controled congress??? Neither party are the friends of the people. We had an Idiot for Pres, and bozos on both sides of the aisel. The Republicans. Next question. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-republicans-consulted-on-the-stimulus-bill/486700.md?page=1)