Reality Has A Liberal Bias

Matt Stoller over at Open Left makes an interesting find.

Attention Economists: Are You A Stimulus Spending Skeptic?

A recent Associated Press article quoted transition officials for President-elect Obama as saying "[o]nly one outside economist" contacted by the President-elect's advisors had "voiced skepticism" about the President-elect's emerging plans for an economic "stimulus" spending bill with a price tag as large as $1 trillion, with the vast majority of that number going to new spending on government programs and projects.

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) is compiling a list of credentialed American economists who would like to add their voices to the list of stimulus spending skeptics. If you are an economist who would like to be added to this list, you can join the list here and provide your comments.

You would think that when the number of outside economists that oppose Obama's stimulus plan number in the single digits that there where be equal agreement that it was a good thing. As we have learned though, facts don't matter to a number of Republicans (see Iraq invasion and anything dealing with science). There is no doubt that Boehner will find economists to go against the stimulus, but I will be interested in seeing their credentials. My guess is that they will have the same weight as the 'scienctists' Republicans dig up to deny climate change. Don't look for the media to point this out though.

What I find strange is that it looks pretty likely that Obama is going to get his stimulus package with the numbers they have in both the House and Senate. Smart governance would be making sure the stimulus package is structured appropriately by keep the pork to a miniumum, making sure the money is distributed fairly, make sure proper oversight is implemented, etc. This doesn't appear to be the case with the Republicans as facts be damned, Boehner wants to oppose it.