Stimulus Musings

I have been doing a bit of reading on Obama's stimulus plans. Apparently there has been a bit of working of the original proposal due to concerns from Democrats in congress feeling that the plan was too heavy in tax breaks and too light on actual investment. This, imho, is how government should work. Both the President and Congress working together to craft legislation. Over the last eight years it seemed that it didn't really work that way. Instead, it was a lot of Bush wants X and congress gives Bush X. The interesting aspect here, for me at least, is that one group seems to be missing in the crafting of the stimulus plan.....Republicans. The major Republican voices that seem to be breaking out seem to be unified in being anti-stimulus. Republicans in the House have no shot at shooting down the stimulus plan. The Republicans in the Senate have, at best, a long shots chance at sustaining a filibuster to such a plan. Remember once Franken gets seated, Democrats have 59 votes (one short of the need 60 to break a filibuster). Considering that the plan has pretty solid backing from the American people accoring to a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll and a Gallup poll, one would think there would be at least a couple of Republicans interested in helping craft the final package.

I think the issue here comes in two parts. One, Republicans, other than wanting tax breaks for the upper class, simply don't have any ideas. Two, Republicans are banking on the short-term memory of the American people. I fully expect that shortly after the stimulus package is passed that Republicans will begin their 'See it didn't work 2009 tour'.