I've tried to express, multiple times in fact, how I've felt these past few weeks about the Republicans in the House and Senate. Each time, my anger, frustration, and annoyance has not translated into what I'd written. So, rather than being witty and ironic, I will speak plainly.
House Republicans said they could not support the bill because they were not included in its making. They could not support it, even though it contained some of the largest tax cuts in this country's history. They complained about a provision for family planning. (It seemed obvious to me that preventing the creation of more mouths to feed helped us in the overall struggle to feed ourselves.) This small provision was taken out, after having been widely criticized by the GOP, as a peace offering to bring them on board. But not one Republican voted for the bill. Not one, after the talks and overtures from President Obama. Not one.
I think the house Republicans realized something quite interesting about their situation. The prevailing reason why they were elected to their seats was who they represent, majority Republican districts that may never vote Democrat. They don't need to work to help the economy. They don't need to support the President. In fact, they score more points if they oppose the bill, because they can say, "I stood up to the majority, even when it was hard. I took on the President." To them, the economy is second. Looking good on television, and in rallies, is first.
Now the Senate is trying to pull together a compromise. Moderates are trying to find a way to come together and pass a bill to help the American people. And yet, there is still opposition in the worst way.
There is a proposal to cut the bill in half, making the majority of it for tax cuts. Any economist will tell you, tax cuts alone will not get us out of this turmoil. If tax cuts were the solution, the $600 I received in the mail last spring would have done the trick. You can't just give people money. You have to funnel it out in the right ways.
Tax cuts are one sided. Maybe I will spend a bit more with the extra $40 a week. I'm sure some people will. But others will save it. Tax cuts, though helpful, are not the only solution. Government spending injects money directly into the economy, and it is spent over and over again. Government spending and tax cuts,
together, are the way to kick start this economy.
I am surprised daily how the Republicans are able to control the flow of government, whether in the majority or not. I am surprised that the previous administration has the nerve to criticize the current administration, even though that is never done until at least a year later. But then again, I shouldn't be surprise. The past eight years can attest to what the GOP is capable of.
What I am surprised about is that the Democrats don't have the balls to do it, too. I was glad when the President stopped trying to reach out to the Republicans and started talking to them like their leader. He was elected to the highest office of the land. He was chosen to steer this country in a new direction, to fix the looming problems of the past, and to usher in a new regime of change and hope, honesty and integrity. He wasn't elected to be a hall monitor or guidance counselor. He is the principle. It is time he started weilding his belt.
You are the Majority, my fellow liberals. Start acting like it. Go on the attack. Get your message out. Don't let the menacing minority spin the good you are trying to do. Show the world that it is really they who are harming the economy by bickering and stalling, instead of compromising and acting.
You were elected to lead. Act like it.
