Comments on Hope and Change: Bi-Partisanship in the Senate

How do you know that learning more about how snail...

2010-03-01T10:17:17.369-08:00

How do you know that learning more about how snails reproduce will not save the world?

Pork is wasteful spending like learning how snails...

2010-02-26T21:57:52.425-08:00

Pork is wasteful spending like learning how snails reproduce.

The jobs bill is mostly a tax cut so you should li...

2010-02-26T12:15:23.954-08:00

The jobs bill is mostly a tax cut so you should like it, Harrison. Calling it pork is meaningless. What is pork? Pork is any kind of spending you don't like. So if I think a new weapons system is wasteful, that might be pork to me, but someone else might think it is very necessary. And if you think a new bridge or road or courthouse is unnecessary, you can call it pork, but other people would say those things are very useful.

As far as the jobs bill goes, pretty much everyone agrees that it represents only a token effort. The point of it is to show that Congress is doing something about the problem, even if Congress is not doing much. The fact that it was approved on a bi-partisan basis, and the fact that Congress is doing something that is supposedly designed to solve a real problem should have some significance. Maybe it will only create a few jobs, but maybe it will also make people feel like something is being done, and that in itself is what starts to change people's expectations about the economy. When expectations change, then improvement in the economy starts to occur. So maybe this one tiny bill won't do much, but how can you be so sure it will do nothing at all?

The "jobs" bill was pure pork and will d...

2010-02-26T11:08:28.165-08:00

The "jobs" bill was pure pork and will do nothing at all. Our economy is $14.3 trillion, the "jobs" bill is $15 billion. Why this money was not taken from the "stimulus" (more than half of which has not been spent) is beyond me.

I think they still don't have the votes for th...

2010-02-24T14:51:53.637-08:00

I think they still don't have the votes for the public option. I happen to think that the public option is a really good idea, but it is perceived as the opening wedge for government-sponsored health insurance for everyone. And that is probably what it is, so no wonder there is such resistance to it!

I just found myself "becoming a fan" of ...

2010-02-24T11:19:24.981-08:00

I just found myself "becoming a fan" of a Republican on facebook, who would have thought? I admit, it was mostly to 'Like' his decision to support the jobs bill. I'm glad to see the "moderate" Republicans have a leader to rally around and won't be scared off by the likes of the cult of Rush, McConnell or Boehner. As always, I enjoyed your insightful take.

What do you think about the Bennett letter that has been circulating the Senate (http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/02/running-list-of-senators-who-have-signed-bennets-public-option-letter.php)? I wrote both of my senators (WA) urging them to support the letter and a public option. Both wrote me back boilerplate responses about health care but I hope my letter is at least adding to a tally of citizens rallying for a public option.

2010-02-24T11:15:29.369-08:00

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