Obama's Partisan Politics

Last night in a speech to House Democrats, President Obama made light of the Republican's objections to parts of the stimulus package. In a fairly mocking tone, Obama said of the Republicans, "So then you get the argument, 'well, this is not a stimulus bill, this is a spending bill.' What do you think a stimulus is? That's the whole point." His receptive audience laughed along with him.

If Obama wanted to bring change to Washington, launching a partisan attack less than a month into his presidency isn't the way. The Republicans are not the enemy. As the minority party, they have a role as old as our country -- to provide a check on the unfettered power of the majority. The 58 million plus voters who voted for the Republican candidate should not be shut out of the discussion over the country's future. The 22 states whose voters preferred the Republican candidate -- the no longer have a voice?

This may have been a "decisive" Democrat victory, but it does not result in a dictatorship. Hugo Chavez, Kim Jong-Il and Fidel Castro don't have to listen to the opposition, but Obama does. The "we won" attitude is hubristic and short sighted. Four or eight years from now when the Republican revolution comes back around, as these cycles tend to do, will the Republicans similarly be allowed to simply shove their agenda down the Democrats' throats without discussion?

We are in a dire economic situation, but that does not mean we have to act hastily or rashly. If it takes another day, week or even a month to come up with a viable solution that does not put us even further in the hole, then we should take that time. Obama is letting his ego get in the way of good judgment. This isn't about his winning his first Congressional battle -- it should be about what's best for the US economy and the US taxpayer.

There is no disputing that the stimulus package has pork in it -- an amount conservatively estimated to be $100 billion, more than one-tenth of the entire package. That is not an insignificant amount and Obama seems to conflate spending with stimulus. Simply put, not all spending will stimulate the economy. And at a time of such great economic crisis, now is not the time to load up a bill with unnecessary spending. This should be a streamlined bill aimed precisely at the ways to get the economy moving. It shouldn't be the Democrats' opportunity to push spending programs they've had their hearts set on for the past eight years.