Barack Obama began work in earnest yesterday, twisting arms and stroking egos in Congress to garner support for a planned $775 billion (£525 billion) recovery plan for an economy he described as “very sick”.
On his first full day back in Washington since the election, the President-elect dispatched his daughters to their new school before heading to Capitol Hill to prepare for one of the most difficult inheritances ever faced by an incoming president.
At every turn yesterday, he underlined the gravity of the crisis and the need for national unity. After speaking with his economic team, he declared: “The situation is getting worse. We have to act and act now to break the momentum of this recession.”
Just more of the same – cause a crisis and then use it to grab more power. I shudder to think of the consequences if the American people don’t start vigorously protesting such tactics soon.
The time to protest was last November. Too late now. Get ready for at least two years of the Socialist Express.
Pelosi is re-writing House fairness rules to bar Republicans from offering alternative bills or amendments to Democrat bills, denying any guarantee of open debate accessible by motions to recommit for any piece of legislation during the entire 111th Congress. Her proposed changes would also the repeal of six-year limit for committee chairmen.
This must be that “change” we were promised. Less open government and more partisanship. I hope the RINOs are taking notes. Their attempts to appease and appeal alienated the conservative base and did nothing to gain the center. Why vote Democrat-Lite when you can have the real thing?
The Republicans need to pull to the right very hard if they want to survive. I know that I am changing my party affiliation to Independent because they have gone so far to the Left.
Spoo! Should be, “…would also repeal the…”.
In related news, the White House has announced that as part of his innauguration, President Obama will visit the Maryland seashore where he will sit in the Presidential chair at low tide and command the rising global warmed seas to stop.
“Socialist Express” SATN, you are hilarious. I admit, I know of few people who would call a $300 million tax cut “socialist,” but I am impressed by your imagination.
You are right – if Obama creates universal health care and gets 3 million people jobs, the Republicans are OVER. They know they’d have to stop it. That’s what happened in England: conservatives started voting for labor after they allowed government to help people.
For their own survival, the Republicans should veer to the right.
Unfortunately, that won’t get them elected. Tough spot to be in.
Yes, the best time for protest was November, but it didn’t happen. So, we’re supposed to sit around for two years until the next congressional election and do nothing until then? I don’t think so. We need to start putting some backbone in those who oppose the madness going on in Washington and fear for the future loss of their offices in the hearts of those that support it and a growing, loud and clear protest starting right now is the way to do it.
Good luck TGS, Obama’s approval ratings are sky-high. And Bush is still the president. As far as madness goes, it was stopped on November 5th.
John Wilkins – I think that should read: “Obama’s approval ratings are sky-high, because Bush is still the president.” It might be easy to have high approval ratings when you haven’t actually done anything yet – we do only have one president at a time. Once January 20 hits, then we can start observing what President Obama will do and can judge the approval ratings accordingly.
John,
Given the scandals hanging over the Democrats in Congress (Rangel, Dodd, Franken, etc.), and among Obama’s presumed appointments (Clinton, Emmanuel, Richardson, etc.)how can you possibly say that the madness ended on Nov 5th? Statements like that smack of a cult of personality. There is no politician who will solve the madness in Government.
Madness in politics will continue so long as the politicians are made of earth. Madness is not a Republican or Democratic issue – it is an issue of fallen humanity.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
John Wilkins: (#5)
I tend not to identify with what you write as a rule, but here you may very well be correct.
The government taking an ownership stake and effective control of vast swaths of the economy while leaving the owners in titular ‘control’ is not really Socialism. It’s called fascism.
The real world for Obama will start the afternoon of 01/20/09. I already hear murmurs of discontent. I don’t think he, as other presidents before him found out, is not going to boss his way in the U.S. Congress. Not revealing my age of course, but I do remember that little ditty the delegates to the Convention sang when FDR was confirmed as President of the US (01/20/36) – “..happy days are here again..” I also remember we stayed in the afterthroes of the Great Depression until WWII burst upon us. I hope we don’t have to repeat that happening again. I think Obama should tread softly.
Gee John,
First of all, I was referring to the additional $1 Trillion government “bailout”, not the tax cut when I was talking about the Socialism Express.
Second, I thought the Liberals were dead set against the Bush tax cuts. Why would they now support tax cuts? Tax cuts were evil. Tax cuts hurt Americans. Tax cuts were part of the evil Republican agenda headed by the demon “Bushler”. What suddenly makes tax cuts the right thing to do?
John+, #5, said: “You are right – if Obama creates universal health care and gets 3 million people jobs, the Republicans are OVER. They know they’d have to stop it.”
John, I hope we all know the Republicans have to stop that. Universal health care and 3 million jobs all on the public dole (to rebuild infrastructure) will most assuredly destroy what’s left of the economy, at least of the private economy. There would still be an economy, but it would be setting 5 year goals that are never met and it would be run by a politbureau like another union of states that no longer exists (but which is trying to bring itself back into existence by invading smaller states to its south and cutting off oil to a neighbor to its west). You may foresee some messianic occurrance on Jan 20. But I, for one, do not. (And I love the change he has already wrought – as Dave Barry put it in his review of 2008, Obama’s “great change” has been to appoint people who went to Ivy League schools who were formerly a part of the Clinton Administration and then he has brought change from that change to appoint people who went to completely different Ivy League schools who were former members of the Clinton Administration.)
We always get the kind of government we deserve. I agree with those who see a socialist / fascist future for the USA, but we have brought it upon ourselves. Two main problems have brought it to us – – government interference in human endeavor, and individual human greed. All else is secondary.
jkc,
you forgot one very important problem:
media-fueled fear.
Awaiting Barack Obama in his seat as a new President of the United States are the issues and problems regarding the economy. A lot of different industries are clamoring for emergency cash or for payday loans in this recession. The news about the economy is continually getting worse and worse, however, there are industries out there that are actually flourishing despite the current climate. Recession, as it turns out, hasn’t hurt retail, discount, and food industries that bad at all. In perhaps one of the most interesting, but not surprising corollaries, video game sales have been steadily rising with the unemployment rate. Some of the things in this article on the payday loans blog about industries that do not need emergency cash is somewhat surprising though.