As the Senate inched toward a final vote on the $900 billion economic stimulus package, tempers flared on the Senate floor: Republicans said bipartisanship had evaporated and they are being railroaded. Democrats accused Republicans of obstruction. "If this is the new way of doing businesses, if this is the change we all can believe in, America's best days are behind her," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
In the meantime, while 51 percent of the American public support a stimulus package, 81 percent says it should be a bipartisan effort and the public support feel from 63 percent to 51 percent in just the month of January alone.
Eighty-one percent of Americans say the stimulus bill should be a bipartisan effort. Just 13 percent think it is okay for a bill to be passed with only the backing of the Democratic majority.
The more American people hear of the bill, the faster support is falling which is the reason House Democrats were trying to shove it down America's throat to begin with, so the public wouldn't get a chance to see how bad the bill, as it stood, truly was.
Quite amusing is how Barack Obama publicly states he wants the bill to have bipartisan support and how everyone should be working together, yaddda yadda yadda, then Democrats drop kick Republican amendments (via Weekly Standard, some of those amendments quote below) and Obama gives what is described as a highly partisan speech to rally Democrats and slam Republicans.
Here's a look at a handful of the Republican amendments Democrats rejected today:
An amendment by Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) to cut $47 billion in wasteful spending.
An amendment by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) cut corporate and individual income taxes and repeal the AMT.
An amendment by Sen. John Thune (R-SD) to require funding for all projects in the bill occur within one year.
An amendment by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to require spending cuts and a move to a balanced budget once the economy recovers.
An amendment by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) to cut $5.2 billion in pet projects and replace it with the same amount of defense spending.
An amendment by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) to cut the tax rate for the lowest tax bracket in half.
An amendment by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) to repeal the 1993 Social Security tax increase.
And, a McCain amendment to strike the “Buy American” provision from the bill.
Funny how he preaches about bipartisanship, yet the House Democrats led by Pelosi slammed the bill through without one GOP vote and Senate Democrats only care about trying to buy off one or two Republicans to jam it through the Senate.
Says one thing and does another, it is what many of us expected from Obama and the Democrats, so no huge surprise there.
Quote of the day comes from Don Surber's title, "Obama, STFU." (For those who don't know what that means, it means "Shut the fuck up."
More from Wapo about Obama talking out of both sides of his mouth.
"A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe." -- President Obama, Feb. 4.
Catastrophe, mind you. So much for the president who in his inaugural address two weeks earlier declared "we have chosen hope over fear." Until, that is, you need fear to pass a bill.
I wonder if the tempers are any calmer today?
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