As Stimulus Bill Drops, Obey Controls High Expectations -- and Obama
David Obey (D-WI), the House Appropriations Committee chairman, just met with reporters in his bright corner office to discuss the $825 billion economic stimulus bill that was released today.
The most striking message he had was so subtle that you almost missed it: Democrats have learned from their struggles after the 2006 election, when their failure to press a reversal of Bush's war policy left voters frustrated. This time, Obey wasn't making any promises that the stimulus bill would heal the recession. Not even close.
"You have to look at this bill not as a salvation for the economy by any means," he said. "It's simply the largest effort by any legislative body on the planet to try to take action to prevent economic catastrophe."
He observed that many projections show the unemployment rate growing even after the stimulus is approved. Later in the briefing, Obey got more candid. "I believe this [bill] may in fact under-shoot the mark" for economic recovery, he admitted.
Obey also pointedly asserted Congress' ownership of the stimulus bill, which he began to craft with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other Dem leaders after the election. As for President-elect Obama, who will be hitting the road to promote the legislation tomorrow, Obey referred to him twice -- with characteristically acerbic humor -- as "the crown prince."
Asked about Obama's vow to keep earmarks out of the stimulus, the congressman's response was to the point. "Very frankly, we didn't need to hear that from anybody in the executive branch."
As readers can tell from the summary of the stimulus plan, it's immense -- and I don't just mean the price tag. In the $105 billion education section alone, money is broken down and disbursed using eight separate funding formulas.
As Obey explained, this complexity is in part to avoid anxiety over giving huge amounts of cash to state governors to spend as they see fit (read: Rod Blagojevich). The total amount being given to state and local governments, including non-profits receiving grants, is $318 billion.
Translatio: "We have no idea what is happening or how to fix it...we're throwing the biggest pile of shit we can find at the fan and hoping some of it sticks."
January 15, 2009 2:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
You got any better ideas there, fraud-boy?
January 15, 2009 2:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
You know, I generally like Obey, but he needs to knock off this "crown prince" shit immediately. The fact that these guys have shown more respect to a vicious, dry drunk moron like Bush, in spite of his repeated catastrophic failures over that last eight years, than they have shown to Obama in the ten weeks since his election,makes my blood boil.
It'a amazing how many Democrats seems to find their spine only when a Democrat is in the White House. All signs seem to be pointing to another kneecapping of the leader of their own party, ala Carter and Clinton, by these ridiculous, ineffectual losers.
January 15, 2009 2:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Agreed. Our future prez is talking up this bill before the folks who count--us, the voters. Obey and others in Congress do not yet "get" how many activists have been created who absolutely are enraged with Congress and the weak-kneeded Democrats contained therein.
Obey has surprised me here. Is he actually insinuating that Obama is wasting his time in selling the contents of this bill to the public?
January 15, 2009 2:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
I disagree with you.
I wish Congress had stood up to Clinton and Carter.
Obey is just fine, and he's correct that the stimulus is too small.
It's about America, not hero-worship of the President-elect.
January 15, 2009 2:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
There's a lot of space between hero worship and snottiness and many Dems in congress have treaded dangerously close to be snotty to the president of their own party wherease Obama has been precisely the opposite to them.
They couldn't bring themselves to say any of these things about Bush and now that they have a Dem in the WH, they suddenly eat their spinach.
January 15, 2009 2:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sweetheart, others may have been timid, but Dave Obey vis-a-vis Bush NEVER has been so.
January 15, 2009 3:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly. If we had a Congress full of real Democrats like Obey we'd be in great shape. In any disagreement between Obey and Obama, I'm almost guaranteed to be on Obey's side. This is one of those times- Obama's proposal IS too timid.
January 15, 2009 4:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
So you approve of Obey's snide, dismissive reference to Obama? You think that insulting the leader of your own party is good, effective politics?
January 15, 2009 4:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Give me a break. Having a runaway mouth doesn't mean that someone just cannot help him/herself and blurts out honest remarks. Based on Obey's track record in meeting with others on the Iraq War, it seems Obey is quite full of himself to the exclusion of others. That is exactly what is in play here--not the contens of this damned bill as you are implying.
Note that even Obey admits that the crafting of this legislation started AFTER THE ELECTION. There are reasons for that, you know. Obey apparently cannot admit that our crown prince's election is one profound reason.
Obey is an insufferable ass. That's not a surprise to any of us who have been paying attention.
January 15, 2009 5:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Timid, no. Ineffective, yes.
January 15, 2009 5:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
"I wish Congress had stood up to Clinton and Carter."
What are you talking about? The Democratic Congress hamstrung both Carter and Clinton before they could get their feet wet. The health care bill all progressives claim to ardently desire was shelved because of Democrats, not Republicans.
and don't get me started on Teddy Kennedy's quixotic, vindictive primary run, or the behavior of the Dems during clinton's impeachment.
If you don't think that Democrats have been eating their own since at least 1972, you haven't been paying attention.
January 15, 2009 4:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
We have been so inundated with huge numbers lately, I had to step back for a moment and think about what a huge sum of money like that can accomplish when it isn't being used to simply pay off bad debts.
I know they say we are headed for a tough year, but $318 billion to State and Local governments alone will make a huge and immediate impact.
January 15, 2009 2:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Did I say it was a "huge" stimulus?
January 15, 2009 2:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Me? I'd take a trillion and spend it on rebuilding infrastructure--bridge, roads, schools, green energy, etc.
Also, help state and local governments to keep teachers, police, etc. on the payroll and please, no tax cuts or tax rebates. (they’re not as simulative as the others and, really, their only purpose is to make rich Republicans happy.)
Sure, we going to be in deficit city. But isn't that what the great John Maynard Keynes said would get us out recession/depression? And with FDR’s help, wasn’t he right? That great/not so great anti-Keynesian, Milton Friedman, has long held sway and his ideas have tattered our economy. Time to move on!
January 15, 2009 2:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why is everyone obsessed with the 1 Trillion amount? Whether it's $850 or $1 Trillion, this stimulus is not going to fix everything. Anyone with half a brain should see that so Obey is not special for saying it. There are plenty of actions that need to be taken outside of this stimulus that will help breathe life in to the economy. What I care most about is that they spend this money wisely and provide strict oversight on who is getting the money. And Obey's comment about not needing to be told that there will be no pork - did he forget the last bailout which added a huge chunk of pork so that more Republicans would approve it?
January 15, 2009 3:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
"$10 billion for transit and rail to reduce traffic congestion and gas consumption."
Let's see:
California high speed rail: $40 billion
New York Second Ave. Subway: $3.8 billion
Chicago Transit Authority: $7 billion in unmet capital needs
Hudson River tunnel to carry trains: $1 billion
That's just three cities from a quick spin around the web.
$10 billion doesn't cut it.
January 15, 2009 9:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
this is Obey's contact form.
http://www.obey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=637&Itemid=187
Let him know what you think of his "crown prince" remark. I have.
January 15, 2009 9:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
OK. I'm going to let Obey know that if Obama keeps up his right-wing bullshit about Social Security, he ought to lay into him a HELL OF A LOT harder than just calling him the "crown prince". How's that?
January 16, 2009 8:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'd be happy to have Obey criticize Obama from the left on policy. But insulting the PE, and feeding into the rightwing/MSM idea that Obama is callow and inexperienced, he's not doing that. It's an asshole move on his part, and you shouldn't be supporting his baseless, ad hominem bullshit. It's totally counterproductive, and does nothing but feed Obey's ego.
These fuckwads couldn't get shit done when they had majorities in both houses of Congress. Now that they have a Dem in the White House (without help from the likes of David Obey), they start taking aim at each other. Truly pathetic.
January 16, 2009 10:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
It wasn't David Obey and other liberals who were keeping them from doing anything.
January 16, 2009 10:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
You still won't address whether it's appropriate, or even smart, for Obey to belittle the Democratic president-elect.
Which means you concede the point that it was a stupid choice of words on Obey's part and he should knock it the fuck off, then?
January 16, 2009 12:07 PM | Reply | Permalink