You say that now, but popular consensus on Republicans being obstructionists requires that the stimulus work -- something which no one can predict.
Even though it's a purely political play on their part I don't think it's necessarily a bad one. They're going "all in" so to speak on the stimulus failure, so that in two years they can be the party of small government and private enterprise again. While you might be right, matoko, attitudes like yours are the ones that discourage damage control, the same overconfident mentality that ultimately destroyed the Republican majority. Democrats should learn the lessons of recent history and proceed more cautiously.
2009-01-31 21:01:08
Bob, I was under the impression that Yglesias's failure to mention deficit spending was precisely the problem. Douthat's right to point out that seeing this solely as a political opportunity is shortsighted.
I definitely appreciate the fact that Republicans are sleeping in the bed they made, don't get me wrong -- they have totally compromised any claim to bipartisanship, or to limited government spending.
But I think Obama ought to be seeing two prerogatives here. The first is simply practical: whether or not there is a political party actively agitating for limited government spending, that should still be an administrative priority. Part of digging ourselves out of the recession is going to be getting the most bang for our buck when it comes to stimulus. Just because Democrats are supposed to be in favor of "more government" doesn't mean they aren't allowed to use their common sense.
The second prerogative is political. It should be clear to everyone at this point that Republicans tend to run in 2010 on limited spending. They are, in other words, banking on the early failure of the stimulus (which honestly is probably not a bad bet.)
So Obama should take the wind out of their sails by making limited spending a higher priority. If the administration can find a way to pare down spending on its own, say in a few high-profile program cuts (perhaps even cuts from their own bill) under the "it's not working" rhetoric that Obama employed in his inaugural, they can go a long way toward building an enduring majority.
2009-01-31 16:01:03
isn't Ross's point more about the ideology of the bill itself? I took him to be saying that, whether or not Republicans are willing to cooperate, it's still not good policy to run up the already-enormous deficit more than need be. I tend to agree. Don't we need to redefine whether a program "works" in light of the recession?
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You say that now, but popular consensus on Republicans being obstructionists requires that the stimulus work -- something which no one can predict.
Even though it's a purely political play on their part I don't think it's necessarily a bad one. They're going "all in" so to speak on the stimulus failure, so that in two years they can be the party of small government and private enterprise again. While you might be right, matoko, attitudes like yours are the ones that discourage damage control, the same overconfident mentality that ultimately destroyed the Republican majority. Democrats should learn the lessons of recent history and proceed more cautiously.
Bob, I was under the impression that Yglesias's failure to mention deficit spending was precisely the problem. Douthat's right to point out that seeing this solely as a political opportunity is shortsighted.
I definitely appreciate the fact that Republicans are sleeping in the bed they made, don't get me wrong -- they have totally compromised any claim to bipartisanship, or to limited government spending.
But I think Obama ought to be seeing two prerogatives here. The first is simply practical: whether or not there is a political party actively agitating for limited government spending, that should still be an administrative priority. Part of digging ourselves out of the recession is going to be getting the most bang for our buck when it comes to stimulus. Just because Democrats are supposed to be in favor of "more government" doesn't mean they aren't allowed to use their common sense.
The second prerogative is political. It should be clear to everyone at this point that Republicans tend to run in 2010 on limited spending. They are, in other words, banking on the early failure of the stimulus (which honestly is probably not a bad bet.)
So Obama should take the wind out of their sails by making limited spending a higher priority. If the administration can find a way to pare down spending on its own, say in a few high-profile program cuts (perhaps even cuts from their own bill) under the "it's not working" rhetoric that Obama employed in his inaugural, they can go a long way toward building an enduring majority.
isn't Ross's point more about the ideology of the bill itself? I took him to be saying that, whether or not Republicans are willing to cooperate, it's still not good policy to run up the already-enormous deficit more than need be. I tend to agree. Don't we need to redefine whether a program "works" in light of the recession?