note to self
I think this is rather fun to watch: Paul Krugman talking to Joe Scarborough about stimulus politics and the economy (2/6/2009). Krugman has been pushing the same ideas lately in his column and in his NYT blog. I am not sure I totally agree.
The idea is simple: screw Republicans, screw bipartisanship, let's do the right thing, let's get the stimulus that is the right size to jump start the sinking economy. The problem is, if the Republicans are not on board, at least to some degree, they are going to turn the debate around. They are already trying to make Obama look like a classic big spending liberal. Obviously, like in 1994, they will do everything in their power to get a political gain out of Democrats' troubles. The politics of the two-year Congressional election cycle simply demands that the Republicans can take part of the blame if the stimulus doesn't end up working as fast and as well as everyone hopes it will. No matter what, if the stimulus is a success the Republicans are going to claim credit (they have already been blaming Obama for the fiscal crisis that happened on Bush's watch!).
The idea is simple: screw Republicans, screw bipartisanship, let's do the right thing, let's get the stimulus that is the right size to jump start the sinking economy. The problem is, if the Republicans are not on board, at least to some degree, they are going to turn the debate around. They are already trying to make Obama look like a classic big spending liberal. Obviously, like in 1994, they will do everything in their power to get a political gain out of Democrats' troubles. The politics of the two-year Congressional election cycle simply demands that the Republicans can take part of the blame if the stimulus doesn't end up working as fast and as well as everyone hopes it will. No matter what, if the stimulus is a success the Republicans are going to claim credit (they have already been blaming Obama for the fiscal crisis that happened on Bush's watch!).