Obama's Message To The States Concerning The Stimulus Bill

Now that the money from H.R. 1 is ready to go out, the President has a warning for governors and state legislatures across the country. Spend the money wisely by putting people to work with it. A smart message no doubt, but the President should heed another message from an equally smart man; get a comprehensive and a well-written stimulus bill on the drawing board and out to the people ASAP.

Lo And Behold, The Stimulus Bill Really Can Stimulate The Economy

Now I know Republicans hate government, especially when it can actually work for the people where private enterprise comes up short. Private business, innovation and entrepreneurship is great, but not all the time, as we can clearly see in this economy. So Barack Obama moved the stimulus bill through Congress, wanting to jump start activity. Republicans screamed and cried the whole way through, claiming that it wouldn't create jobs. Rush Limbaugh subject RNC Chairman Michael Steele said it would create work, but not jobs. Well, it is only March, but thanks to the bill there are people working now thanks to the jobs created to rebuild our infrastructure.

From The NY Times:

There is nothing monumental in President Obama’s plan to revive the economy with a coast-to-coast building spree, no historic New Deal public works. The goal of the stimulus plan was to put people to work quickly, and so states across the country have begun to spend nearly $50 billion on thousands of smaller transportation projects that could employ up to 400,000 people, by the administration’s estimates.

More than a dozen states have now said how they plan to spend at least some of their transportation money, giving the clearest picture yet of how one of the president’s signature programs is playing out around the country. Beyond all the money for Medicaid and unemployment benefits in the huge bill passed last month, this will be the face of the country’s stimulus program: a bridge will be painted on a rural road, a new lane added on a suburban highway, a guardrail built on a median strip.

They may be old plans that the recession had forced a state to shelve, but multiplied by thousands, they will quickly get bulldozers rolling again and paychecks flowing. On the highway projects alone, the White House said Tuesday that 150,000 jobs would be created or saved.

The only problem was that there wasn't enough money to fund all the projects that states wanted to begin on. Obama wanted something quick and he got that, the only trouble was that it got watered down. Now that the construction industry is rehiring workers they let go, it is time to put together a real, comprehensive transportation stimulus package. This past bill had to cover many different segments of the economy but when we really focus on infrastructure, the benefits we'll receive will far outweigh the costs to the treasury.

Instead of another TARP-like bill, we should be spending at least half a trillion solely on transport. Further, roads should only be a small percentage of that. Mass transit must be made a priority as we make the transisition from a petro-economy to a green-economy. The other day I heard someone complaining about the NYC transit system, and rightly so. It is packed and overcrowded and the service stinks. That person's response was a typical one when thinking on the individual level...buy a car to have your own space. The only problem with that is the government must spend money to maintain both options and going the 'car' route only makes things worse for us all. Now if we made mass transit more amenable by running more trains, had more routes and cleaned things up a bit, then the complaints would drop as we invested more in the system.

So if that small infusion of cash that we are seeing go to work now makes an impact, imagine what a comprehensive package would do for the country.

The Tedisco Stimulus Shuffle

Which way he goes, no one really has any clue. He still can't take stand on one of the most important pieces of legislation so far this year. What kind of Congressman could he possibly be? More importantly, if he can't make up his mind, how is he supposed to represent the interests of his district?

Schumer Lays Down The Law For GOP Governors

A funny thing happened after the stimulus bill passed through Congress. That was that all the GOP governors that were against the stimulus suddenly wanted a piece of the pie but only the parts they liked. Too bad they didn't read the law though, because it was written to avoid the partisan games that Schumer and others easily predicted.

President Obama Corrects GOP, Money For Education Is Not A Waste

For too long our public education has been beaten down by conservatives, whether it be on cable news programs, opinion pages or by cutting funding for our schools. Well, Barack Obama has a word or two for critics of the stimulus bill who think that investing in our kids is a bad idea.

Obama: Stimulus Act Was Just The Beginning

President Obama never said that the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act was a panacea. It was just the beginning of a long journey to restore our country to greatness. Next up is to deal with the mortgage crisis and while we can expect a tough fight from the Party of No, if we work hard enough we will prevail and help families get out from under the personal crises they're in. That's what this week's Presidential Address is all about.

Jesus Would Not Be On Your Side

Yeah I know, Jesus doesn't have sides, he loves us all, even a fellow Jew like myself. However, you can still love someone when disagreeing with them. Based on the world-famous prophet's teachings, I am bound to assume that Jesus would be in favor of helping those in need. On the flip side, making a disingenuous statement(s) about spending more than a million dollars a year since the Holy Son has been alive on the bill would not be so good in Jesus' book.

From Politico:

After watching liberal allies of President Barack Obama flood the airwaves in support of the stimulus bill, a conservative third-party group is countering with a provocative new commercial using Jesus Christ to emphasize the scale of the $787 billion package.

The American Issues Project, which briefly aired a TV spot in last year's presidential race, will go up on Friday with a TV spot that marks the dollars spent with the passage of time.

“Suppose you spent $1 million every single day starting from the day Jesus was born — and kept spending through today,” says the announcer as an image of the three wise men flashes on the screen. “A million dollars a day for more than 2,000 years. You would still have spent less money than Congress just did.”

According to Chris LaCivita, an AIP consultant, they are spending just under $1 million on the ad, which will be aired on national cable.

The quotes from the CBO are also misleading, since they had not done a full report on the bill and subsequent reports show that the stimulus would add a much needed boost to the economy. As for Schumer's statement deriding critics of the bill, he made the error of reaching out to Americans beyond the GOP's spin to ensure that vital infrastructure programs commence as soon as possible to put people back to work. Yes, that is change I can believe in Mr. LaCivita.

Explaining The Recovery And Reinvestment Act To A Five Year Old

If your young child asks about what the President is doing with that stimulus, or you know a Republican that just can't understand that Obama is creating jobs and revitalizing the economy, then this is the first video to show them.

Times-Union Raps Tedisco For Not Taking A Stand On The Stimulus

Earlier this week Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco went on for what seemed like hours (really five minutes) about how terrible the process was in how Congress passed the stimulus bill. He said he couldn't take a stand on it because it was a lot to read in a short amount of time, comparing it to another long book that was taking him more than a week to read. Perhaps he resembles George Bush a little, who also doesn't like to read things that are too long either. Well the Bush era is over and Americans are expecting a little bit more from their leaders these days. Being able to read and take a position on a bill (especially the most important piece of legislation our country has seen in a while) is essential when you are a Member of Congress and the Albany Times-Union is calling Jimmy out on his inability to say yea or nay:

That Mr. Tedisco would suggest that his position on what just might be the most contentious issue in Washington is a "hypothetical question" raises serious questions about his qualifications to serve in Congress. Economic policy couldn't be more critical in a congressional race.

Mr. Tedisco needs to understand that he's no longer in Albany, where he's the leader of the Republican minority in the state Assembly. Congress, he needs to learn, is a place where legislative debate tends to actually matter.

Scott Murphy, Mr. Tedisco's Democratic opponent, says he would have voted for the stimulus. So, which way, Mr. Tedisco? Up or down?

Is spending all this money — in a bold, some might say desperate, effort to keep the economy from plunging into a depression — a sensible way to create jobs and prevent more mortgage foreclosures?

If the issue here is Mr. Tedisco's unfamiliarity with what's a lengthy and complicated piece of legislation, he might start by reading it.

I couldn't have said it better myself. If Mr. Tedisco wants the honor and privilege to represent the 20th Congressional District of New York, he had better get a clue as to what is going on in the world outside of the State Capitol building.

Now, chances are he does have an opinion on it, but he is just too cowardly to come out and say it. Simply put, New Yorkers are heavily in favor of the stimulus bill and that probably puts him at odds with the most of the state. He's willfully stuck in the mud and muck created by the Republican Party's attempt to drown and starve the government and wishes to stay there.

Meanwhile, his opponent Scott Murphy is firmly behind President Obama and would have voted for the stimulus had he been in office at the time. Kristin Gillibrand did her very best to stand up for NY-20 and the candidate to fill her shoes is Mr. Murphy.

Congratulations President Obama, For Taking The First Step

There is so much to be done in order to repair the damage our country has endured under Republican leadership rule. Yet we now have a President that is willing to take bold steps to put us on the path to recovery. With the stimulus bill having been written and signed into law, we have taken the first step on that path.

Keepin' It Classy At The NY Post

I admit that sometimes the Post runs decent stories, but their rep is ruined by the nastiness that of the paper that bubbles up to the surface from time to time. It is widely known that the rag has a conservative bent, but it is a true shame when the editors can't do their jobs. The edit, or shall I say lack thereof concerns an editorial cartoon that fuses the story of the violent chimpanzee in Connecticut with the stimulus bill brought forth by President Obama.

From The Huffington Post:

The drawing, from famed cartoonist Sean Delonas, is rife with violent imagery and racial undertones. In it, two befuddled-looking police officers holding guns look over the dead and bleeding chimpanzee that attacked a woman in Stamford, Connecticut.

"They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill," reads the caption.

An email to Delonas and a call to the New York Post went unreturned. The cartoon appears both on the New York Post website and page 12 of the Wednesday paper.

At its most benign, the cartoon suggests that the stimulus bill was so bad, monkeys may as well have written it. Others believe it compares the president to a rabid chimp. Either way, the incorporation of violence and (on a darker level) race into politics is bound to be controversial. Perhaps that's what Delonas wanted.

You can view the cartoon at the link above, I can assure you it is rather disturbing. Whatever the intention of the editors of the Post, the decision to print it is a real shame. Either they were stupidly ignorant at best, or maliciously embedding racial undertones at worst. Perhaps putting it back in the paper on page 12 suggest they felt a little guilty about inserting it at all.

Aerosmith Calls Eric Cantor Out For Copyright Infringement

When I posted that video from GOP House Whip Eric Cantor yesterday, I wondered to myself how long it would take Aerosmith to get in his face about playing their song. Members of Aerosmith (except for Joe Perry) are no fans of the Republican Party and hearing their work in a deceptive ad is by one of its leaders has to be rather ear-wrenching. Anyways, the response didn't take long, and since Cantor put it on YouTube, YouTube was able to quickly pull it for a copyright violation.

From TPM:

Poor House Republicans. They were pretty psyched yesterday about that new troops-rallying video from Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) that used Aerosmith's "Back in the Saddle" to declare that "The House GOP is back" thanks to the party's unanimous opposition to the stimulus.

But unfortunately, Aerosmith wasn't feeling the love. Cantor's clip has been pulled from YouTube after a copyright infringement claim made by Stage Three Music, which owns the rights to "Back in the Saddle."

The GOP's use of the tune "was something we, as the publishers, didn't approve and would not have approved without going to the writers," Connie Ashton, director of copyright and licensing at Stage Three, told me. "Aerosmith did not approve of its use and also wanted to have it taken down," she added.

Maybe Congressman Cantor could play this song instead for his party. It perfectly reflects how Cantor posted the song and of course, it is an official motto for his merry band of elephants, no matter who gets hurt.

Brad Sherman Talks About Watered-Down Executive Pay Caps

Congressman Sherman corrects Fox Business News anchors in that the pay caps for bailout-taking companies top earners was actually toned down, not "secretly added at the last moment" as conservatives try to paint it as.

Transparency Comes To Government

The Internets are a beautiful thing. Those sequences of 1's and 0's are bringing a tremendous amount of information to the fingertips of millions. Of course, when it comes to government programs, it takes someone willing to put that information up there to see. George Bush's Presidency was one of the most shut-down operations in recent memory but now we are in the age of Obama and things are beginning to change.....and they have been changing, with the interactivity of the campaign site, that morphed into the transition site and now Whitehouse.gov. And with the signing of the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we have a new site, Recovery.gov:

Welcome to Recovery.gov

Recovery.gov is a website that lets you, the taxpayer, figure out where the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is going. There are going to be a few different ways to search for information. The money is being distributed by Federal agencies, and soon you'll be able to see where it's going -- to which states, to which congressional districts, even to which Federal contractors. As soon as we are able to, we'll display that information visually in maps, charts, and graphics. Kinda like this one:

And there is so much more at the site. Tell your story, what is or isn't working, read the bill, it's all right there. Where there was once secrecy at 1600 Pennsylvania, there is now openness and a desire to communicate with the American people. Being a deciderer is more than going with your gut, it is about governing the people, not dictating to them.

Eric Cantor: Rockstar Republican

Using Aerosmith's "Back in the Saddle Again" to describe their "Party of No" label couldn't be further from the truth for the Republican caucus. The American people have stood up and rejected them by wide margins in the last two cycles. They've shredded the economy with their wasteful, de-regulated ways and they are mad that they don't have much power left. This cute little commercial tries to swing (the youth?) audiences to believe that they're fighting for you, or some empty rhetoric like that.



The truth is, that stimulus bill is the best thing we have going for us, with an investment in the American economy and millions of jobs that we desperately need. Eric Cantor can whip his party into song and dance all he wants, but the chorus behind him is shrinking by the moment.

Update: Oh and when Mr. Cantor says he's looking out for you, perhaps he just meant his wife and her lust for TARP funds.

GOP Tries To Take Credit For Stimulus That They Weakened And Opposed

Not that I am too surprised, but it really is amazing to watch Republicans in Congress pivot from hating Obama's bill to energize the American economy to loving each stimulus dollar that goes into their districts. Not one single Republican in the House voted for the bill and only three in their Senate caucus went along with legislation that will soon be signed into law by the President. Now they are falling all over themselves to take credit.

From McClatchy:

WASHINGTON — Rep. John Mica was gushing after the House of Representatives voted Friday to pass the big stimulus plan.

"I applaud President Obama's recognition that high-speed rail should be part of America's future," the Florida Republican beamed in a press release.

Yet Mica had just joined every other GOP House member in voting against the $787.2 billion economic recovery plan.

Of course this should be expected, because Mica is just looking out for himself and his standing among the voters of his district. While Democrats were fairly united about bringing reinvestment to all of America, Republicans fought that idea of standing together in these tough times. John Boehner's spokesman made that position abundantly clear.

Mike Steel, a spokesman for House GOP Leader John Boehner of Ohio, at first ducked when asked about Mica and Young issuing press releases praising the bill they'd opposed.

"I don't work for Mica or Young," Steel said initially.

But then he explained that what Mica and Young did in touting aspects of the bill was in fact consistent with the Republican message.

"Being supportive of one portion of a trillion dollar bill, but voting against the entire trillion dollar bill, is perfectly reasonable," Steel said.

It is a consistent message of the GOP that as a member, you should do or say anything that looks good politically for oneself and at times, for the party. Never shall you do or say anything that might actually be good for the American people as a whole. As it usually does, politics trumps patriotism and love of country any day of the week.

Stimulating Sunday Talk....Or Not

Pundits, politicians and spinmeisters went to battle on the airwaves yesterday to either trumpet or decry the stimulus bill. One side talked realistically about creating jobs while the other cried for a special blend of bipartisanship that would have continued the same old failed tax cuts that we saw during the Bush Administration.

Sen. Graham Wouldn't Know Bipartisanship If It Was Staring At Him In The Face

With two days to go until President Barack Obama goes to Denver to sign the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law, we have one last Sunday talk cycle to get the frustrations of Republicans out so that we can all hear it for the umpteenth time. Democrats have already described McCain as an angry, old defeated candidate, but we need to add Senator Lindsay Graham in there too.

From RawStory:

At this point, Graham chimed in to say, "If this is going to be bipartisanship, the country's screwed. ... I know bipartisanship when I see it. ... There's nothing about this process that's been bipartisan. This is not change we can believe in."

"You rammed it through the House," Graham told the Democrats on the panel. "The markup, Chuck, in the Senate took an hour and forty minutes."

"We had every Republican vote for a $440 billion stimulus package," Graham continued, "that cut taxes, had infrastructure spending, and helped people who were out of work

Graham was apparently referring to Sen. John Thune's proposal, which was voted down 37-60. That proposal would have cut tax rates in a way that gave the most relief to affluent Americans and none to the working poor, made unemployment benefits tax-free, used tax credits to encourage renewed home-buying, and forbidden future tax increases to pay for current deficit spending. It would also have included a mere $65 billion in state grants to build and repair bridges and roads.

See, Senator Graham has it all wrong. The bipartisanship shown during Republican rule was where some Democrats would complain that the GOP gave everything to the rich and stole from the poor, then the GOP would ignore said Democrats and pass whatever the hell they wanted. Now that the Republicans have been beaten into a small regional party with limited influence, they're complaining about not getting things the way that they're used to. Proposing a counter-bill that had half the money and nearly all of that going to the very rich was laughable to say the least.

The American people demanded change this past November. Until Republicans like Graham actually want to sit down and come up with ideas other than their failed tax cuts, they have no claim to use the word "bipartisanship." At the very least, Senator Graham should consult a dictionary (and his constituents who are flailing in this wretched economy) before going on his next Sunday talk show.

Barack Obama's Valentine Day Address

Barack Obama's weekly address just happens to fall on Valentine's Day but it is fitting that he has a sweet gift for millions of Americans looking for a boost to the dire economy we face. It may not be the panacea to our problems, yet it is certainly a step in the right direction.


2/14/09: Your Weekly Address from White House on Vimeo.

Congressman Miller Calls Out The Party Of "No"

As the vote on H.R.1 nears in the House and the Senate, it is important to remind the American people who wants to spur the economy with immediate jobs and relief, and those that wish to give more money to the rich through tax breaks. Congressman George Miller does a fantastic job on the floor of the House today.