ABC/CNN: Stimulus Works! Are We Sure This Time?
One must wonder when viewing the horrifically divided Congress, why legislation in the Senate has ground to a halt. Surely it can’t be that President Obama had bad ideas about how to stimulate the economy, secure the banking sector, and fight against terrorism. If that were the case, Republican Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina would not have had to cash-in all of his galactic karma praying for Barack Obama to fail. In fact, it is clearly not the work of a genius mastermind to tip one’s had so publicly and definitively as he did. Nevertheless, the media has treated the Obama administration as if an honest effort had been made by Congress to enact Obama’s programs and that they failed on basis of their own merits.
The Governator
No matter what party you are in, you have to be honest about the capability of Obama to make decisions about the economy, security, and on other issues. If he implements programs that fail to work, then he is to blame, plane and simple. It is another thing entirely when his opposition professes a deep-seated hatred for the guy and vows to block, hinder, and filibuster any and everything he sends down the pike. This site has been out ahead of this all along pointing out the obstruction, lack of cooperation, and hypocrisy coming from the Right. I also took journalists to task for enabling Republicans to obstruct constructive dialog in government and have asked why no Republicans have stepped forward to say, “These demagogues do not speak for me.” Finally, we are starting to find conservatives who are loyal to America first and party second. It’s about time.
Speaking of the stimulus, California’s Republican Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger said, “Anyone that says this hasn’t created a job, they should talk to the 150,000 people getting jobs in California.” This is just a single example of what seems to be a changing tide of opinion on the stimulus bill and Barack Obama. Journalists are seizing on this trend to look past feeding the machine that is their 24/7 news cycle and to reevaluate the Stimulus Bill. For example here is the latest stimulus report from ABC News:
This video examines real-life testimonials that do not by themselves vindicate the Stimulus Program but Do demonstrate an effectiveness that Republicans continue to deny despite the evidence. It makes you wonder why Democrats have not been trying harder to get this information out. Florida’s Governor Charlie Crist said, “It created or maintained at least 87,000 jobs, 27,000 of those jobs are educators and teachers throughout our state. I dare not say what impact it would have on the students if those teachers were out of work, unable to put bread on the table for their families.” The results of a CBS/New York Times Poll that painted a dismal picture of how realistic a view the average Americans has on the effects of the Stimulus. In light of this information, has there been a coordinated effort to deceive Americans by Republicans or the media? It seems to indicate that Republicans are having their way with Obama in the court of public opinion. This topic was discussed by a CNN panel shown below:
Now that the truth about the stimulus is finally being told, how long will it take for Obama to shift the tide of public opinion in his favor? It has been obvious since the Town Hall meetings last summer that the President has not been aggressive enough in getting his message to the people. He has allowed the Republicans to set the agenda and determine what the public would be talking about by letting them frame every discussion of every issue in a manner of their choosing. It appears he has finally begun to understand that silence for the purpose of taking the high road does not work. I heard someone say a few days ago, “You won the election on this agenda, now fight for it.” It is important that truth prevails or Republicans will make a mockery of the American electoral process. If the country votes and decides to go a certain direction, it is not reasonable for one party to obstruct the will of the people. As with the stimulus debate, we are seeing the first signs that prominent Republicans are beginning to place country ahead of party and speak the truth on the claims the Right has made that the United States is less safe under Barack Obama.
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The saddest part about this story is the continuing hypocrisy by Republicans over these issues. Think of how conservatives revered Colin Powell a few years ago. After a stellar military record spanning more than 3 decades, all he had to do was express a single opinion that did not jibe with the conservative’s Obama narrative in order to lose the respect of Republicans officials and be declared persona non grata. This is sad. Nevertheless, for the first time in a while we may finally be getting somewhere.
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