While I certainly enjoy this, and it's at least a refreshing change from all the bending over backward we had to watch for the last week, it's still going to be totally irrelevant 2 years from now. They need to focus on passing the very best plan they can get through the Senate, because all voters will care about in Nov. 2010 is whether the economy is visibly starting to pick up steam.

This is of course brilliant. I only wish they could also find a way to 'expose' the CORPORATE MEDIA cum sluts that continue to not only undermine our once great country, each and every one of them starting with pigs like David Gregory, The Corporate Nazi called Wolf Blizter, etc, etc, etc, to expose them as they are to the entire country.

As Congressman Cohen (Tennessee) pointed out this morning on the Stephanie Miller show, the problem is that congressional districts are so gerrymandered that most districts are safe seats for one party or the other. There is no political cost for being a wingnut, because the people who voted in a Republican congressman are wingnuts (predominantly).

TEE HEE.

Plus--and I'm pretty sure Obama knows this--there is no longer nay reason for Senate Dem to attempt compromises with the Republicans. The Democrats can honestly state to "news" media hacks like BRoder that the lack of bipartisanshiop is entirely on the R side.

An I agree--the Dems now need to forget about compromisig with the R's annd just write the best legislation that they can.

The congressman will just say that the jobs lost are in those districts over THERE in the part of the state with lots of black people or gays or immigrants or whatever, not HERE.

This one is campaign is targeting senators because they are the only ones that could stop this right now.

And all this for a definitely sub-par bill that fucks over the lefties a good third of time. Thanks Obama!

Interesting that someone in the White House will,finally, realize President Obama won 53% of the vote and not 35%. However, I believe Rep. DeFazio was correct in emulating the words of Judge Reinhold playing a character on "Seinfeld"- JR had been squiring Jerry's parents around Manhatten, but, when they left, he kept repeating, "But I could have done more" - Yes, Democratic Congress, you could have done so much more for our infrastructure.

jeebus! i'm writin'this with 3 out of 4 extant comments sounding "concern troll-esque." whatta country! whatta left wing!

i am thrilled that this is A PIECE of what obama & co. are going to do in the faces of the neanderthals. and it appears to me that obama's 'transparency' policy is going to shine so much light on these thugs that they will be scurrying around for rocks to hide under... and, boys (you, too, Susan), you aint got none...

it's still going to be totally irrelevant 2 years from now.

Not if the administration is consistent and persistent in shiing the light on the votes of these people. BY the time the election rolls around they should have an impressive portfolio of instances were the GOP reps voted against thier constituents interests.

MNPundit, Obama is a DLC Democrat (even if he didn't want the official label). Fucking over the lefties is a feature, not a bug. But the small leftward pushback from the House, ineffectual as it was, gives a glimpse of the long-term potential of the "more and better Democrats" strategy. Still a long, long way to go, though.

Nate Silver does an interesting analysis of how Republican Senators have voted in the first seven votes since the Inauguration. Snowe voted with Dems 7 of 7 times. Gregg 6 of 7. Collins and Murkowski 5 of 7. Grassley 2 of 7. For example, all five voted against filibustering the Lili Ledbetter bill, though Gregg and Grassley voted against the bill itself. This strategy may be quite effective.

Maybe the whole edifice needs to collapse, you know, the "-- chained up factories, empty warehouses --". Maybe the whole American industrial production experiment is really just a bloated scourge on the environment and the planet. What does it give us? - 10 million new cars, 15 million new cars? For what?

(Have my scalp!)

BY the time the election rolls around they should have an impressive portfolio of instances were the GOP reps voted against thier constituents interests.

I'm loving the response to the House Republicans' strategy. The subtext of the Obama PR targeting plan says it all. Republicans in the Senate matter -- Republicans in the House do not.
To co-opt a well known saying:
"It is better to remain silent and be thought powerless, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

And what are they going to do about the stinking Blue Dogs, like my rep Bobby Bright who is a freshman who got lots of Democratic money and support to vote Republican on every vote that matters so far. Time for a horse's head in a few beds.

Zero GOP House votes? Might as well take the tax cuts out and put the contraception back in the Senate version.

Obama Rules.

They need to play this thing in Ohio, too. The economy is broken because of the ReThug; people are suffering because of the ReThug---and Voinovich's retirement means an open seat in a state that's reeling from this current crisis.

"Real America" needs to get out ahead of the nightmarish GOP on this seat, if for no other reason than to cushion a 60-seat, filibuster-proof majority.

You still don't get it. The Republicans have nothing to gain politically by cooperating with Obama, and nothing to lose by opposing him. Their constituency is overwhelmingly Southern, white, male, rural and conservative -- the cracker vote. That constituency hates the Federal government, hates Obama and hates anything that even looks like "big government" intervention in the "free market." The Republicans understand this (even if Obama does not), so they play to their voters by being as obstructionist as possible. Nor do they pay a price for their antics. After the Republicans bitch-slap Obama, get him to make concession after concession, and give him not a single vote in return, the Democrats laud Obama's bipartisanship -- the "new politics" -- and invite the Repubs to a cocktail party in the White House. Not exactly a winning strategy, but I expect that we'll be seeing more of this as the year wears on.

The one thing Kuyper forgets is the Great Recession. As jobs and vital services disappear from their home towns due to Republican obstructionism, even "crackers" will begin to understand the emptiness of right-wing ideology. The challenge is for Obama and the Democrats to hammer home the fact that conservativism is to blame. Sounds like they are now beginning to send that message.

Kuyper on January 29, 2009 at 11:06 AM,

I have the same concerns as you. But hopefully we'll be proven wrong. Sure, some of those rural Southern districts hate liberals, hate big government and hate blacks. But they like eating. They like being able to afford clothes for their kids, and heat for their homes. Hell, they like their homes, period. And if there's a plan out there that could put money in their pockets, keep them from losing their homes, and their Reps rejected it, that could be the tipping point. The war on poverty might make some strange bedfellows.

I have the same concerns as you. But hopefully we'll be proven wrong.

Their constituency is overwhelmingly Southern, white, male, rural and conservative -- the cracker vote. That constituency hates the Federal government, hates Obama and hates anything that even looks like "big government" intervention in the "free market." The Republicans understand this (even if Obama does not), so they play to their voters by being as obstructionist as possible……. Nor do they pay a price for their antics

While that is true as long as Obama remains the economic populist hero in the eyes of the remaining constituency (70% of the country) , he has everything to gain and nothing to lose. People may profess to care about government spending but at the end of the day that huge sounding number does not affect people in their day to day lives. What does affect people is their ability to provide for their families. If Obama's stimulus can show some real world results in the day to day lives of the average citizen this program will be deemed a success by the most remaining voters, even if the Republicans and the MSM claim it to be a failure.

What the Repubs risk is being stuck with only the “cracker vote� at the end of this 4 year term. And with an increasingly diverse population that blames this economic mess primarily on the policies of the Repub party, that is a recipe for disaster. While Repubs may claim victory in the short term, this decision could come with a devastating long term price.

Now that we have zero GOP votes, can we swap $275 billion in tax cuts with the $1.1 billion for intercity passenger rail?

Or maybe just make it $270 billion for taxcuts and $6.1 billion for intercity rail? Huh? Please?

"Now that we have zero GOP votes, can we swap $275 billion in tax cuts with the $1.1 billion for intercity passenger rail?"

God yes. I'll second that motion. Intercity passenger rail please!

To those upthread who are concerned that this strategy won't work due to the gerrymandering of Congressional districts: the targets are Senators. So gerrymandering of congressional districts doesn't matter.

This is vry smart because the targetted Senators must realize that in order to get reelected they have to appeal to the whole state--and all but one of the states listed are swing states.

You still don't get it. The Republicans have nothing to gain politically by cooperating with Obama, and nothing to lose by opposing him. Their constituency is overwhelmingly Southern, white, male, rural and conservative -- the cracker vote.

If you're talking about House districts, it should be noted that while there are many deeply red, strongly Republican districts, there are also many pink and reddish-purple districts. Representatives from those districts will have to justify their votes.

Since we're talking here about entire states, I think you'd have a hard time making the case that the senators from Iowa, Maine and New Hampshire were elected by crackers.

Or what Wonkie said in fewer and better words.

Hunh. Maybe the crazy Obamaniacs that are always claiming there's a supersekrit plan behind his actions are on to something?

As I said in a post yesterday, Obama has been playing the Retards for suckers, and they walked right into his trap. He knew they wouldn't cooperate and now will trumpet their stupidity right where they live.

He knew that they do what they do because they've never had to face the consequences of their actions before. Well, they will now, and there isn't any George Bush in the White House to shield them anymore.

Welcome to 2009, children!!

"It's hard to overstate how foolish this analysis is.

Halperin believes, for reasons that are unclear, that the paramount goal was to win the support of lawmakers who were wrong and who were advocating bad ideas."

He's also wrong to think there are centrist ReThuglicans left in Congress.

Oops. Sorry. Posted on wrong thread.

It seems to me that we should let representative democracy work.

If the house republicans believe that their constituents do not want a stimulus package, then, based on their vote, we should respect their wishes and not send any of the reconstruction funds to their districts.

Oh no! Obama doesn't know yet that Republicans are thugs who will attack him! I must write this comment to inform him of this immediately! Otherwise, he'll continue to sing Kumbaya while they screw him over for the next four years!

Seriously, people. After last year's brilliant successes, how is it not obvious that Obama's people are the most brilliant political strategists in the country? Disagree with his tactics if you must, but don't assume he's an idiot. He's had several months to plan out this exact strategy, and I think it's a winner. Republicans now look like irrelevant jerks and will suffer accordingly, while Obama looks like a serious leader who fulfills his campaign pledges. This is much better than the all-out war you guys proposed.

For anyone interested, I wrote more about this here:
Obama the Simpleton

If the house republicans believe that their constituents do not want a stimulus package, then, based on their vote, we should respect their wishes and not send any of the reconstruction funds to their districts.

Yes, and once our victory in Iraq is complete, we'll make sure to not allow France or Russia to take part in any of the reconstruction projects that will send profits to all those who joined our coalition. And perhaps we'll have the head of the GSA give presentations on which Congressional districts are pick-up opportunities for us, remaining ignorant about the Hatch Act and other laws that forbid such activities.

Seriously, when Republicans did these things, did you guys take notes and forget how badly they turned out? Payback is fun, but it's counter-productive, as it just makes the other side want to get some of their own. It will NOT teach them a lesson any more than they taught us lessons by trying to dick us over. Payback begets payback; always.

that's the way to do it.

Opponents of the stimulus will highlight the cost, and point out that no net gain in employment has occurred.

Let the debates continue.

Naming names.

If there were more of this in politics, moneyed interests might be dealt a rather nasty blow.

There's been far too much covering for one another because Democrats since 1992 foolishly thought they could play the money game. Dean cured them of that disease when he got 100 mill from ordinary folk and Obama sealed the deal.

Now, like any politician, he's paying off the people that bankrolled him.

US.

(At least, it SEEMS like it thus far. I'm waiting a few weeks to see if anyone around the table drops dead before I take a sip of my Obama Kool-Aid.)

berttheclock: Yes, Democratic Congress, you could have done so much more for our infrastructure.

Has anybody toted up how much is actually going for infrastructure? Of that infrastructure, how much will require continuing subsidies in the future? Smart grid is obviously infrastructure, and should pay for itself in lower net costs to deliver electricity; computerizing the medical records (more complex) will take longer and be more messy in appearance, but also result in better medical care and reduced operating costs. With a loose enough use of "infrastructure", it looks like the total infrastructure spending might be in excess of 10% of the total. Is it as high as 20%

Now that we have zero GOP votes, can we swap $275 billion in tax cuts with the $1.1 billion for intercity passenger rail?

Or maybe just make it $270 billion for taxcuts and $6.1 billion for intercity rail? Huh? Please?
Posted by: Ohioan on January 29, 2009

It's possible they have plans for a separate transportation bill which would include that spending. But, if they don't, then your idea would make excellent sense.

Karl Weber: As jobs and vital services disappear from their home towns due to Republican obstructionism, even "crackers" will begin to understand the emptiness of right-wing ideology.

We may have arrived at the point where the only way to get elected is to borrow more money and pay the voters with it. Even if the whole economy contracts as a result, a politician can be successful this way if his or her district's economy does not contract as fast as average. This is more or less what Evo Morales and Hugo Chavez are doing, following the example of Juan Peron.

Seems slightly misguided, as Collins and Gregg have voted with the administration on several things so far. As for Grassley and Murkowski, run ads 24 hours a day. The only thing better than having them gone would be never having to listen to John Boehner or Jon Kyle pontificate on air again!

We may have arrived at the point where the only way to get elected is to borrow more money and pay the voters with it.

"Arrived at the point," Marler? The Republican Party you support has been borrowing money to give perks to its constituencies for years -- not to mention siphoning tax income from blue states to lavish on spending in Red states. But what do you care? They only have to borrow money because of those sweet, sweet tax cuts they used to buy and pay for your services as a shill.

Anyway, you forgot the key Republican strategy element about lying about everything, all the time. But it's understandable, after all -- you would no more notice lies than a fish would notice water.

Marler wrote: let [strike]the debates continue[/strike] my party keep lying.

Fixed for accuracy.

No one mistakes you for an honest commentator. Doesn't it embarrass you that the bad faith of your postings is so obvious?

Look the Repuk's have showen their trus selves . Now is the time for the Dem's to shut them out and pass a true liberal plan healthcare and the works

Look the Repuk's have showen their trus selves . Now is the time for the Dem's to shut them out and pass a true liberal plan healthcare and the works

Obama is like a Master Chess Player and the republicans are novice checker players.

Every single time the republicans think they are getting the better of Obama. I don't think they're smart enough to realize that Obama usually is 5-6 steps ahead of them.

Republicans are used to play to the instant media attention, and doing the bumber sticker sloganeering. They still don't realize that Obama talks with full sentences and paragraphs. They still can't fathom that Obama talks with the people.

republicans will keep on doing the same thing, because that's all there is in their playbook.

Let's encourage them.

Gregory: The Republican Party you support has been borrowing money to give perks to its constituencies for years -- not to mention siphoning tax income from blue states to lavish on spending in Red states. But what do you care? They only have to borrow money because of those sweet, sweet tax cuts they used to buy and pay for your services as a shill.

Goodness. You think I get paid for this?

Anyhow, it is a bipartisan problem, as you correctly note.

Dems get a better bill, my God this one is horrific. 66 percent of the people wouldnt sign it. All it is is pork, like for 4 wheel trails, acorn, cows flactuates and who knows what else. Pelosi went to every Democrat and asked what they wanted in the bill, the Republicans were not invited to join in this venture...Now they want the republicans to vote for this shit. NO WAY - ABSOLUTELY NOT. What a bunch of idiots these dems are. Do they actually think we are that dumb??? We are not!!!!!!!

jdeldin asks:Do they actually think we are that dumb???know that you're that dumb. It's hard to explain, you wouldn't understand.

The code got eaten :)

jdeldin asks: Do they actually think we are that dumb???

We know that you're that dumb. It's hard to explain, you wouldn't understand.