Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Obama Set to Meet With House Republicans

(Updated)

So it is 4:30 PM here on the East Coast and President Obama has recently ended a nearly 2-hour marathon meeting with the less than fickle congressional right wingers. In something of an unprecedented move, Obama - clearly the leader of democrats nationwide - met with "rank and file" republicans from the House of Reps to discuss a way to bridge the gap on an economic stimulus plan that would infuse $825 billion into the economy by way of not only spending, but also tax cutting. Business as usual was conducted on the republican side of things, where conservative lawmakers were simply unwilling to accept any economic proposal from a left leaning president. For whatever reason, it seems to me (and I know this goes on both sides, a la Nancy Pelosi), that whenever a slight compromise is proposed, the republicans always shove it back in the democrats face and offer a counter that is incredibly conservative in its nature. Well, you might ask, what is the compromise that Obama has offered? Here is your answer, from the New York Times
several Republicans said they would like the tax cuts to move more swiftly, according to people in the room, but the president replied that $275 billion was the most he would be willing to negotiate. The session stretched longer than an hour, with both sides conceding at several points that they have unmovable philosophical differences on many of the issues.

Alright, so the article says both sides have unwavable issues, well, why don't we choose the side that the American people have most recently elected into office. Why don't we allow the man entrusted with the economic well being of the country for the next 4 years to do what he was put in office to do? I'll tell you why, because the republican congresspeople are interested more in career advancement than in the day to day lives of average American people. In other words, if a republican congressperson takes their small, meaningless stand right now and the plan that Obama has proposed does not work for whatever reason, the objector will be able to springboard there next campaign with the "I told you so" banner hanging from the rafters. You're not fooling me and you're probably not fooling anyone with this nonsense, so let's get something done for a change.

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