Jennifer Rubin at Commentary Contentions reports that Democrats are readying another stimulus bill. Except they are not going to call it that. In fact, they are insisting that no one refer to it as a "stimulus." And for good reason:
They think calling a government boondoggle by another name and going to the well of Bush-bashing will do the trick. But that probably won't work. As Roll Call notes, this posturing has merely "opened the door to a fresh flood of criticism from Republicans who have declared the earlier $787 billion stimulus package a failure and set off a race to the trough by every K Street lobbyist worth his or her salt." Understandably, Republican lawmakers are having a field day, and they are more than content not only to point out the failure of the original stimulus but to focus on the mound of debt as well.The Democrats could, of course, rip up the old stimulus and redirect that money to more useful endeavors. The F-22 production line, for example, if reactivated would save 95,000 jobs right off the bat. Or they could forget the junk pile of liberal programs and instead enact some across-the-board tax relief for employers. Better yet: put the kabosh on any new taxes - including all those in the health-care tax-a-thon.
Well, none of that is happening while the Democrats are in charge. And that, one can safely predict, will be what the 2010 elections are all about.
Ed Lasky:
The War against Terror becomes Man-Made Overseas Contingency Operations, The Taliban is not a threat to America and stimulus is ..well, what? Barack Obama and the Democrats hope to define away the problems-welcome to 1984.
It's "Stimulus II" by any other name - and the results will be just as bad. The Dems are clawing through that manure pile, convinced that somewhere in there, a pony is just waiting to come out.
Hat Tip: Ed Lasky
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