"Reid My Lips - Stupid Speak" Continues Even Outside Washington D. C. - Feb 19 2009

Members of Congress have returned to their districts this week and many are discussing the impact of the $787 billion stimulus bill on their constituents. While Republicans have been discussing their concerns with the debt burden the bill adds to and how effective it will be in actually creating jobs, Democrats have fanned out to brag about the bill, but seem to have chosen odd things to be proud of.

In an excellent column titled "Drowning by Fire Hose," George Will questions House Rules Committee Chair Louise Slaughter’s reaction to $50 million in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. Will writes, “those millions elated Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), co-chairwoman of the Congressional Arts Caucus: ‘If we’re trying to stimulate the economy and get money into the Treasury, nothing does that better than art.’ Nothing? Is Slaughter correct about what we're trying to do? Is the point of the government's stimulus spending to get more money into the government – ‘into the Treasury’? She is not the first politician to desire prosperity for the people so that they could be more bountiful taxpayers.” George Will also noted that "In last year's second quarter, GM lost $118,000 a minute, and the next plan for its salvation until the next crisis will require more government money to prevent bankruptcy, which would require more government money."

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took the town hall meeting to a whole different level. Roll Call reports he gave a speech to a joint session of the Nevada state legislature in which he “lauded the recently enacted $787 billion economic stimulus package and trumpeted a new era of leadership in Washington, D.C., that will benefit the Silver State.” Roll Call notes that Reid told state lawmakers, “Despite our affection for President Obama and the strong Democratic majorities in Congress, we did not simply rubber-stamp the president’s plan.” That’s certainly true. In the process of writing the bill, Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ignored key principles President Obama had set at the outset including banning earmarks, avoiding partisan fights, and focusing the bill on creating private sector jobs.

Reid also said, “No one expects Democrats and Republicans to suddenly agree on everything, but we have been engaging in serious pursuit of common ground.” So to Reid, “serious pursuit of common ground” consists of Pelosi bragging, “Yes, we wrote the bill,” Democrats voting down almost every Republican amendment to reduce spending, crafting the final language among Democrats behind closed doors, and finally garnering only 3 votes out of more than 200 Republicans in Congress?

One would think Reid, Pelosi, and other Democrats might want to find other things about the bill to tout.

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