ABC News’ Jonathan Karl reports: The House Appropriations Committee just posted its $410 billion 2009 Omnibus spending bill. It’s a doozy. This is the bill that will fund the government’s operations until the end of the fiscal year. It’s larded with thousands (so many, I can’t count them all yet) of earmarks and adds up an increase in overall discretionary spending of more than 8 percent, the biggest one year increase since 1978 (with the exception of the spending boost after the September 11 attacks).And this is a bi-partisan feeding frenzy. Roughly 40 percent of the money for earmarks (i.e. pet projects inserted by individual lawmakers) have been inserted by Republicans.
The Democrats, back before 2006, blamed the GOP constantly for major increases in discretionary spending. Now it is their turn and it turns out they are worse. 60% of increases by them. Wow.
Tonight, Barack Obama will address the nation. His aides, setting the bar extraordinarily high, say the speech will be Reaganesque.
“The president believes very clearly that we have to be honest with the American people about where we are,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”“He will,” Gibbs said, “tell the country that we’ve faced … greater challenges than the ones we face now, but we as Americans always meet those challenges. But in the Reaganesque words, there are always better days ahead.”
Will the President dare to take on the issue of discretionary spending? Will he dare to challenge the Democrats?
I suspect this is the perfect opportunity for him to do so. The Dems are giving him a huge gift, i. e. a massive pig with a target on its rib cage for Obama to blow up and take on the corrupting culture of Washington.
This should, in fact, be the bar tonight. If Obama is willing to take this on, we’ll need to give him credit. If he does not, not only will he not have been “honest with the American people,” but he will not really be setting us up to meet any challenges.
Moe Lane
Steve Maley
KnightsofMalta
Dan Spencer
Dan McLaughlin
But
djemi (Diary) Tuesday, February 24th at 12:04PM EST (link)If you ask for more than you want you can cut back and both get what you want and say you cut out the pork
“If I can’t shoot rabbits,then I can’t shoot fascist”
“With age, comes Wisdom, but only if you are paying Attention, son” my ‘Old Man’
RS Help files (h/t JLenardDetroit) Grassroots in Michigan
Moes Strategy
They still don't get it.
Kyle-MI (Diary) Tuesday, February 24th at 12:11PM EST (link)Why are any Republicans asking for any earmarks? What are they thinking, that we didn’t loose enough seats in 2006 and 2008? If the GOP leadership had any sense they would relegate any member who asks for earmarks to the Congressional committee equivalent of kp duty.
Not Pork
Greg (Diary) Tuesday, February 24th at 12:17PM EST (link)It’s Steak and Potatoes
Yes they can! And they will. nt
Achance (Diary) Tuesday, February 24th at 12:27PM EST (link)In Vino Veritas
Yepper indeed
E Pluribus Unum (Diary) Tuesday, February 24th at 12:53PM EST (link)I believe that will be the whole point of Bambi’s speech tonight. Bush’s fault! Republicans’ fault!
Kill the Terrorists
Protect the Borders
Punch the Hippies h/t IMAO
The meme is already circulating:
Achance (Diary) Tuesday, February 24th at 12:58PM EST (link)First, it’s a Republican problem the Ds are trying to fix. Of course, that is a big lie.
Second, the Republicans insisted on all these cuts and those cuts are the reason the Recovery Act isn’t causing a recovery. Big lie two; the only thing that mess was supposed to stimulate was the Democrat Party and the Rs, even the traitorous Rs, had virtually nothing to do with what’s in it or not.
Third, when we aren’t all drinking pink Bubble-Up and eating Rainbow Stew in ’10, it is the obstructionist Republicans’ fault. The really important big lie.
In Vino Veritas
I'm confused....
Praying (Diary) Tuesday, February 24th at 12:57PM EST (link)“They can no longer blame the GOP” is the title of the posting, but the ABC News story claims:
“And this is a bi-partisan feeding frenzy. Roughly 40 percent of the money for earmarks (i.e. pet projects inserted by individual lawmakers) have been inserted by Republicans.”
So the Republicans ARE partly to blame for this, or are NOT?
If they ARE, I am tremendously disappointed. Where is our toeing the line on fiscal responsibility?
No!!!11!1!!1!1! The Bilderbergers are coming
Who are these people?
Kyle-MI (Diary) Tuesday, February 24th at 1:07PM EST (link)Who are the 40% of Republican congressmen? I want names! (Not aimed at you, Praying.)
40% of the pork...
nricciar Tuesday, February 24th at 1:36PM EST (link)not 40% of republicans… could be 100% or 1% for all we know… article does not say.
when will you guys learn....
Jack (Diary) Tuesday, February 24th at 2:05PM EST (link)Of course tonight he will take them on. He will spit and sputter and denounce everyone and say how he will not stand this for this spending.
Then in the dark of the night while he is flying off to some destination it will become law. This is a guy who threw his own grandmother under the bus. Do you really believe that he is not above telling the American people what they wish to hear and then do something else?
What vacuum have you guys been living in the past 24 months?
Jack
“If at age 20 you are conservative you have no heart. It at age 30 you are liberal you have no brains.” Sir Winston Churchill
Rush: We allowed Obama to appropriate 'Reaganism'
katesmith (Diary) Tuesday, February 24th at 2:25PM EST (link)Rush said today our side allowed itself to be intimidated into distancing itself from image of Reaganism–(too mean, too whatever, my guess). Voila, Obama glides easily into the vacuum and assumes the mantle.
If he sounds Reaganesque
itrytobenice (Diary) Tuesday, February 24th at 2:57PM EST (link)*I’ll* even support him. Good Lord. Just imagine how nice that would be. If there really was a poltergeist and we could get his skinny little body and BB brain commandeered by R. Magnamus.
Sing it with me… I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. Down in my heart. Down in my heart….
Proper grammar saves lives.
Let’s eat Grandma.
Let’s eat, Grandma.
Never underestimate the Democrats
wingnut43 Wednesday, February 25th at 9:44PM EST (link)You can always blame the GOP if the public will believe it. And if there is even a kernel of truth in that blame (there is), the public WILL believe that narrative. The Democrats successfully ran against Hoover’s GOP for 40 years. Now, this time Obama takes the place of Hoover because Bush was not able to keep the economy humming long enough to elect a Republican replacement. But Great Depression II still started under Bush, and the public will not forget this no matter how many failures Obama has. If unemployment keeps increasing over the next 4 years to Weimar Republic levels, which is what I expect to happen, the Republican party will have the sole blame in the public mind. If there is on the other hand, a temporary or even a false recovery, followed by another crash or a hyperinflation, Obama will get the blame.
It Won't Work
IJB Wednesday, February 25th at 10:19PM EST (link)Only what I call the “pessimistic conservatives believe your meme.
The voters are a lot simpler to understand than people give them credit for – effectively, in the aggregate, the electorate responds to stimuli like an amoeba.
If the economy continues to be bad in two years, the average voter will not think, “This is all the fault of George Bush and Tom Delay from 8 years ago!”
What they’re going to think in 2010 is, “Obama & Reid & Pelosi have been in there for 2 years – why are things *worse* now then when they started?!!”
If things aren’t noticeably the same/worse in 2 years than they are now, the script is going to be a pretty simple one: “Out with the (new) old, in with the (old) new.”
That’s why it puzzles me what the Dems are doing. They’re acting like if they throw enough goodies out to their own guys, it’ll guarantee them perpetual power. They aren’t paying nearly enough attention to the ‘swing’ voters who behave politically pretty much like amoebas.
This is not going to end well for them if they keep this up.
Grrr...
IJB Wednesday, February 25th at 10:20PM EST (link)Should read:
If things are noticeably the same/worse in 2 years than they are now, the script is going to be a pretty simple one: “Out with the (new) old, in with the (old) new.”