Reply #5: The Republicans Want It To Fail [View All]

[iamjoy]

I sometimes wonder if the Republicans want the stimulus to fail. There would be several reasons for this, some of them not as horrible as others.

1) They don't want Obama and the Democrats to be successful so they can seize power in 2010 and/or 2012.

2) They would seriously rather our economy get worse rather than implement socialist policies. They would rather the stimulus fail than compromise their free market principles. Remember "Better Dead Than Red"?

3) They just can't stand being wrong. They don't think it will work and would rather be right than have the economy turn around - nothing partisan here, just an inability to admit they made a mistake.

4) They don't believe the economy is really that bad. This is like the people who refuse to evacuate in the face of monster hurricanes - out of sheer denial and/or stubbornness rather than lack of means.

The thing is, some economists believe that a stimulus that is too small will not be effective. It is hard for average Americans to think of a trillion dollars as "too small" or inadequate, but that may be the reality. The Republicans want to try to get the stimulus small enough so that it has no chance of succeeding and then be able to blame the Democrats for its failure. And in a way, they will be right, it will be the Democrats fault for not standing their ground and also for trying to slip in things that weren't really stimulus (if only because it gives the Republicans an excuse to make a fuss) Take family planning funding. I was disappointed when I heard they cut this, but I have to admit - it isn't really stimulus (at least not the financial variety ;)). If the cause is noble and helps people in need but doesn't directly create jobs they should have come up with a separate emergency aid package and billed it as such.