"I'm here to stimulate you."
Yesterday, President Obama’s economic stimulus bill passed in the House of Representatives by a margin of 244 to 188. Some of the right-of-center bloggers are pleased that none of the Republicans in the House voted in favor of this $825 billion boondoggle. I agree that they did the right thing. But I would argue that they did it for the wrong reasons.
As Mr. Peabody would say, “Sherman, set the Way Back machine to October of 2008.” October of 2008 is when the proverbial shit hit the equally proverbial fan. The lack of oversight in the financial markets, as well as the blatant fraud committed by financiers and lending establishments such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, led to an economic meltdown of gargantuan proportions. Wall Street and Main Street both were in a dire panic. Stock brokers were raining from the skies. Dogs and cats were living together and picking out china patterns. Putting it simply, it was mass hysteria.
The financial institutions came to the Congress with their hands out asking for $700 billion to bail them out. This was unprecedented, and many fiscally minded conservatives were shouting “No!” from the peanut gallery of public discourse. Many voters wrote to their representatives expressing their misgivings surrounding such outlandish government spending. The bailout didn’t pass… at first. However, the bailout bill got a second draft and a second bite at the apple. It ultimately did pass. It passed quietly under the radar and against the will of the voting public.
Back in October Republicans approved the massive bank bailout despite the objections of their constituents. However, yesterday they stood on principle to vote against the $825 billion stimulus package. This incongruity can be easily explained. The votes of many of these Republican representatives have nothing to do with principle and everything to do with politics. Back in October, the bailout for the banking industry was proposed by President Bush. The representatives who voted in its favor were simply towing the party line. Yesterday, these representatives voted against the stimulus bill because it was proposed by Democrat President Obama. Again, the House Republicans are towing the party line.
Voting against an $825 billion increase in Federal spending is the right thing to do, but then so was voting against a $700 billion bank bailout. The problem with politics is politics. That is to say, political ass-kissing and posturing is often a greater priority among elected officials than representing those who elected them in the first place. A politician will only do the right thing if it gives him ammunition against his opponents. On the other hand, a politician will do the most idiotic or abominable thing to preserve political alliances and maintain good standing with his party’s leadership.