The Republican Drag

There is no excusing the rants of Dick Cheney who doesn't have the good judgment, common sense and decency to just go away - - read a book, have a glass of warm milk or rock quietly on a sunlit porch somewhere. And Republican holdovers in Congress seem incapable of grasping the gravity of the country's financial distress. John McCain proposed a stimulus package geared, typically enough, to tax cuts and defense spending and his colleagues take pride in their ignorance and economic naiveté.

In light of the scorched earth we now inhabit after eight years of fiasco government you'd think Republicans would show some restraint regarding the new president and forgo ideological ramblings and outrageous hypotheticals. Not these folks though; they continue to flaunt a sense of entitlement totally at odds with their disastrous performance when they were in power. In fact they want to continue their failed policies.

Dick Cheney is still holding forth about disproven data, questionable interrogation techniques and paranoiac visions of terrorists around every corner. But his assertion that another devastating attack on American soil might occur because President Obama is reexamining the Bush surveillance and detainee policies was despicable hyperbole even for him. He insisted, before the Iraq invasion and after as well, that just about everyone knew Saddam Hussein had WMDs and a nuclear program, despite the lack of evidence supporting that ‘knowledge'. How did such a malefactor come to play such a large part in our national life? Is he motivated by some contorted notion of patriotism, a lust for power or simply trapped in an irrational little ideological box?

It isn't unreasonable to imagine that Al Qaeda would like to attack us again. What is so detestable about Cheney's remarks, however, is his attempt to blame President Obama preemptively for any terrorist act that might occur during his presidency. What, one might ask, was Cheney doing in the nine months preceding September 11^th? Was he too busy planning partisan warfare to take Clinton's warnings seriously? After all, Bush gave him the responsibility of reviewing the previous administration's report on terrorism. He was supposed to be the ‘go-to' guy - - no hurry of course, just when he had time. But apparently he never had time until after the attack, if then. Oh well...

Now, as the country faces a gloomy financial future and a fractured political climate beyond our shores, the incoherent ramblings of the former vice president are an unwelcome distraction. Likewise a flurry of contrived stunts by the Senate minority undermines serious efforts to design a rational construct that would help reinvigorate industry and develop new technologies. The national condition calls for more than a quick fix; stale agendas disinterred from the dusty past are the surest path to disaster.

The American people shouldn't be fooled by proposals that would provide but a brief respite from deeper, more vexing problems. The Republican notion of a payroll-tax holiday would, for example, suspend funding for an already troubled Social Security system, and the suggestion to include defense spending in the package seems particularly ill-conceived. On the other hand, Democratic favorites like Head Start, as worthy an educational tool as it is, don't belong in the package either.

Stimulus proposals shouldn't be used as a dumping ground for partisan projects by either side. It is especially dispiriting that, in an effort to gain Republican support, the latest compromise contains significantly more tax cuts than originally intended. The package would have a greater stimulative effect if it increased funding for food stamps and helped states maintain programs and services for their citizens. But instead of a new direction and fresh ideas, partisan ideologues in Congress are exerting what in physics is called "aerodynamic drag" - - that "force on an object that resists its motion through a gas like air", in this case the force holding up Congressional action on an economic recovery.

Bi-partisan is a term that implies cooperation from the ‘loyal' opposition, not just an outstretched hand from the White House. If, after questionable proposals are expunged from the recovery package, the minority still withholds it support, it may be time for Democrats to say, "bring it on". Republicans will then need to decide if they really want to initiate a filibuster. It could be more unpleasant than they might imagine to be seen as obstructing legislation designed to create jobs, especially if Democrats succeed in selling the plan to the public. After all, tax cuts are irrelevant if you're unemployed.