Despite Push, Obama Doesn't Win A Single GOP Vote On Stimulus

By: Ken Millstone
Topics: Economy

The House earlier tonight passed a relatively intact version of President Obama's $819 billion stimulus bill. The vote was 244-188 with 12 Democrats opposing the bill and no Republicans – zero – voting in favor.

At the end of the day, that's a legislative victory. But the bill's passage has been relatively assured for some time (maybe since November, when Democrats… you know… took commanding majorities in both houses of Congress) and Obama has spent the last several weeks trying specifically to win Republican support for the measure. He went to Capitol Hill to address the Republican caucus yesterday.

Tonight it's a cocktail party with 11 Democrats and 11 Republicans, as CBS News chief White House correspondent Chip Reid reports. Very bipartisan.

Though not directly related to the stimulus bill, Mr. Obama also met with a virtual who's who of conservative talking heads including William Kristol, Charles Krauthammer, David Brooks, George Will, Larry Kudlow, and Paul Gigot; He later met with a group of liberal pundits as well.

So what gives? Republicans say that for all the overtures of bipartisanship the Democrats simply didn't put forth an acceptable bill. Just Google "Boehner stimulus" to read the familiar Republican complaints: Too much spending, not enough tax cuts, bad for business.

As Washington Monthly's Steve Benen points out, the GOP had little to gain politically from supporting the bill. If the stimulus succeeds, Obama and the Democrats will get the credit. If it fails, Republicans will have "I told you so" bragging rights for defending their anti-spending conservative principles. (It's somewhat less clear how they will respond to criticism from out-of-work constituents.)

Another view: Obama's push for bipartisan support is aimed squarely at GOP voters, not GOP lawmakers.

Mr. Obama put out a statement after the vote praising the House for passing the bill. The only mention of the party divide was this age-old paean to bipartisan harmony: "I hope that we can continue to strengthen this plan before it gets to my desk. But what we can't do is drag our feet or allow the same partisan differences to get in our way."

The complete statement is below:

"Last year, America lost 2.6 million jobs. On Monday alone, we learned that some of our biggest employers plan to cut another 55,000. This is a wakeup call to Washington that the American people need us to act and act immediately.

That is why I am grateful to the House of Representatives for moving the American Recovery and Reinvestment plan forward today. There are many numbers in this plan. It will double our capacity to generate renewable energy. It will lower the cost of health care by billions and improve its quality. It will modernize thousands of classrooms and send more kids to college. And it will put billions of dollars in immediate tax relief into the pockets of working families.

But out of all these numbers, there is one that matters most to me: this recovery plan will save or create more than three million new jobs over the next few years.

I can also promise that my administration will administer this recovery plan with a level of transparency and accountability never before seen in Washington. Once it is passed, every American will be able to go the website recovery.gov and see how and where their money is being spent.

The plan now moves to the Senate, and I hope that we can continue to strengthen this plan before it gets to my desk. But what we can't do is drag our feet or allow the same partisan differences to get in our way. We must move swiftly and boldly to put Americans back to work, and that is exactly what this plan begins to do."

Ken Millstone
Ken Millstone is an assignment editor at CBSNews.com

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by cpelzar--2008 January 30, 2009 12:52 PM EST: Remember when Obama told us we cannot drive our SUV''''s and keep the thermostat cranked up to 73 degress anymore?

The capital flew into a bit of a tizzy when, on his first full day in the White House,

President Obama was photographed in the Oval Office without his suit jacket. There was, however, a logical explanation:

Mr. Obama, who hates the cold, had cranked up the thermostat. He''''s from Hawaii, O.K.? said Mr. Obamas senior adviser, David Axelrod, who occupies the small but strategically located office next door to his boss. "He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there".

Do as I say not as I do.; Reply to this comment


by kate1149 January 30, 2009 7:57 AM EST: Obama doesn''t need Republican votes in the House, and only needs one in the Senate, so you can bet your IRA Account that Obama is pushing his bipartisan message to the public, to voters, and not to the GOP scumb bags in Congress. Obama came off looking like a smart, caring, reasonable centrist who was willing to bend over backwards to compromise, while the GOP comes off looking small, mean, petty,and partisan. They have all become radical Rush Limbaugh followers who would rather see the Country in ruins rather than pass any legislation that doesn''t mean more money in the pockets of the very rich. The GOP only knows two words "TAX CUTS" - they don''t care about this Country any more than that big fat pig, Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh should be tried for treason for saying that he hoped the Country failed during a time when the Country is going through the greatest crisis since World War II. Rot in Hell Limbaugh!; Reply to this comment


by libra217 January 29, 2009 9:18 PM EST: 5.2 Billion for ACORN? $335 millions for STD prevention?

Posted by hclinton2012 at 04:33 PM : Jan 29, 2009

You really should try to keep up better. The $ for "STD prevention" was removed from the bill before the House vote - at Obama''s request. He deemed it "inappropriate", but you''''re still willing to blame him for it. It was NEVER his idea.

There is no $5.2 billion for Acorn. That is just a lie. There is $4.19 billion for "community stabilization programs", most of which is designated for state and local governments. Rep. Boehner expressed a fear that Acorn might be eligible for a small part of it, but there is no designation for Acorn.

Source: foxnews.com; Reply to this comment


by win4usa January 29, 2009 8:29 PM EST: Thank you Republicans for voting no. Tax cuts for small business doesn''t create jobs. There''s a lot of pork spending that won''t create jobs. This stimulus bill doesn''t address how he''s going to take care of the unemployed until these jobs are created in years from now.; Reply to this comment


by noloyalisti January 29, 2009 6:45 PM EST: Correction dongo, it is the Republicans who grew the government and spent like drunken sailors. You do have a lot of nerve defending conservatives in front of all of us to read. Although it''s embarrassing to read, thanks for sharing.; Reply to this comment


by noloyalisti January 29, 2009 6:28 PM EST: Do all Republicans hate America or only the ones in Congress?; Reply to this comment


by bobnjersey January 29, 2009 5:06 PM EST: [Led by Bill Clinton who went to Congress and requested de-regulation because he wanted to use housing issues to buy votes for Gore''''s election, and prop up the dumpocrapic administration after he''''d skrewed every thing in skirts in the White House and tanked his approval rating.]
[Posted by TexHillGirl at 01:38 PM : Jan 29, 2009]

absolute nonsense. but it''s no surprise coming from you.

the deregulation was a republican driven initiative ... and they snuck their provision into a critical spending bill in a late night session ... using legislative shenanigans ... conrolled by a republican majority.

post the links to support your claims ... which we all you wont .. because you cant ... because your claims are fantasy.; Reply to this comment


by yongamerica January 29, 2009 4:22 PM EST: Too much spending, not enough tax cuts, bad for business.

Aren''t tax cut an inverted method of spending. All tax cuts do is move capital from 1 pocket to another without a trip to the cash register.; Reply to this comment


by drputt45 January 29, 2009 3:16 PM EST: Its all mystery money going places none of us will ever see. The economy will go through its cycle and whoever is in DC will take credit.

Businesses ruint business, not the government. Regulation or not, big business is too powerful to control. There are a few that have the ability to use power for their own profit, and they will always be there. Just look back, its happened for many years.; Reply to this comment


by bobnjersey January 29, 2009 3:10 PM EST: [Led by the Republicon Senate under no other than Texas Senator Phil (the Recession is in your head) Grahm. He was the senator that master minded the gutting regulation to the point of uselessness.]
[Posted by holalanemeir at 12:07 PM : Jan 29, 2009]

don''t forget that phil gramm''s wife was on the board of enron.; Reply to this comment