GOP's Chilly Reaction To The Stimulus Bill
"When I made a series of overtures to the Republicans -- going over to meet with both Republican caucuses; you know, putting three Republicans in my Cabinet, something that is unprecedented; making sure that they were invited here to the White House to talk about the economic recovery plan -- all those were not designed simply to get some short-term votes," the president said.
His overtures, he explained, "were designed to try to build up some trust over time. And I think that as I continue to make these overtures, over time hopefully that will be reciprocated."
Building up goodwill over time seems to be the president's best option, since the short-term prospects for bipartisanship don't look too good. For proof, have a look at Republicans' harsh response to the Senate's passage of the economic stimulus bill today.
"The fact is, this trillion-dollar spending plan is not much different than the one House Democrats passed two weeks ago," House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) wrote in reaction to the Senate's passage of the stimulus bill. "It is more costly, is loaded with slow-moving Washington spending, opens the door to scores of pet projects that taxpayers cannot afford, and is not focused on creating more jobs for families and small businesses. Even worse, its authors are trying to take advantage of the crisis in our economy to enact a series of liberal policy proposals that have nothing to do with job creation, such as reversing welfare reform and letting government ration out health care options to America families and seniors," he said.
The House Republican leader was not alone in his criticism of the package.
The newly elected chairman of the National Republican Committee, Michael Steele, released a statement Monday night in which he argued, "the legislation moving its way through Congress bares little resemblance to what President Obama described at tonight's press conference. The spending bill written by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid is filled with unnecessary and wasteful programs that will saddle future generations with massive debt. With so many Americans looking for work, it's important to act quickly, but also act prudently. This bill will fail to have the necessary and direct impact it should - in part - because the Democrats rejected proposals to improve the legislation."
"President Obama promised change and bipartisanship in Washington, but that's not what Americans have witnessed in the crafting of this gargantuan spending bill. Despite his rhetoric tonight," Brian Walsh, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committe also wrote in a statement after President Obama's Monday night press conference, "President Obama cannot possibly be proud of the final result -- a bloated, trillion dollar spending bill crafted in a partisan manner that represents the same wasteful Washington spending and will fall on the shoulders of future generations."
Of note, Senator John Ensign (R-Nevada) just challenged Democratic leaders to televise the conference meetings in which negotiations between the House and Senate versions of the package will be negotiated.
CORRECTION: Yesterday, we wrote that John Ensign was chairman of the NRSC. The committee's chairman is actually Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas).