Republicans Win the Fight: Unemployment Benefits Are No Stimulus

The long fight over a third stimulus package will end today in a victory for those who would like to see their unemployment benefits extended. For the cause of giving the economy a filip, it's a defeat for which President Obama has only himself to blame -- but a battle he has to keep fighting through November. Talk about defining expectations down! This exercise started in the spring with plans for a $123 billion bill that included aid to states for Medicaid, an extension of the Build America Bonds program, and unemployment benefits. Now it's $34 billion for the unemployment.

Minority Leader Mitch MConnell, along with Ben Nelson, the lone Democrat, managed to hold this up for quite some time. Whittling it down didn't work either -- apparently neither of these supports of massive tax cuts under George W. Bush could find room for the unemployed and strapped states. President Obama did his part badly as well, stepping in to hammer Republicans on this late in the game, when the game-changer -- the seating of West Virginia's new senator, Carte Goodwin, was imminent.

Note that the game-changer had nothing to do with the substance of the legislation or the pros and cons of stimulus spending. It simply reflects a changed political constellation in a body that now needs a super majority of 60 votes to do anything meaningful. However, the drawn-out process did give Republicans ample opportunity to tarnish the good name of stimulus spending -- a nice road-testing of the message they will deliver when the fall election campaign gets underway in earnest after Labor Day.

With the economic policy done and dusted, the only question now is whether Obama will come out swinging on the issue of the economy and unemployment. It's all about framing the message now. There are some signs that Republicans want to make the elections a referendum on the turn the country made away from Bush's economic policy. Yes, you read that right, some Republicans think they can run on Bush, even though most of the country still blames Bush for the recession and wars.

That would be an undeserved gift for President Obama, a man who showed a once-in-a-generation talent for selling himself during the 2008 campaign, but has proved less willing to sell his policies.

Image from Jphilipson via Flickr Related:

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