Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy... or business as usual?

I just had a "duh," moment.

I read the news every day, and I research a good deal of what I read. I consider myself not only intelligent, but subtle. Regardless, it just occurred to me that the economic stimulus that is being ping-ponged around Washington right now is the front for the Democratic takeover of government.

Watching the House Appropriations Committee markup session on C-SPAN, allow me to rescind some of what I said about the "new feel-good Washington." House Republicans do not feel good about this bill. I have to hand it to 'em, they've got some very valid points. Chiefly, some GOP members are pointing out that the bill before the House contains no bipartisan oversight, as the officers in charge of executing the bill are all appointed by the President. Republican after Republican is standing up and complaining that there is not enough oversight, not enough internal monitoring, insufficient fiscal reporting, and no opportunity for sub-committee meetings on portions directly connected to those committees.

To the victor goes the spoils, indeed. Rep. David Obey (D-WI), Chair of the House Appropriations Committee is barely concealing his desire to see the discussion halted. David Brooks, at the New York Times today, described Obey as, "...a very compelling figure, who would be a judge on 'American Idol' if this were hell. He runs the committee like Captain Ahab in a bad mood." Speaker Pelosi is defending the GOP shut-out on terms of necessity, which I agree with, but her demeanor is so combative, it makes her seen patronizing to the GOP at best. On Inauguration Day, Obey was whipping up panic for the bill, indicating that he believed $825 Billion dollars might not be sufficient, and pressing for the bill to be passed to "stave off the worst aspects of the recession." While I believe all sides agree on the urgency of the bill, I question such shrill panic. Mid-February is the deadline assigned by the President, which means three weeks or thereabouts; there's time for a lot of meetings.

If any one issue can be pointed to as the tipping point for Obama's campaign it was his economic platform. Although Obama led in the polls fairly consistently throughout the campaign, he generally underperformed, and after the Republican National Convention, McCain passed him in the polls as much as 10 points, long enough to be reason for panic. Only when the economy tanked hard in late September did Obama regain a winning margin. Getting his economic plan signed into law, early, and with a perceived strong bipartisan support, will be a benchmark for Obama. His first radio address as President focussed almost in total on the economy. Speaker Pelosi is saying again that there will be "no recess" for Congress until the bill is passed. At the same time, Dems are spinning out lowered expectations, just in case. Mid-term elections are two years off, and we will have seen durable reverberations from the Stimulus Bill by then. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are conscious of this, which is why the GOP is preaching caution and the Democrats are... well, preaching, mostly to the choir, as is apparent if you actually watch the discussions.