House Passes Stim -- No R votes

God I hope my House Rep (R) has to answer in 2010 for why he opposed jobs for Washington state. He won by a razor in '08 and '06.

Via Atrios, the broad spending in the bill.
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http://www.propublica.org/special/the-stimulus-plan-a-detailed-list-of-spending

What I want to know is, what are these GOP pols' constituents saying? Are they calling the office and demanding these "no" votes? And if not, how can these guys justify what they're doing? I suppose there's no way to know outside of official reports from the staffs ... which I wouldn't believe if you paid me. But it sure would be fun to find out. I want heartland info, and proof that the Repubs are as venal as I like to believe.

I just wanted to point out that newly elected Rep Anh Cao from Louisianna who beat William "Money Bags" Jefferson is a COWARD and a LIAR. Just yesterday he pledged to vote FOR the bill even if he was the only one because his constituents needed the money. What I really wish is that every Congressman who votes against the bill could have the money from the bill with held from their district or state. And yes I am serious.

The fact is, the Republicans are hoping for failure. It's rather obvious they put their party ahead of the country.

This is the Chairman Obey take down of ALL the House Rethugs. Its a thing of beauty!
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Hey what a surprise - you work with 'em and you give 'em tax cuts and you include 'em on the discussions and you cut out the infrastructure spending for 'em, and they still refuse to play ball.

Wow. I really got it wrong. I really thought the first round was the symbolic "unity" vote and there'd be a few dozen Republicans to see the merit and the compromise in this one. This is just bad on them. Cold, old-school partisanship to cut the other guy down a notch. Really unstatesmanlike, and a shame.

The Party of NO. No ideas, No solutions, No clue.

This why Americans sent a large majority of Dems to the House and Senate. If Republicans think this will do them any good in 2010 they better wake up now. The country as a whole is tired of their powerpoint mentality.

So much for the bipartisian effort. Spitting against the wind. F 'em.

Thanks for this reporting, Jay Newton-Small.

A truly dire gamble on the part of House Republicans. For the sake of the economy, lets hope the wheel lands on black.

!!WARNING HUGE PDF EMBEDDED IN LINK BELOW!!
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Conference Report is up

Unless the Republicans are praying to their great and merciful God above to make this all fail and make more people suffer until the election campaigns fire up again (next week) I don't see how this plays for them. Isn't it easier to say "Our part made it work" or "Our part was fine but they made it fail" then figure on no recovery at all happening and slamming the other side for two more years with nothing to contribute?
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Chances are things will improve for one reason or another in the next 18 months, even if it's just because people get tired over worrying about the economy and buy on pent up demand. I don't even see oil prices going up if there is no reason to speculate that people and industries will demand more oil. That double whammy isn't likely.

From the conference report:
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17 DISTANCE LEARNING, TELEMEDICINE, AND BROADBAND
18 PROG~1
19 For an additional amount for the cost of broadband
20 loans and loan guarantees, as authorized by the Rural
21 Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) and for
22 grants (including for technical assistance),
23 $2,500,000,000
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8 ...Provided further, That the
9 Secretary shall submit a report on planned spending and
10 actual obligations describing the use of these funds not
11 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
12 and quarterly thereafter until all funds are obligated, to
13 the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Rep
14 resentatives and the Senate.

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I can't wait to get copies of that report from the Committees, once intrepid reporters from credible institutions demand them...

I'm sorry, 2010 is only one year away. In that case maybe God will grant the Republicans our suffering with a little disease thrown in... Must keep the donors happy.

"There are always people who don't want to be part of the story."
-- John McPhee, Basin and Range.
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Most of them Republican, apparently. I hope they enjoy irrelevance - I hear it's nice there this time of year.

Now we know exactly why Judd Gregg stepped away from the batter's box:
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3 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
4 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
5 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
6 For an additional amount for "Economic Develop-
7 ment Assistance Programs", $150,000,000: Provided,
8 That $50,000,000 shall be for economic adjustment assist
9 ance as authorized by section 209 of the Public Works
10 and Economic Development Act of 1965, as amended (42
11 U.S.C. 3149): Provided further, That in allocating the
12 funds provided in the previous proviso, the Secretary of
13 Commerce shall give priority consideration to areas of the
14 Nation that have experienced sudden and severe economic
15 dislocation and job loss due to corporate restructuring:
16 Provided fu11Jwr, That not to exceed 2 percent of the funds
17 provided under this heading may be transferred to and
18 merged with the appropriation for "Salaries and Ex
19 penses" for purposes of program administration and over
20 sight

246 votes for racketeering, fraud, abuse, and appeasement?

Some change, eh?

When Aunt Samantha comes whoring again in 2 years to pay the taxes for this monstrosity, who IS going to pony up?

The economy will get better, despite this crack pipe of a public works projectile into the heart of free enterprise.

THE MEXICAN PAVEMENT EMPLOYMENT ACT has left the outhouse.

hulagate
Have you stopped taking your medicine again? Come up from out of your mother's basement, put some clothes on and go to your room, now!

High Sheriffs:

Can we get a review of hulagate's postings? He is walking on the edge of responsible posting with some of his wording.

As far as the Republicans, who cares... they have no future!

On the one hand, I envy the GOP their unity and cajones--imagine an opposition, well, opposing. As a minority or majority, vs. a popular or unpopular Bush, the dems seemed wholly incapable of this for 8 years.
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On the other hand, with 3 moderates in the entire legislature apparently, it seems the GOP has stared into the abyss of the '06 & '08 elections and decided to double down on their utterly failed policies, betting all on hopes that Obama will fail in time for '10. When the dem majorities grow in '10, plan B will be? Of course, this is all assuming you all in America are "better off than you were two years ago..." Is there a remaking of the party, in even a minor way, going on, out in the hinterlands, that I'm unaware of? Mind you, I'm not complaining but isn't it strategically astonishing. I guess this is what the dems were doing in the 80s, trotting out the same old ideas and spokespeople when Reagan had utterly redrawn the map/discourse.