The Same Old Song - What’s up with the Republicans? Bob Herbert

[groovedaddy]

What’s up with the Republicans? Have they no sense that their policies have sent the country hurtling down the road to ruin? Are they so divorced from reality that in their delusionary state they honestly believe we need more of their tax cuts for the rich and their other forms of plutocratic irresponsibility, the very things that got us to this deplorable state?

The G.O.P.’s latest campaign is aimed at undermining President Obama’s effort to cope with the national economic emergency by attacking the spending in his stimulus package and repeating ad nauseam the Republican mantra for ever more tax cuts.

“Right now, given the concerns that we have over the size of this package and all the spending in this package, we don’t think it’s going to work,” said Representative John Boehner, an Ohio Republican who is House minority leader. Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mr. Boehner said of the plan: “Put me down in the ‘no’ column.”

If anything, the stimulus package is not large enough. Less than 24 hours after Mr. Boehner’s televised exercise in obstructionism, the heavy-equipment company Caterpillar announced that it was cutting 20,000 jobs, Sprint Nextel said it was eliminating 8,000, and Home Depot 7,000.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/opinion/27herbert.html?th&emc=th

[Peregrine Took]

1. But can someone tell me why Obama is STILL "listening" to them?????

It just gives these cretins credibility when they all should be sent to the woodshed - permanently.

[ejpoeta]

5. i wonder that myself. sure, it's great to want bipartisanship...

but the republicans are so used to just ramrodding whatever they want through, it appears any sign of listening to them just incites them to think they can do whatever they want. if they complain enough they'll get what they want. I think bipartisanship would be great. but for people so concerned about the spending, why the hell do you always have to ADD more money to get them to vote for things!!! also, why couldn't obama just tell them, look.... i want to include you, but I am not going to just do whatever you want. your policies are what have gotten us here in the first place. so if you want to get in the way, so be it. but you will only have yourselves to blame. this is supposed to be about getting the economy moving... not scoring political points.

[tularetom]

2. And yet the TV pundits act like boner's opinion means something

And only a few newspaper columnists like Mr Herbert have the balls to point out that it was policies like what boner is proposing that got us into this mess we're in right now. Invertebrates like david gregory treat him like he actually has a valid point of view.

[housewolf]

3. They're like a broken record...

tax cuts.... tax cuts.... tax cuts... tax cuts... tax cuts...

It's the same story over and over and over again

[sandnsea]

4. This is what Democrats should say

and save the fighting for more spending for later.