The lesson of the House Vote.

[demiurgent]

That's right. When the vote came, not one Republican voted for it. Meetings at the White House and all the rest led to... not one vote.

I'm not commenting on the package in general, mind. This is, to use the term, a process story.

For the next two years, this is how it's going to run. The Republicans are going to vote 'nay' unless they bring the bill to the floor. They're going to find something to oppose in any bill, whether it's a good one or not. They're going to play hardball. They're going to have their ranks closed. They're going to shut down whatever they can shut down, and they're going to oppose, period. It's been a long time since we've been in this situation, so let me reiterate the lesson of Bill Clinton's first congress to President Obama:

No one. No one. No one is better than the Republican party on defense. No one.

If the Democrats want to have a prayer of retaining Congress in two years, they need to close ranks and do shit. There can be no more 'serious concerns' out of the Democrats over things President Obama proposes. Not in the media. Not publicly. Obama on the other side of the equation must must must sit down with Congressional leaders before going public with anything, and must iron out differences before they begin.

This is Varsity League shit, and if the Democrats show any of the chickenshit divisiveness they're so famous for, there's going to be a bloodbath in 2010.

(And if you're gearing up to respond about what a pork-laden excess the stimulus package was, go back to the beginning. This is a post about strategy. Don't mistake the content for the structure.)

Comments

[holzman.livejournal.com]

Better still, when the stimulus plan starts creating jobs the Republicans are all on record being against it. That doesn't play well for them in 2010.