NRO has a break down. Some low-lights:
$4.2 billion for “neighborhood stabilization activities” (Ok, liberals, please define this)
$88 million to help move the Public Health Service into a new building (Why do they need a new building? Can’t they carry their stuff over to the new one themselves?)
$448 million for constructing a new Homeland Security Department headquarters (What’s wrong with where they are now?)
$87 million for a polar icebreaking ship (But Al Gore says we’re warming up, so why do we need this?)
$55 million for Historic Preservation Fund (History can preserve itself at least until the recession is over)
$7.6 billion for “rural community advancement programs” (Ok, liberals, please define this)
$8 billion for innovative-technology loan-guarantee program (Who gets to decide what is an “innovative-technology” and how do we differentiate such from some Congressman’s brother-in-law tinkering in his garage?).
$2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstration projects (Why demonstrate it? It either works, or it doesn’t)
$79 billion for State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (Ok, so we’re going to stabilize the States which have profligately spent themselves into de-facto bankruptcy…who’s going to stabilize Uncle Sam?)
The reason why all House GOPers and 11 heroic House Democrats voted against this dog of a bill is because it is, pure and simple, garbage…and while we all expected it to sail through the Senate, it appears that the courage shown in the House has stiffened some Senate spines, including – it must be noted – among some Democrats. We might have the making for a genuine coalition in Congress to ensure that we do actually get some change over the next four years – not the bogus change of Obama and his Democrats, but some real change which might even bring a bit of morality and common sense in to the way we conduct business. Right now, I don’t see this bill passing as it is – by a large measure, Obama’s first big effort is coming apart at the seams, though whatever comes through will have Obama’s name on it, and he’ll get credit – however undeserved – if sensible GOP and Democrat Congressmen craft a worthwhile bill in spite of Obama’s insistence on pushing this lousy “stimulus” bill.
If we pass the Obama-Pelosi-Reid plan, we’re doomed to years of economic depression…if we can at least take out the worst of the pork and add some genuine stimulus, we might crawl out of this hole in 2010 or 2011. It looks like we might dodge the worst of Obama’s plan – but only if we stand firm.
And you Obamabots out there who were insisting, per your messiah, that we had to move quickly: Shame on you!
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