McCaskill and Cantor aTwitter Over Speed vs. Common Sense

Over at Politico's Arena, Pejman Yousefzadeh has written a biting and concise summary of what hard lessons we are all learning or are bound to learn from the events surrounding the stimulus package.

There are a great many things that we are going to learn about the lack of efficacy inherent in Keynesian stimulus efforts. But among other things, we ought to learn--and likely will, once the full implications of this farcical stimulus exercise are known--that rushing exceedingly complicated legislation is a ridiculously bad idea.

This is absolutely right. As Yousefzadeh notes, the question of speed versus common sense came up today on Twitter. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) tweeted (yes, that's really what it's called) earlier today: "Don't know when we're going to vote. Will the no votes delay vote just because they can? Speed is important. They know that." The Senator was making the same fear-mongering implication I've seen on countless websites in the past week or so. Namely, that Republicans are bringing about doomsday by not being quick enough in acquiescing to every Democratic whim in the so-called stimulus package.

Always quick with a response, Republican Minority Whip Eric Cantor tweeted back: "Those in favor of speed over commonsense may just be afraid of letting the People know what they are ramming through." In the words of Yousefzadeh, "quite so."

It is an exceedingly cynical tactic on the part of Democrats and their punditry to foist upon the voter the notion that review of the bill is tantamount to economic suicide. It is absurd, furthermore, to see how many voters are willing to blindly sign on in the name of this new and sudden paramount goal of expediency. It was President Obama himself who promised, on the campaign trail of course, that new legislation during his administration would be given a five day review period, during which time the American people would be able to voice their concerns. Yet here we sit, the Congress being given only one day to review the nearly 800-page document, and the President's promise to have the matter settled by Tuesday of next week remains unaltered. Where is the transparency? Where is the accountability? Well, I'll tell you where it isn't.

Get the new
PD toolbar!

As Jeff Emanuel notes at Redstate.com, it is not in the conference report on the stimulus bill. Leaked documents show that the material and the conference's conclusions were marked "confidential."

It is not, as we saw in last week's confrontation between Jake Tapper and Robert Gibbs, in disclosures regarding Obama's many and flawed political appointments.

It is most certainly not evident when the administration is attempting to cram what could end up being over 3 trillion dollars in spending down the throats of the American public with little opportunity to object or even review, as noted by Dan Spencer of the Examiner earlier today.

The administration and its many allies are prepared to spend the people's money on any old project they see fit to spend it on, no matter how absurd or wasteful. The office of House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) sent Erick Erickson at Redstate a list of ways in which the bill is detrimental to average American families. Regardless of party, you should want those objections and criticisms reviewed. This is America's future at stake, is pushing something through headlong really the best option? Do you favor speed over efficacy?

The stimulus package and the surrounding debate are perilous with bad decision-making and the sacrifice of the will of the people on the altar of fear. Pejman Yousefzadeh ended his article with the clearest and most chilling prediction of the consequences of ramming through something so tremendously complex and obscenely expensive:

"We will repent in leisure what we legislate in haste." If I may say, quite so.




Follow PoliticsDaily On Facebook and Twitter,
and download the new Politics Daily toolbar!