GOP Vote On Stimulus Was the Very Definition Of Partisan

I'm not even saying it's a bad thing, but let's tell it like it is: The Republicans' votes on the stimulus package, both in the House and the Senate, were intensely partisan. If deluded conservative bloggers are that anxious to get a bipartisan gold star, if they think that mark is important, hey, shine it up, but they're just wrong.

In the House, only one party voted strictly along party lines. I'll give you a hint, it rhymes with Xepublicans. A less honest writer might even try to make the case that the 11, then 7, Democrats who crossed the aisle did so because Dems are paragons of conscience, but I won't do that. Their opposition was meaningless, except to their fortunes in their own districts.

In the Senate, 3 Republicans fearfully bucked their party, facing vilification by their own base. You could even argue that the Democrats were the partisan ones here, except that the creation of the stimulus package has been the result of unprecedented outreach and compromise by President Obama. Even after all of the contortions he went through, the GOP gave up just enough votes to avoid being blamed for its obstruction.

They played politics with America's future. If they were truly acting out of conscience, then they would have filibustered the measure. Have you heard any of them say "Boo!" about a filibuster? No, because they know that there would be a political price to pay.

Still, if you want to score it a tie for bipartisanship, I don't really care. The Democrats have been bending over the aisle for years, I don't consider it a virtue. I'd rather be right than bipartisan.

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