Senate passes stimulus package
Now the trick is reconciling the House and Senate versions, Washington Post reports. Obama thoughtfully reserves the best quotes for himself:
“When the town is burning, we don’t check party labels,” Obama said. “Everyone needs to grab a hose!”
Mitch McConnell, the Republican senator from Kentucky, summarized what must’ve been on a lot of people’s minds, even those of us who don’t listen to Rush and company:
In debate before today’s Senate vote, Republican leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) sought to distance the legislation from Obama, who is riding a wave of post-inauguration popularity. He said Republicans had expected Obama to be the author of the stimulus plan. Instead, “it ended up being written by some of the longest-serving Democrats in the House of Representatives, and it showed,” McConnell said.
The outlines of the plan I’ve seen seem primarily larded up with Democratic pet projects. Perhaps the GOP objections have been overblown for partisan purposes (imagine that) — the money will get spent; it’s not like it’s being fire-hosed into space — but I need to see more evidence that borrowing all this money gets the gears of the economy moving again.