HISTORY ALWAYS REPEATS ITSELF:

Steele In Their Spines: The Republican revival is underway (Reihan Salam, 02.02.09, Forbes)

As David Brooks has ably described, the stimulus package represents an awkward marriage of long-term Democratic objectives, like pouring more money into higher education and green energy and big-ticket infrastructure projects, and short-term measures that governments at all levels will have an extremely difficult time absorbing. Many of these long-term objectives are very worthy ones that Republicans should embrace as well, particularly efforts to upgrade our physical infrastructure. Yet the speed with which this measure has been pursued means that spending discipline has gone out the window. State governments that receive billions of dollars will have no way to evaluate the efficacy of spending, and so we will find, two or three years hence, that vast sums were wasted, and indeed that vast sums fell into the wrong hands.

Not only have Republicans opposed this ill-conceived free-for-all--they've actually floated a number of more attractive alternatives, including a steep payroll tax cut, a sharp increase in the child tax credit, and offering state governments loans instead of grants. The first would represent an immediate economic boon to all American workers and businesses, the second would benefit hard-hit families, and the third would force state governments to spend responsibly rather than shovel money out the door. If Republicans keep moving in this direction, by backing similarly smart policies on fighting climate change and rising health care costs, President Obama and Congressional Democrats will have a real fight on their hands.

177 House Republicans voted against the popular new president's stimulus package, just as 175 voted against the popular new president's budget package in 1993. There is no downside for the GOP in fighting this stuff.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 2, 2009 10:12 AM