Republicans lack a party line on economy
Without strong leadership or the political capital to oppose a popular president, the fractured GOP can't agree on options for the economic stimulus package.
By Mark Z. Barabak and Janet Hook
LA Times
January 30, 2009
Reporting from San Francisco and Washington — Donald Manzullo, a House Republican from Illinois, has proposed a $5,000 voucher for anyone buying a new car. Kentucky's Mitch McConnell, the Senate GOP leader, favors a temporary suspension of the payroll tax. Jim DeMint, a Republican senator from South Carolina, wants to permanently cut the federal income tax.
As Republicans fight President Obama's gargantuan economic plan, they have plenty of ideas. What they don't have is a party-wide consensus: They can't agree among themselves on the best alternative, or on whether government action is even needed to pull the economy from its nose dive.
The House passed an $819-billion version of the stimulus bill Wednesday without a single Republican voting in favor. Still, Obama and fellow Democrats hope for at least some GOP support in the Senate, where a more collaborative -- and expensive -- bill is taking shape. Many Republican governors, meanwhile, have already begun calculating how to spend their share of any federal bailout.
"There is not a coherent Republican message at this moment," conceded lobbyist Vin Weber, a former GOP House member.
(More here.)
By Mark Z. Barabak and Janet Hook
LA Times
January 30, 2009
Reporting from San Francisco and Washington — Donald Manzullo, a House Republican from Illinois, has proposed a $5,000 voucher for anyone buying a new car. Kentucky's Mitch McConnell, the Senate GOP leader, favors a temporary suspension of the payroll tax. Jim DeMint, a Republican senator from South Carolina, wants to permanently cut the federal income tax.
As Republicans fight President Obama's gargantuan economic plan, they have plenty of ideas. What they don't have is a party-wide consensus: They can't agree among themselves on the best alternative, or on whether government action is even needed to pull the economy from its nose dive.
The House passed an $819-billion version of the stimulus bill Wednesday without a single Republican voting in favor. Still, Obama and fellow Democrats hope for at least some GOP support in the Senate, where a more collaborative -- and expensive -- bill is taking shape. Many Republican governors, meanwhile, have already begun calculating how to spend their share of any federal bailout.
"There is not a coherent Republican message at this moment," conceded lobbyist Vin Weber, a former GOP House member.
(More here.)
Powered by Blogger
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home