Obama, Pelosi To Discuss Economic Recovery Plan On Monday

President-elect Barack Obama will meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday as Congress prepares to reconvene and debate a massive recovery plan for the nation's struggling economy, according to Democratic sources.

The face-to-face meeting between two of the nation's top Democrats will be one of the president-elect's first acts after relocating his family to a hotel in Washington over the weekend.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[lotr8399]

Please tell me that Nancy Pelosi was badly misquoted:

"Poor people are a luxury we just can"t afford," said Rep. Pelosi, "They cost us a lot of money to maintain; what with food stamps, housing and health care. So if we can rapidly reduce the number of poor people through contraception and abortion, that"s a net gain for federal and state budgets, and a fast track to economic recovery. Every poor baby prevented is like money in the bank."

Please tell me this is not the new face of the democratic party. Please please please. Poor children are an economic liability? Really?

Sarah

[themodernleader]

Political Amazon. Your perceptions are quite thoughtful and accurate, it seems to me. I do believe, though, that the sabatoge to our infrastructure is not the result of short term unemployed. Such responsible citizens don not suddenly become unhinged and law breakers. Even if they were totally without money, they would still behave civilly. I believe that the thieves of copper wiring and pipe are essentially of the permanently unemployed. Such individuals are commonly driven by some expensive and illegal drug addiction. Such dangerous individuals have no allegiance to anything related to the Republic. They see prision as a different society, not a punishment. They are amoral. Sense of shame or guilt are alien emotions. Destroying a community is seen as a means of opening opportunity of pillage of more buildings and public infrastructure.
Such people are dangerous. Such an underclass is a clear and present menace to civilized society. We must provide work in a strictly regulated environment for such individuals and most of their wages must be sent back to their families for support. Gradually, the habits of hard work, reliance and sacrifice become engrained for the benefit of the country.

[Americanium]

Nancy Pelosi.....Bush's door mat..

[PoliticalAmazon]

She's no one's doormat. No congressional politician is a doormat, nor are they stupid or a bad strategian. To get to that level of politics a politician has to be extremely ruthless, very intelligent, and very, very manipulative. Nancy Pelosi is all of that, with an exponent.

The two phrases "congressional politician" and "wimpy and spineless" are two mutually exclusive phrases. For one to be true the other must be false.

We like to think that it is because of their weakness, stupidity, or inability to out-maneuver rivals, that is the cause for the Dem politicians in Congress voting more times for the best interests of Bush/Cheney and the neocons than they have for the best interests (and demands) of their constituents. It is easier to believe that than to acknowledge the truth: they vote for Bush/cheney and the neocons because it suits their own best interests. It is to their advantage to support Bush/Cheney and the neocons.

The fact that it has and is harming America is not really a concern to them. At that level of power in our country our best interests are simply not a concern.

[swo68]

So...there are no wimpy and spineless congressional politicians. Now that is pure comedy.

[Jain]

Really? How does an Obama fit in your concepts? Your reasoning is only good for , oh, weak, spineless sellout, doormats....

[Sweetbay]

Our new Prez is going to need our help to keep the obstructionists from voting against this stimulus. We need to flood our representatives' e-mails with letters telling them we want them to vote for the President's package. I hope that Americans who are represented by Eric Cantor and John Boehner and Mitch McConnell will tell them that their time is over and Americans want their jobs back. These guys are going out of their way to oppose this stimulus. I heard on the news that Mitch McConnell is looking for economists who will testify that this stimulus is bad for the economy. I will be writing to all my representatives again, and I am going to keep hounding them to make sure this passes. I hope my fellow Floridians will do the same.

[Americanium]

I wish that the GOP would block the stimulus..In the face of huge unemployment numbers..massive recession and business closures, I dare them to block it.. 2010 election will be a blood bath.

[Sweetbay]

I wish I had your faith in the electorate. But, I don't think the majority of voters pay attention. How else do you explain mcCain/Palin getting 57M votes? I can't understand that.

[PoliticalAmazon]

This close after the election, flooding their offices with anything won't do much good. They've already lied to us and made promises that they will almost immediately start breaking again, as is the usual gig for them.

They will do what is in their own best interests to do. They always do. If they don't vote the way their lobbiests and funders want, the lobbiests and funders, and providers of gifts and privileges, will cut them off.

If they don't do what they promised us they will do, we will show them, by God, and continue to vote them back into office like the good little doormats they have trained us to be.

If you want to change how our elected politicians interact with their constituents, we have to vote the ones who don't do what they promised out of office. Otherwise, there is no reason whatsoever to not keep using us as doormats.

[themodernleader]

Where are the short and long range plans to keep this country from being submerged by lawlessness and unhinged jobless men, especially young people? Around here there is an epidemic of cutting the services of big buildings--occupied and unoccupied-- and stealing the copper wire. If we do not put our young people to work, our nation's infrastructure will be destroyed and freedom sacrificed.

[PoliticalAmazon]

This will be a difficult problem. Part of the unemployment we have now is called "structural unemployment." It is the hardest, most expensive, and takes the longest time to deal with.

Structural unemployment results when producing citizens with a set of skills suited for the job they are doing, who are a resource for a nation and who contribute to the worth of the nation, for no fault of their own, become unemployed. This type of unemployment results from companies sending jobs overseas. They have to be retrained to the point where they were before they lost their job, and this takes time. Meanwhile, that citizen is not contributing to the nation's worth; they are drawing from it.

A nation contributes its existing resources to its citizens in getting them to the point where they're working at a FT job, actively contributing back to the nation. Along the way a citizen has used the nation's resources in the form of education, food, clothing, housing, infrastructure, etc. If that citizen has their job sent overseas, a large part of the nation's resources used to get the citizen to that point will be lost; when the job is lost to another country, that nation's resoruces related to that job are lost, as well.

A majority of people want to work. They don't want to lose their jobs. If the nation doesn't help them return to productivity, they'll support themselves in other ways; that includes stealing copper and robbing other citizens.

[lovesds]

Who cares about Pelosi. She is not worth the time. If I were Obama i would tell her the way it is going to be and end of story. Pelosi is a useless person. She gave Bush what he wanted to. She had nerve to tell Obama what she was going to do and don't question her. Screw you Pelosi.

[PoliticalAmazon]

Obama doesn't have that luxury. Our country is destabilized enough as it is. To destabilize it more would be foolish.

Obama is arrogant. He does not react to people telling him what he can and cannot do. When she told him he could not contact any of the congressional Dem reps without asking her first, she set in motion a process that will end up not in her favor. Obama doesn't respond to what people like Pelosi tell him to do. He simply goes on doing what he was planning to do anyway.

Eventually she may be replaced, but it won't be soon. Obama will have to earn the backing of the Dems in Congress first before he can take her on head-to-head in her arena, Congress. But until that happens, she should be aware of what is going on, because Obama will have his way.

She was stupid to tell him what to do. Or she's more arrogant than he is. Either way, she will come out the loser in this one.

[rollingdivision]

Democrat pork fest. This is the biggest rush for pork in history orchestrated by the very same people who railed against the nickel and dime pork of the Rep congress.

[vjoseph]

Projecting again

[helenwheels]

Here is a good graphic of the New Global Wealth and how it is set up.

You are powerless to do squat about it, so I wonder if Obama will make a dent. My guess is "no."

This has been in the works for decades.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Bm-dom-QpZo/SV1dDbDy-LI/AAAAAAAAAJA/JRXAqUwW0wE/s1600-h/globalwealthmachine.jpg

[LesserOf2Evils]

Where are the thousands of comments telling us that Obama is not yet the President, so he can't do anything, say anything, or have any impact on anything.

Oh, I see, that line of thinking only applies to him AVOIDING the bombings in Gaza.
If anyone really wants to know what Democrats think about Gaza, then just google what Pelosi had to say about it. Obama obviously agrees with her.

[helenwheels]

Hey, Sulky Sam, why don't you go cry somewhere else, like Freeperville? You won't garner much sympathy here.

[LesserOf2Evils]

I'm not after sympathy, or looking for people to validate what I believe. I'm just trying to get people to get after the Democrats to work for peace, not for war. What are you doing helen, advocating for more war?

[Americanium]

What has the actual President said or done???

[PoliticalAmazon]

I agree. It is obvious BS to say "tehre is only one persident at a time" for some situations and not others.

He could honor a big0t by having him give the invocation at his inauguration. He has made numerous appointments and statements designed to stop the economy from deteriorating further. He has been able to vacation and golf. He has been able to set up meetings between the religious right and his policy advisors.

But he cannot make a statement about the slaughter in Gaza. AND one of the religious right gruops he is courting is the J.ewish religious right.

I get it, Obama. You're preparing to be yet another American lap-dog for the Israelis.

[kid5rivers2]

Noted.

[sheila]

so the test will be:

do they implement policies so that THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WILL OWN RENEWABLE ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE ON THEIR OWN PROPERTIES OR POLICIES THAT CONTINUE TO DESTROY THE PLANET FOR BIG ENERGY PROFITS (this time using Industrial Wind and Solar instead of Gas, Coal and Oil)???

we have a shot at energy independence, hundreds of thousands of jobs, improved property values, an engaged public and improved conservation - with all of us getting checks for clean power we produce on our own properties without killing the wilderness or re-monopolizing the energy industry. guaranteed financing, incentives and feed in tariffs are all we need to cover the nation's structures with solar and microwind, which WE will own.

will our elected officials take this opportunity to empower and enrich US or will they cower and snivel and give the keys to the kingdom to the new Big Energy Robber Barons who are pretending that killing off millions of acres of open spaces, destroying ecosystems, sucking billions of gallons of scarce groundwater and slaughtering every plant and animal in their path is "renewable?"

[motoGpifupleez]

"....Republicans raising concerns about the impact of the deficit....."

What a joke. They didn't seem to mind the deficits when that money was flowing into the coffers of their private contractor donor buddies. Amazing what a change in your political fortunes can do to your outlook. Obstructionism will lead to more liberal dominance.

Please, McConnel and Baynor, obstruct to your rotten little heart's content.

[CharlesJ]

I would like to challange any of our elected democratic and republican officials that have even the slightest twinge that they are against this bail out that they do the following for one week:

Park your car and give the keys to a trusted friend that will refuse to give you access or the vehicle back for one week.
While your at it, hand over the keys to your home and give complete control to all your assets including all cash to an attorney or very trusted friend that again will refuse you access to anyt hing that was yours for a period of one week.
All you can have is $200 cash, the clothes on your back, plus two changes and one pair of shoes. You must all contact with any one you know behind, you are on your own in any large metro city (not including your home state and the DC Area). You can NOT make contact with any one you know and you must live on that $200 for one week including putting a roof over your head, all food and transportation.
Give it a try and then come back and tell me that the economic plan is too expensive and you can not support the average working American.

[scooperss]

Don't you get it? They want YOU to support their lazy azzess. That's why they fixed it so their raise kicks in automatically every year UNLESS they vote not to accept.

I still haven't figured out how they expect the American people to support them if they don't have jobs or money.

Guess they'll have to get their salaries from elsewhere, won't they?

[Sweetbay]

Charles,
Your challenge sounds amusing, but I think what would be more effective is if you would send an e-mail to your representatives telling them that you want them to support the new Prez's stimulus package. I'm pretty sure this is what Obama wants us to do to stay engaged in the democratic process.

[CharlesJ]

trust me they know exactly how I feel. I am very engaged in this process with in my own state.
We replaced a republican for a democrat and he knows what is expected when it comes to this economy, he also understands the power of the vote.

[harriscrl3]

Glad to see Obama isnt taking any chance with the dems. You cant depend on them its not that they dont want to help the American people its that they are weak kneed and you dont know when they are going to wuss out on you.

Carol

[LiberalDemIda]

I'm glad Obama is too, however, I disagree with your theory about our elected Dems.

I don't believe they ever wanted to help the American people.

We'd otherwise have single-payer universal healthcare, no war of choices, and Ch. 7 BK would've been left untouched since, according to an attorney friend of mine, it's the ONLY law ever enacted by Congress that benefits the underprivileged in this country. There'd be no Patriot Act, no second ratification of the intrusive Patriot Act that destroys 9 out of 10 of our Bill of Rights, and no allowing of deregulation of SEC oversight - just for starters.

Dems aren't "wussing out" on us. They're doing exactly what they planned then play dumb when they're called on it. Unfortunately. They are, however, better than the neocons, if that's any consolation.

[harriscrl3]

I was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt but I do agree with you they are not out to help the American people rather its themselves but at least they are better than the republicans.

Carol

[PoliticalAmazon]

Yes, thank you. It is obvious that the Dems in Congress are serving their own best interests. And why shouldn't they? No matter how many times they vote for measures that harm our country and our people, we vote them right back into office.

No reason to pay attention to a willing doormat.

[BritishColumbian]

Amazing move By PE Obama and his transition team to fan out to explain and promote his stimulous package directly to Americans!! Transparency and connection with the voters at its finest. He is setting the bar hopefully for other leaders including our own conservative neocon Stephen Harper!