Dems Targeting Republicans Snowe, Collins On Stimulus Package

Senate Democrats are targeting their two Republican colleagues from Maine in an effort to ensure a filibuster-proof sixty votes for the stimulus package and, hopefully, produce a wave of bipartisan support for the package.

Aides on Capitol Hill and in Democratic circles say the first target is Sen. Olympia Snowe, the moderate Republican who is known for bucking her party. Should she come on board then Susan Collins, the recently reelected Republican from the same state, could follow suit. Sources predict that the party will get the vaunted 60 votes it needs to cut off debate, but likely not more than 70 (which would require a dozen Republicans voting with the president).

The efforts are part of a larger push by the Obama administration to secure Republican backing for the economic recovery package. The president is scheduled to go to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to visit with GOP officials in the House and Senate.

On Monday, spokesman Robert Gibbs was asked how far Obama was willing to bend in order to ensure that the stimulus package passes Congress by large margins. Gibbs refused to call the meetings on Tuesday as a negotiating session and said that "already there are provisions in this bill ... directly related to suggestions that Republicans have given the economic team, the president of the United States and members of Congress."

On the other hand, Gibbs downplayed the confrontational aspects of the meeting last week in which the president defended his plan by reminding Republicans, "I won."

"This wasn't cowboy diplomacy. This was a rather lighthearted moment in the meeting," Gibbs said. "Because of that bipartisan dialogue," he also said, "we will create a better economic recovery package for the American people when all is said and done."

Not everyone is so convinced. On the Hill, rumblings are slowly emerging from progressive circles that the stimulus package gives too much away in tax cuts when spending projects would produce more jobs. Asked if the composition of the legislation would change -- whether Obama would shrink the spending projects that have drawn Republican ire, or lower the amount of tax cuts in the package -- Gibbs said that "the range of funding that we have now is an appropriate range." But, he added, the president reserves the right to "tinker under the hood with some of the specifics."

Many of the proposals currently being debated were ones that Obama campaigned on during the last two years. Moreover, the current makeup of the package makes it difficult for Republicans to explain their opposition.

"The tax cuts were always a pretty serious part of his campaign," said one high-ranking Democrat. "He was always out there on it.... If you had just put forward a package with only spending, it would have been easy for [Republicans] to vote against this. This doesn't let them do that."

Comments

[mach]

02:41 PM on 01/27/2009

Can anyone explain to me how $650 million in coupons for digital TVS helps stimulate the economy?

How about $21 Million for sod or the $200 million for the national monuments?

The cost of this for every American household is $6700.

What about trying to actual create self sustaining jobs, investment in entrpenuership that starts new companies with new technologies that in turn is productive enough to hire even more employees.

Or, this money could go to each person in the country in the amount of $2700.

Better yet, lets not even spend the money, that our grandshildren will have to pay, at all.

[research]

03:37 PM on 01/27/2009

Sure: Jobs, technology, communication, reminders of our ideals.

Eliminated the federal government, as you GOP as so eager to do, by defunding it, is not going to happen.

You are right about new companies.

The way to do that is for the gov to invest in infrastructure and green energy we need,

but the banks are too afraid and too corrupt to invest in.

Please look up FDR and Hoover and the great depression. We been all over this before.

If the government BUYS infrastructure and energy systems from the PRIVATE sector, the economy will recover.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/users/profile/research

[mach]

06:57 PM on 01/29/2009

thanks for the rhetoric....now lets get specific....your going to pay a few people to re-sod the mall at $21 miilion....then ...well...thats it....how does that create jobs? How does thats stimulate anything....its just another budgetary line item...not stimulus.

Coupons for TVS??? Seriously?? $350 million STD training.....that stimulates jobs? Arent the TVS already manufactured...overseas by the way? Maybe it will promote shipping ....but thats a one shot deal...just another budget line item...not stimulation.

Look again at Hoover and Roosevelt...more spending didnt help a thing....oh and by the way...how much is actually is going to infrastruture spending??

[zul59]

07:27 AM on 01/27/2009

2010 is not that far away.

Keep tab on your Senators and Congressmen/women. Anytime they show their 'country 2nd' face - throw the book at them. Jammed up their mail/email boxes with your protest notes.
For those facing re-election in 2010/2012 - tell them to toe the line, or else.

This Presidential Election have shown what the people's voice can do. Never let them forget that.

[scooperss]

06:54 AM on 01/27/2009

The biggest mistake was putting in tax cuts from the beginning, now O has lost a bargaining tool.

The only way the repubs will jump on board with this bill is if the the bush tax cuts are made permanent, there are more tax cuts for businesses and the estate tax is repealed.

In short, it will be the repub way or they won't vote for it. And if it ends up the repub way, it will be the shortest majority on record for the dems.

Hello THIRD PARTY.

[mach]

02:33 PM on 01/27/2009

Obama has his votes...why do you suppose he is meeting with Reoublicans as of a few minuted ago?

[Paisano]

06:46 AM on 01/27/2009

Once a republican slime bag...always a republican slime bag...

[rosal]

12:55 AM on 01/27/2009

Obama is being too generous. Who will consult, and agree, with Repbsthat in eight short years ( not really) ran the country to the ground?

[dolphy]

11:21 PM on 01/26/2009

We need Willie Brown to talk them into switching to D's, just like he did here in CA. It was hilarious when just before this rethug was going to get the speaker of the house position, a rethug was convinced by wily Willie to switch to D. You should google the rethugs face while he was talking to a reporter after he found out.

[meemu]

10:40 PM on 01/26/2009

Well, I figure the repubs plan is to delay everything as long as possible , so that at the right point for them, they can point out that Obama hasn't done this or that. Keep Obama from accomplishing things he promised, even get him to remove things in the stimulus plan they know would help the average american, so that at the end of a year they can load the blame on him for the economy, which they know is going to get worse. I think Obama is wise to it, I wish him every success in resisting their manipulations. They ARE insidious though, and I hope that he will occasionally give them a real smack-down, just to remind them they are no longer in control. Personally--I believe it's time for another smack-down right now.

[teasley]

10:38 PM on 01/26/2009

Obama won, he doesn't need any Republicans. I think he should leave the Republicans out of package altogether. That way he and the Democrats can take all the credit for the stimulus . No need to share the credit.

[steveo39]

10:55 PM on 01/26/2009

Exactly. Doesn't 58 votes (59 when Franken is finally seated) get you anything?

[Chris]

09:22 AM on 01/27/2009

Actually no it does not.

[Chris]

09:23 AM on 01/27/2009

Or all the blame if some how continuing to cut taxes and increase spending does not work . For 8 years that appraoch has not work but I am sure sicne Mr. Obama is signing it will work this time.

[Tidyus]

10:29 PM on 01/26/2009

I'll bet Sue Collins has not screwed up on her taxes. She is the only senator who could see through Rummy and question him and make him squirm. She is so miles ahead of Clinton.

[goatboyslim]

12:03 PM on 01/27/2009

Yeah,except she voted with Bush 80 to 90 % of the time.

[GuyPere]

09:57 PM on 01/26/2009

The question is what do they love more the Republican party or the country.

[meemu]

10:47 PM on 01/26/2009

I think what they love is $$$$$---the republican party is just a vehicle to get more. There's no limit to their greed. I think P. Obama has given them too much in tax cuts already, and if they influenced him to add more than his original plan, no doubt they believe they can probably get more, which is good incentive for them to hold out.

[mach]

02:44 PM on 01/27/2009

And yet it is the republicans who are the ones opposed to spending all this money....yeah, that makes sense.

[Chris]

09:25 AM on 01/27/2009

Dems are calling out patriotism. Really. It was horrible when the Bush Administration did this but now it is ok?

Disagree does not mean you do not love you country.

[Dayahka]

09:45 PM on 01/26/2009

We definitely need a stimulus package. But the package as it now stands is not worth warm spit, and should be rejected by any Republican or Democrat who's not brain dead. The current package is nothing but a mass of pork, short-term funding for make-do jobs that have no strategic value to the country. The whole thing should be tossed and then re-designed and presented again for consideration. Rushing to "complete" a brain-dead package is no solution to anything. And adding bits and pieces to "satisfy" Republicans so they'll vote for it is simply adding idiocy onto idiocy.

[chitown8]

09:43 PM on 01/26/2009

I say only include Republican Senators from the north and only the ones that are retiring. Let the southern strategy pull them out of their own mess. That means you Mccain! I hope Phoenix will remember you.

[redbike]

08:46 PM on 01/26/2009

Another Mainer here. I think Snowe & Collins can be persuaded to vote for the stimulus package, though they'll want some tax cuts in the mix. My recollection is that they had concerns about W's tax cuts, though I can't remember how they voted on them. They're both big on small business, which is the backbone of the state's economy. It's definitely worth a shot; a lot moreso than writing to many other R's.

[SillyGit]

12:36 PM on 01/27/2009

The stimulus package is already 1/3 tax cuts. It is not likely to have more tax cuts added since history has shown that tax cuts do not stimulate the economy very much if at all. Tax cuts are used by most to pay down debt and not to purchase new items. This is why the package is 2/3 spending. The 1/3 tax cuts is so that the Republicans have something to support in the package. If they want to prove to U.S citizens that they don't care if the economy collapses completely, they are doing a fine job. BTW, I am a big fan of Snowe. She's one of the very few Republicans I would gladly vote for.

Stay warm. If I could find a job in ME, it's where I would live.

[research]

08:31 PM on 01/26/2009

Sure, cut taxes for those making less than 250k.

Raise them for those making over 250K.

"effective" corporate taxes are lower in the USA then Europe:

"The U.S. corporate tax burden is smaller than average for developed countries.[1] Corporations in 19 of the member states of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development paid 16.1 percent of their profits in taxes between 2000 and 2005, on average, while corporations in the United States paid 13.4 percent."

So stop the offshore tax havens.

Please keep in mind that the republicans don't respect the "mob". They don't tell you what thy really think or want.

The Republicans tell you whatever they think will get you to do what they want.

The GOP Agenda is:

Robber Barons rule and the rest of us are starving peasants.

Socialism for the Rich,

Bare Knuckle Capitalism for the people.

Go ahead and try to get enough votes to override a filibuster.

But if the GOP is up to past performances, they will delay, wast time, distract, then come together and filibuster.

Then you will have to change the senate rule back to the original majority rule.

It won't do to say, " well we tried but we couldn't stop the GOP Filibuster"

Our economy won't survive more GOP obstruction.

[Art Vose]

07:46 PM on 01/26/2009

Seaglass you paint a bleak picture of Maine. The last report by the census late 08 put the population at just over 1.3 million , which was an increase over the previous year. The unemployment rate is high but certainly not much higher than most surrounding states. The southern part of the state is not experiencing the job losses that the northern part is. The economy is hurting all over the country.