Second Stimulus: GOP Unifies Against More Spending

AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republicans lined up Sunday in opposition to a second economic stimulus package, a rare demonstration of unity from an out-of-power political party in search of a rallying cry against President Barack Obama.

Republicans called Obama's $787 billion spending plan a "flop" and said it hasn't fulfilled its hype. They criticized the White House for increasing the federal deficit and doing little to combat an unemployment rate that hit 9.5 percent in June.

"The reality is it hasn't helped yet," said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. "Only about 6.8 percent of the money has actually been spent. What I proposed is, after you complete the contracts that are already committed, the things that are in the pipeline, stop it."

Obama urged patience with his spending program, which administration officials acknowledge was designed with incorrect or incomplete economic data.

"The stimulus package is working exactly as we had anticipated," Obama told CNN in an interview from Ghana that aired on Sunday.

"We always anticipated that a big chunk of that money then would be spent not only in the second half of the year, but also next year. This was designed to be a two-year plan and not a six-month plan," he said.

Republicans, though, were not willing to sit by idly.

"I do think it is fair to say that the stimulus is a flop," said Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va. "The goal that was set when we passed it was unemployment wouldn't rise past 8.5 percent, and what we see now is businesses just aren't hiring. Even the best projections have us losing 750,000 more jobs this year."

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Congress passed Obama's economic stimulus plan over the objection of out-of-power Republican lawmakers. Since then, GOP aides on Capitol Hill and officials alike have seized on the spending's shortcomings and unfilled promises.

"A lot of it has been spent on ridiculous projects," said Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican who was his party's presidential nominee last year.

Obama's allies defended the spending they helped usher into law.

"It's a two-year plan and we're four months into it," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

Some, including billionaire Warren Buffett, have called for a second round of spending to steady the economy. Obama and his allies have said it's too early to make that decision; his critics, though, pledged to redouble their opposition to any second spending bill.

"I think that would be the biggest mistake we could ever make," McCain said.

Kyl and Durbin appeared on ABC's "This Week." Cantor spoke with "Fox News Sunday." McCain was interviewed on NBC's "Meet the Press."

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Read the whole story: AP

Comments

[jsgaetano]

They oppose this spending, just like they opposed all of Bush's spending.

Oh wait...

[ndnndpendent]

Why would voters chose negativity­....please if you all love this country, next election, vote anything but Republican­.....

[RJII]

if these losers say no to second stimulus, then it's important we have a second stimulus.

do the opposite of whatever these failures say. why is anyone even listening to the GOP anymore.

[Birdman]

Lets see 12 years to screw up the economy 4 months to fix itm sounds about right if you use a GOP calculator made in Georgia.

[blimie]

It is a failure. No more money for those blood sucking parasites.

[ywcachieve]

People, if you want to know what the president is really saying and doing, join his twitter list.
Barack Obama, and The WhiteHouse.

Then you will know the truth, rather than reading all these lies coming from these liars.

[ywcachieve]

Somebody is lying in this article.

The president just said a few days ago, there will be NO second stimulus package.

I just hate liars/

[BlueMist602]

This joke needs to focus on doing his job here in AZ before he gets into this issue. "The reality is it hasn't helped yet," said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz." You haven't helped in your own state you hypocrite!

[BlueMist602]

Of course they have an alternative plan....Ri­ght? GOP = Got 0 plans

[mamacat]

The "Party of No" says no. Wow, I guess there was no way we could have seen that one coming.

[separatingwheatfromchaff]

I see a lot of right wingers here trying to pass the blame around.The­se are the same peckerheads that had nothing bad to say about Bush when he was flushing us down the toilet.Now they want to be partisan and pragmatic.­BS(read the words,not the initials).­Republican­s got us into this cr@p and and now would prefer sharing the blame.BS again.You did it,you own it.

[urweatherman]

Your comment is nothing but BS....Barn­ey Frank, Chris Dodd, and other incompetent dems started this mess in their search for political power and greed! Wise up!

[conservatist2010-12]

you will be unpopular in these pages....I agree totally..I have said this for YEARS...Th­e Liberals will walk off a bridge for a Statist

[OpposingViewpoint]

Second Stimulus? It was the President, just this past week, that said a second stimulus package was not needed.

[rockyersocksoff]

Just call it the "Economic Surge" and the dimwits in the GOP will have to embrace it.

[conservatist2010-12]

your the dimwit...y­ou will be very poor under Obama...yo­u demonize Capitalism,and that is where the money you want to steal comes from...whe­re do you think Obama will get the money so you don't have to work

[Kram]

This is not capitalism, this is corporate fascism. Good grief you are freaking clueless, just like all conservatards.

[rockyersocksoff]

I don't demonize capitalism. I am a painting contractor.

I don't steal money. I earn it by protecting and beautifying people's homes.

Obama is borrowing money to stimulate the economy. A lot of money. An amount that frankly will concern me in the not too distant future. Like most thinking people.

But the GOP spent money just as recklessly in the last decade, even more so, because it was squandered on War and stolen hand over fist, so suk it, hypocryte

I'lll give the smart guy a good long chance to make things better, just like you gave the dumb guy.

[Chironomid]

Being a person who writes and receives government grants as part of his job, I can tell you it's the sad truth that government spending is a poor economic stimulus vehicle. It may have worked in FDR's day, but today's government funded projects have to pass all sorts of filters before they hit the streets -- any project, any funding source. The rules around virtually all government­-to-privat­e or federal-state-local funding paths are all basically the same, and take 9-15 months to work thru at best.

You can add to that a whole myriad of internal rules that public and private recipients of federal funds impose on themselves to assure above-board use and accounting of those funds, and you have a very long road from appropriation to disbursement on Main Street.

There is nothing in the Stimulus Bill that works around any of these obstacles. In fact, all Stimulus funds have a new filter -- how many jobs are you creating with your proposed project? A good question to ask, but realize that people at DOT's, hospitals, county governments, etc etc are not economists and poorly equipped to figure this out. It's not always straightforward.

Unless you're on Wall Street, it's a real slow flow and trying to speed it up will only erode structures that assure appropriate use of federal funds. It's tough to see a way to have it fast and above-board at once.

[gtalkspolitics]

When did Obama ask for a 2nd Stimilus? Please give us the day and time !!!! the fist stimilus has not been spent