The Poverty of GOP Politics and that Wily Obama

The news that the White House caved in to the Republicans and was already explaining that this was a "good deal" was initially disconcerting. In the name of stimulating the economy the Republicans gave themselves a healthy paycheck in terms of current income and estate tax. Smelled distinctly like "what's good for me is good for the economy"!

It is being sold that the GOP held Obama "hostage" trading extending unemployment benefits for another 13 months and the cuts he wanted for middle-class families in exchange for maintaining the Bush-Tax Cuts to the wealthy and restoring low tax rates on large inheritances for the next two years.

Strangely that bastion of liberal thought the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) came out with an article highlighting the stimulus effect of this agreement. Essentially they suggest that the package could effectively add some $900 billion to the economy.

National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers was quoted saying "This gave us a chance to do what most people thought wasn't going to be possible in this environment, which is to provide a real forward lift to the economy relatively quickly".

So after reflection I think it is a clever bit of politics by the Obama White House. If the economy picks up, as everyone is suggesting it will, this could carry Obama into a second term.

Some conservative Republicans apparently agree. Sens. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) and Tom Coburn (R., Okla.) were dismayed that the tax package wouldn't require spending cuts to cover the cost of extending unemployment benefits. Of course it would never occur to the esteemed senators that not extending the tax cuts would have done the same thing- but their real fear is that despite not getting spending cuts there will be a beneficial effect to the economy, and that is not really in their interest.

But then again they aren't really interested in a rational discussion. It would seem that the Budget Deficit is only a problem to such ideologues if they have to pay for it.