Some telling quotes from the Porkulus discussion and vote:

"This is a spending bill, not a stimulus bill."

Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee

"A stimulus bill that was supposed to be timely, targeted and temporary is none of the above, . . . And this means Congress is about to approve a stimulus that's unlikely to have much stimulative effect."

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell

“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.”

Rahm Emanuel, Obama Chief of Staff

Porkulus, that pork-bloated, semi-stimulus package has achieved a major victory, and has become a political reality.  Let’s review what’s happened since the inauguration:

• Porkulus is written by Rep David Obey and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
• Republicans take aim at Porkulus – for wastefulness, pork, liberal programs
• Obama goes on the attack, blaming the GOP for the crisis (although Democrats have had a majority in Congress for the last two years, and Democratic Sens Dodd and Frank headed the Finance Committee)
• Obama takes a road trip, predicting gloom and doom without Porkulus
• Obama insists that action must be taken right away – that delay will only worsen the crisis
• Three liberal-leaning Republicans are coaxed to vote for Porkulus
• Porkulus wins

Since when is a bill so urgent that there is no time to discuss and debate it fully?  When President Obama and the Democratic leadership say so.  The Republicans scored an initial victory in influencing voters that Porkulus was indeed full of pork.  But the Democrats’ calamitous tone convinced many that something had to be done.  So, relatively few concessions were made, and the biggest spending package in history passed easily.

See the 2/5 Commentary below for some of Porkulus’ excesses – most survived the cut. 

There was an excellent editorial on 2/12 on National Review Online, detailing the rolling back of Clinton’s welfare reform in Porkulus to appease the ACORN crowd.   The editors went on to say:  “The Democrats are stuffing years’ worth of legislation into their “stimulus” bill. They are operating in the legislative shadows, evading scrutiny and debate, while enacting an expansion of the welfare state that would never survive a more considered process.”

But, what of the transparency Obama promised?  In campaign comments captured YouTube, Obama promised that as president, "When there's a tax bill being debated in Congress, you will know the names of the corporations that would benefit and how much money they would get, and we will put every corporate tax break and every pork barrel project online for every American to see; you will know who asked for them and you can decide whether your representative is actually representing you."

There was none of this – it was all done in the shadows, as the editors of NRO articulated.  This is just one in a string of broken campaign promises.  Where is the change, President Obama?  Is it just that the victories are being scored by liberals now?

2/10/09  COMMENTARY – A VICTORY FOR PORKULUS

President Obama’s stimulus/spending package, Porkulus, earned its first victory on Monday, February10th.  The Senate voted 61-37 to pass the measure, one more vote than the required 60.  Only Republicans took a stand against the pork-riddled bill, accounting for all 37 “no” votes.

A limited compromise, shaving $108 billion from the original requested $930 billion, convinced three Republicans to jump ship - Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.  All three are already signaling they'll play hardball to preserve the $108 billion in cuts.  Hopefully, when the Democrats go back on their word, they’ll come back to make a united stand against Porkulus.

The next step will entail reconciliation between the House and Senate bills.  Democratic leaders have vowed to deliver legislation for President Barack Obama's signature within a few days.

Republicans, in general, have frequently attacked Porkulus, describing it as too costly and unlikely to have the desired effect on the economy.  Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee summed it up when he said, "This is a spending bill, not a stimulus bill."

Mr. Obama continues to promote this bloated bill, however, saying, “What it does not contain … is a single pet project, not a single earmark, and it has been stripped of the projects members of both parties found most objectionable.”  This is, of course, total nonsense.  The bill is rife with liberal projects and pork – see examples in the commentary below.

He went on to say, however, “… despite all of this, the plan's not perfect. No plan is. I can't tell you for sure that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hope(d).”  This statement was truthful, and will cushion the blow if the plan passes, crashes and burns.

As the President was closing his address, he stated that, “the strongest democracies flourish from frequent and lively debate, but they endure when people of every background and belief find a way to set aside smaller differences in service of a greater purpose.”  He is a very eloquent speaker.  The problem is that the Democrats are not encouraging debate, but trying to take advantage of numbers, and forcing Porkulus through.  Also, the last time we checked, hundreds of billions of dollars represented more than “small differences.” 

2/5/09  COMMENTARY – THE COMING OF PORKULUS