We Have A Stimulus Package

The House and Senate reached an agreement on the stimulus package yesterday. Good for them. That was fairly quick. Obama should be signing it some time next week. Hallelujah! We have begun reframing the fundamental assumptions of American governance! Can I get an Amen!

The NY Times puts it well:

[F]or Democrats the stimulus bill is the most prominent display yet that they now fully control Washington. Their ability to push the package forward represented a turnabout from years of losing battles under President George W. Bush. For Republicans, it underscored the limits of their diminished ranks.

Which limits of diminished ranks the Republicans are still struggling to deal with. Hee hee hee. Naturally, they are complaining about lack of bipartisanship.

Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, complained that despite Mr. Obama’s call for bipartisan cooperation, Republicans had largely been shut out. “We didn’t have a chance to negotiate,” Mr. Grassley said.

Maybe if they had been a little more concerned about bipartisanship when Karl Rove was accusing Democrats of being unpatriotic when they questioned Bush's policies, Democrats would be a little more open to being bipartisan these days.

I am a firm believer in listening to your opponents respectfully, and one reason that I am a big Obama fan is that he believes the same thing. I think Obama made an honest effort to reach out to Republicans, and several responded. But if no one in your party votes for a bill, you're not sending out positive bipartisan vibes.

But we have a stimulus package!