Obama and the Stimulus Bill

By Evan Rothera

In his campaign, Barack Obama promised to change the status quo. He told enthusiastic audiences that he would be the one to fix the broken system in Washington. Decrying what he dubbed unsavory aspects of the Bush years, Obama promised to end the practice of hiring lobbyists; promised to clean up the culture of corruption; promised to bring hope and change to Washington.

If I had to guess, Obama is probably kicking himself for making these promises. Not because he did not mean them, but rather because he is discovering that the D.C. Beltway culture is a culture of corruption, quid pro quo politics, lobbyists, powerful insiders, politicians turned lawyers, lies, and deceit.

For just one instance of what he’s up against, we would be prudent to consult the travesty of a stimulus bill Congress recently placed on his desk. In the early stages of the process, Obama generously allowed Congressional leaders like Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Harry Reed, and Dick Durbin a large share of control in the process.

The one thing which Obama did not want, he proclaimed, was a bill which was loaded with pet project, or pork. Vice President Biden echoed these sentiments and told Congress that the bill was not going to be like a Christmas tree; that is to say there was not going to be a present for everyone. With their usual degree of sensitivity, Congressional leaders listened and then proceeded to do what they always do: flout the wishes of the president and send him a bill of their design.

What Obama wanted was a bill which would spend money strategically, spurring on the economy, without wasting senseless amounts of money in the process. What he received was a bloated monster of a bill which is filled with illicit pork which will not spur the economy, but will guarantee re-election for most members of Congress. Several ridiculous cases include $30,000,000 for Pelosi’s San Francisco district for preservation of a mouse’s habitat and an undisclosed amount of money for a “Mob Museum” in Las Vegas.

Not only will these projects have a non existent impact on economic recovery, but they will exacerbate the situation because CONGRESS IS WASTING OUR MONEY! Rather than being sensible financial stewards, they have decided to pillage the treasury for personal gain. Every member of Congress who voted for this monstrosity ought to be expelled from Congress, because this bill represents the largest betrayal of the public trust in our history.

I was quite aggravated by the fact that Obama did not protest this disgusting legislation and signed it, even though he himself had said that the bill could not be filled with pork. I wish that Obama had vetoed to bill, sent a sharp message to Congress to clean the bill up, and refused to sign allow such a nightmare to become law. For the sake of the country, I hope that this bill works, but I am afraid that it will only exacerbate the situation.