Posted on 02/04/2009 1:33:46 PM PST by pabianice
Sen. Olympia Snowe said that President Obama has agreed to re-evaluate spending measures in the economic recovery plan, to "scrub" from it items that may not have an immediate stimulative impact.
The moderate Republican said that of $366 billion in discretionary spending contained in the bill, only 12 percent would be spent within a year - and that 12 percent is giving the president "100 percent heartburn." Snowe, one of the "Gang of 14" who is now part of a group of centrist lawmakers who met with Obama at the White House this afternoon, told reporters afterward that he agreed to a process in which a bipartisan group would more closely vet the overall bill.
"He said he understands that it needs to be scrubbed," she said. "He's prepared to be receptive to the ideas and to reevaluating some of the spending measures that were included that are raising questions about whether they are stimulative."
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
Translation: He doesn’t have the votes to shove it down our throats, so he’s pretending not to like the bill as written.
Hey, Pelosi! That knife that’s sticking out of your back right now? Guess who put it there.
by their fruit shall ye judge them.
He doesn’t have the votes, so he will now disavow the House vote, and say he never liked it in the first place.
Throw Pelosi under the bus? Maybe that is why Pelosi seems more unusual than ‘normal.’
Don’t get excited yet. I smell TARP-style antics, where the first version goes down to resounding protest, only come back with almost no real change but much bipartisan fanfare.
The Republicans had better hold the line on this, and simply REFUSE to go along with anything that looks like spending. That includes welfare checks disguised as “tax cuts”.
He certainly does have the vote but he is scared. He and the democrats know that this welfare and pork bill is going to be a disaster and they want some Republicans to support it in order to share the blame or even blame it all on the few Republicans who voted for it.
I’m not getting getting my hopes up.
RINOs reducing the cost by a barely discernable 50 billion and providing priceless political cover to the Bamster.
Obama doesn't get to scrub anything. He signs the bill that Nancy and Harry send him - EXACTLY AS WRITTEN...... or he doesn't.
Snowe has been a Senator for a couple of decades, and she STILL doesn't understand that? (another rhetorical question)
He just got his skinny rear beat by 41 Republicans.
Yes, you have it exactly.
This reminds me of the Clinton debacle with health care.
How could anyone believe that anything like this would be acceptable?
BHO starts out badly.
The entire thing is poison. All republicans should stay away from it.
Hype. Trial Balloon. Bitter Clingers Are Revolting. Do Not Believe It. It’s all part of the disinformation campaign. Anything coming out of this pie hole is crap.
He does have the votes. He just wants to be able to say that if the bill passes and then makes matters worse, he can pin this disaster on the Republicans as well.
This is the type of bipartisanship the Democrats believe in. It is called 'Let's share the blame when the SH^T hits the fan'.
You bet he wants Republicans onboard. He'd be lost once his ship goes down and he couldn't say "Republicans wanted this too!"
Laugh of the day. Snowe is as liberal as they come.
Not that I trust this to be totally factual but, oh how the minions will howl if true.
“Hey, Pelosi! That knife that’s sticking out of your back right now? Guess who put it there.”
Ya beat me to it. My thoughts exactly. That may be the comeuppance she needs...I doubt it though.
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