Opposing The Stimulus Bill Will Hurt Republicans in 2010-- As Well As The Handful Of Reactionary Democrats Making Common Cause With Them

Heath Shuler-- jackass, yes; Democrat, not a chance

Let me see if I've got this right. The U.S. economy is in a steep slide that could turn our mean recession into a real live Depression. "Business investment, commercial construction, home building and exports all fell steeply, most of them doing so for the first time since the recession began 13 months ago. Data released this week suggested that the decline had continued. As for consumer spending, in only one other quarter since records were first kept in 1947 have final sales of goods and services produced in America fallen so much." President Obama won a sweeping mandate for Change less than 3 months ago and has an historically high approval rating. His Stimulus proposals to rescue the economy is widely approved by the public.

But every single Republican in the House-- plus 11 reactionary Democrats, over half of whom are Dixiecrats and 10 of whom usually vote with Republicans on controversial issues (Allen Boyd, Bobby Bright, Jim Cooper, Brad Ellsworth, Parker Griffith, Frank Kratovil, Walt Minnick, Collin Peterson, Heath Shuler and Gene Taylor)-- voted against the president's plan to save the economy. And today the most right wing of all Senate Democrats, Nebraska loon Ben Nelson, ran to his friends at Fox News to broadcast that he's against the Stimulus package, which he seems to think needs more of the kinds of GOP poison that have wrecked the economy to begin with.

In 40 traditionally Republican congressional districts currently held by Democrats-- like the 11 who crossed the aisle and joined the GOP in voting against the Stimulus Package-- 64% of the voters favor the bill and only 27% are opposed. The pollster claims that "an incumbent's support for the economic plan appears to make voters more likely to reelect the lawmaker-- particularly good news for the 20 or so Democrats who in November captured districts that former President Bush carried in 2004. He said one-third of Republicans and two-thirds of independents are leaning with Obama's general goals on the recovery."

This could play out very badly for the most right-wing of Democrats in 2010. Slimy Blue Dog Allen Boyd (FL), who voted against the Stimulus bill (and against most important Democratic initiatives), has already withdrawn from the Florida Senate race, understanding that the right-wingers will vote for the Republican and liberals and moderates would never support him. North Carolina whacko Heath Shuler isn't quite as swift and he's still planning to run against Richard Burr for the Senate, the surest way to guarantee that the GOP will hold that Senate seat. "I've never voted for a Republican in my life," a Democratic office holder from North Carolina told us yesterday. "But I wouldn't vote for Heath Shuler no matter who the Republican was he was running against." Shuler is planning to run a Tom Tancredo-like campaign based on inciting fear, hatred and hysteria against immigrants. He's make a perfect Republican; it really is a shame that Rahm Emanuel tricked the dim witted ex-football player into thinking he was a Democrat.

Meanwhile the most vulnerable Democrat in Congress, reactionary goofball Walt Minnick (ID), opposed the Democrats on virtually everything, hoping to curry favor with his overwhelmingly Republican constituents. Sensing what a weak and pathetic character he's come off as, the Republican he managed to beat in November, Bill Sali, is planning on a rematch, although several other high profile Republicans are circling a political career that very much smells like rotting meat in the hot sun. Significant grassroots opposition inside the Democratic Party is already building to oppose the DCCC wasting money to re-elect incumbents who consistently vote with Republicans on the big issues.