Charlotte Front and Center

Obama: Roosevelt Approach to Legislation Hits Snag

Obama has been enchanted with the idea of ramming as much liberal legislation through Congress as humanly possible. This was Obama's idea of emulating Roosevelt. With a majority of Democrats and a media that supports him, Obama is losing his magic with Democrats who face tough re-elections next year.  Fred Barnes says in his column at WSJ, that Congress is panicked over the spending.  Needless to say, Congress understands they are accountable to the public for less than spectacular performance of the Stimulus Bill.

Pelosi and Congress participated in ruthless passage of bills with little regard of bipartisanship. Instead, Pelosi continuously chirped "we won". If it weren't for the dreaded re-election problems these Congressman are now facing with their constituents, Obama is shocked to see his Cap and Trade and health care face some strong resistance.  As a consequence of this resistance,Obama will be on prime-time again this week, and bombarding the internet with his message.

The gossip on the Hill is that Pelosi is threatening these stubborn holdouts in Congress with the possibility of these Democrats losing their committee chairs if they don't cooperate.

Republicans Say Obama's First Month "Disappointing"

It is one month since President Obama was sworn in, and the RNC specifically ranks Obama's administration in the first 30 days a disappointment for these reasons:

1) wasteful spending

2) failed bipartisanship

3) questionable ethics

The RNC also has this to say on their website:

Despite Promises, The Stimulus Is Not Free Of Money For Special Interests. "The compromise stimulus bill adopted by House and Senate negotiators this week is not free of spending that benefits specific communities, industries or groups, despite vows by President Obama that the legislation would be kept clear of pet projects, according to lawmakers, legislative aides and anti-tax groups." (Dan Eggen and Ellen Nakashima, "Despite Pledges, Package Has Some Pork," The Washington Post, 2/13/09)

The Bill Even Includes $30 Million For Salt Marsh Harvest Mice In San Francisco. "Lawmakers and administration officials divulged Wednesday that the $789 billion economic stimulus bill being finalized behind closed doors in Congress includes $30 million for wetlands restoration that the Obama administration intends to spend in the San Francisco Bay Area to protect, among other things, the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse. House SpeakerNancy Pelosi represents the city of San Francisco and has previously championed preserving the mouse's habitat in the Bay Area." (S.A. Miller, "Pelosi's Mouse Slated For $30m Slice Of Cheese," The Washington Times, 2/12/09)

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Obama Warns of Catastrophic Economy

Obama warned the Senate to act quickly before the economic crisis turns into a catastrophe, but judging from the bill that came out of the House of Pelosi, it strongly caters to spending programs that only serve a very liberal Pelosi agenda. It falls far short of stimulating the economy. 

Americans are hurting and need help..NOW. Reductions in payroll taxes, and immediate help for mortgages is what is needed. This has been an ongoing issue since late last year, and voters have angrily watched Wall Street abuse more of their own tax dollars! Voters are very angry...

The average taxpayer has caught on to the wasteful spending packed into the Stimulus Bill, and McCain wasted no time circulating a petition this week via e-mail calling for major reconstruction of the bill as it now exists.  In fact, McCain gave a simple formula for reforming the Stimulus Bill:  - - does it really stimulate the economy and help create jobs - if the answer is no, it does not belong in a so-called stimulus package. Furthermore, the stimulus must include significant direct relief to American workers in the form of payroll tax cuts and programs to help homeowners keep their homes. 

In short, republicans want more tax cuts and less spending.

Read Below:

Obama warns of turning a 'crisis into a catastrophe'

CNN) -- President Obama warned Wednesday that failure to act immediately on his economic aid plan "will turn crisis into a catastrophe and guarantee a longer recession." continue

CNN: Obama's Broken Promises

CNN reported on the "obameter" (see video below) which is run by PoltiFact, a website you can find on the St.Petersburg Times on-line edition. The Obamameter keeps track of 510 promises Obama made during his campaign.

According to the "meter" Obama has broken promise No.1:

Obama promised to not sign any non-emergency bill without allowing 5 days for the public to comment on it.  The public was given no warning of his signing into law the "Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Actl". Obama is suppose to make use of the White house website for this purpose.

Obama had promised in his own words: "will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days."

This bill got absolutely no vetting. The promise is numbered as "promise no.34".  You have to admire anyone for undertaking keeping up with promises that were racked up for over two years on a campaign trail.

From the White House blog:

Thursday, January 29th, 2009 at 12:00 pm

A Wonderful Day

It's about justice. It's about who we are. And on this "wonderful day," we're getting a step closer to both of those things.

That was President Obama's message as he signed his first piece of legislation, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which will make it easier for people to get the pay they deserve -- regardless of their gender, race, or age.

"Ultimately, equal pay isn't just an economic issue for millions of Americans and their families, it's a question of who we are -- and whether we're truly living up to our fundamental ideals," President Obama said. "Whether we'll do our part, as generations before us, to ensure those words put on paper some 200 years ago really mean something -- to breathe new life into them with a more enlightened understanding that is appropriate for our time.

Surrounded by leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and with the new law's namesake, Lilly Ledbetter, at his side, President Obama signed into law a powerful tool to fight discrimination.

The law is now up on our website, where you can review its full text and and submit your thoughts, comments, and ideas....END QUOTE

For More Information on OBAMETER:

CNN: Obama's 'broken promise' 

PolitiFact.com says President Obama has officially broken his first promise. CNN's Josh Levs reports.

Politifact:  The Obameter: Tracking Obama's Campaign Promises

Funding the Street Army of Obama and his Democratic Groups

Obama and his opponents have talked about the urgent need for repair of America's infrastructure. America's great interstates were built as part of our national defense, but our roads and bridges,and waterways have been patched or neglected to the degree we can not score higher than a "D" by the American Society of Engineers.  Most Americans agree this is a serious problem, and know we must look to our federal and state government to keep them in good repair from our own tax dollars.

Many cautioned (including this blog) that infrastructure is a word that can be widely misconstrued to mean different things for politicians, but  most Americans would define infrastructure as our bridges, roadways, and various water systems. Unfortunately, it can mean community centers and streets named after our favorite political figures. CNN reports that the Society said we need 2.2 trillion dollars to just give needed repairs and maintenance for the next five years. This is three times the amount that Obama wants to give.

The knowledge that a big give-away of over 5 billion is slated for ACORN, masked under 'Neighborhood Stabilization Programs" at 836 billion dollars, has finally caused an outcry from republicans; but nevertheless, it made its way through the House today..TRedwine

CNN: 

Poor infrastructure fails America, civil engineers report

Newsmax:

Obama’s Bill Hands ACORN $5.2 Billion Bailout

Obama's Stimulus Plan Not Very Bi-Partisan

John McCain stated today that he would not support the stimulus bill as it now stands.  Obama hopes to have the bill on his desk by mid-February, but it seems that would be unlikely considering the comments that have been coming from Republicans, and even a few noted Democrats. McCain complained that there are no end-times to the money being spent, but most of all there has been no Republican input.

The public isn't too happy with how the first round of money was used by the banking system, but Bloomburg told CNN today that with banks going "belly up" in October, Bush had no choice but to shore up the banks.

The spending bill as it now stands was written soley by House Democrats. Remarks by Pelosi and Obama referring to obvious facts such as, 'We won', will not go far in bi-partisan support...TRedwine

Will Obama's economic plan stimulate bipartisan support?

 From Ed Hornick

CNN

start here:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama, who arguably won a large chunk of political capital in the 2008 election, is now looking to cash in as he urges Congress to pass a massive economic stimulus package.

President Obama is urging Congress to pass a massive economic recovery package by February 16.

But questions about how to spend the money and concerns about the last stimulus package under former President Bush, may create a roadblock.

It's something the newly minted president is hoping to avoid. But like most things in Washington, cooperation doesn't come easy.

And that may be why Obama painted an extremely grim portrait of the nation's economy on Saturday -- just hours before he met with his economic team, and days before he meets with Republicans leaders on Capitol Hill.

CONTINUE

 

Obama: Facing First Fight with Pelosi and Reid

Remember when Republicans were accusing Obama of flip-flopping on the the income level at which he would raise taxes? First it was 250k, then 200k, and finally Biden said 150k.  Obama supporters along with the Democrats in Congress responded with glee.  Meanwhile, republicans were warning how the repealing of Bush's Tax cuts would discourage business growth.

It seems Nancy Pelosi is not happy with the lack of response from Obama concerning these tax cuts. Pelosi is ready to go after high wage earners, and is in fact blaming most of the federal deficit on Bush's old tax rules.

Now that Obama is facing economic reality, he is not going to support lifting the tax cuts for the wealthy. In fact, Obama promised a veto.

Crowley from CNN thinks this is the typical power-playing that goes on each time a new President comes into power. Some of it may be just that, but this time around, American's are hurting and need quick sound action. Penalizing business and those families making over 250K, isn't going to help this economy...TRedwine

Read More:

Crowley: Balance of power trying to find balance

From Candy Crowley

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democrats hold a strong majority in Congress, but with power comes a power struggle, and a potential headache for President Obama.

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have made it clear that they don't agree with President Obama on everything.

Just two days into his term, the president is already facing pushback from leaders of his own party.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have made it clear -- it's not their job to answer to Obama.

To a certain degree, the president-Congress tension is simply politics at play -- something that happens every time a new president comes in.

continue:

CNN: Who isn't Supporting Obama's Stimulus Plan?

From what we are reading, Obama has 6-9 months before he starts taking blame for the state of the economy.  CNN commentator, Reuben Navarette,Jr. takes a quote from the movie "Independence Day" when the president turns to the engineer charged with saving the planet and says, "We're going to see if you're as smart as we all hope you are."  End Quote.

Navarette is upset with Congress and thinks that even Obama's own party is giving Obama too hard of a time.  Did we really think that at any point in time that congress would stop their jockeying for position just because Obama is soon to be our next president?  Wouldn't we be rather shocked that Congress would be tolerant of really cutting out earmarks?  

Congress is congress!  Navarette goes on to say: Last week, amid rumors that Obama ordered Reid to end the Roland Burris standoff and seat Gov. Rod Blagojevich's choice to fill Obama's Senate vacancy, Reid told the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call: "I don't work for Barack Obama -- I work with him." End Quote.

Let's face it.  No matter who we voted for, we have to hope Obama does well with our economy and safety.  

Americans will be watching Obama, but they will also be looking quite closely at Reid ,Pelosi, and the others in the House.  In other words, Americans will let Obama, Reid and Pelisi know what they think...TRedwine

For More From CNN: Commentary: Guess who's not giving Obama full support?, Reuben Navarrette