The bipartisan spirit that surfaced with the election of Barack Obama did not last long. The hope that Congress would take a bipartisan position to approve the economic stimulus package vanished in the first vote.
President Obama visited Republican lawmakers seeking support for his proposal, but his good intentions slammed into their intransigence.
In this case, it is very easy to place blame squarely on the Republicans because not one of them voted in favor of the package. Clearly, Republicans have still not found their direction after the disastrous November elections. Meanwhile, they continue to brandish their worn-out doctrine of tax cuts as the answer to all problems. On top of their lack of imagination in addressing the crisis, their only response has been a blanket rejection, without proposing any alternative. It is no surprise that California’s Republicans are praising their DC delegation for repeating the same intransigence they have demonstrated in Sacramento’s state budget negotiations.
Democrats are not free from responsibility, however. The House leadership chose to imitate the Republican stance, evoked when they were the majority, of ignoring proposals from the minority. The Democrats also took advantage of the crisis to fund projects in education, healthcare, and other areas that are not necessarily related to creating jobs and jump-starting the economy. La Opinión has defended these types of investments in the past, but under these circumstances, they are contradicting the bipartisan spirit of the White House.
The economic stimulus package goes before the Senate next week where Democrats need at least two Republican votes to avoid legislative gridlock. Bipartisanship will be put to the test. We hope it prevails, because that is what Americans need and that is what they voted for.
