"How seriously should Obama, and the Democrats, take GOP concerns? "

Pretty doggone seriously. We all know that the GOP represents real America.

You betcha they do.

As seriously as Bush took Democrat's concerns?

Another big concern is the nonpartisan studied that said something like 250 billion won't be spent before 2011.

That should worry those who support this.

"I won."

I can't hear that often enough!

Those comments are wonderful Steph because I've always thought that Obama is very much like Bush in his stubborness and that his supporters who so quickly throw Bush to the lions for his stuborness would be the first to defend Obama about it.

So you just totally proved my theory! Thanks!

Oh Haus, you are darling!

I'm not blaming you. I think its just human nature to not really care about the other side when your side has the power.

But I like that you owned up to it, that got you some major respect points with me.

Thanks for not blaming me.

Well, I guess it depends if objections are being raised because they want to work with the President or if objections are being raised because they want to play games. Just because the GOP didn't win the elections, doesn't mean they don't count.

Hate to say this but a Democrat won the White House and Democrats have a majority in Congress. Obama should listen to GOP concerns but since America seems to be leaning left at the moment, it's not like he's in a position to cater to their demands. If they have good points go with it, but if they don't Obama doesn't have to appease the public by agreeing with them.

In all seriousness, my reaction to the Republicans is the same as my response to Pelosi yesterday: we've watched you for the past 8 years, we heard everything said during the campaign, we saw your response to Bush's cry of alarm last September, and in November we voted overwhelmingly for OBAMA.

We've heard what Obama's had to say since election day, we know who he's picked to work with him. On inauguration day, knowing all that we know, the nation celebrated the new president with excitement and in numbers never before seen. We want Obama to lead. He said you can make suggestions, but he's the president and we're pleased with our choice.

All sides should be considered when deciding ANY issue.

That orange suit makes Pelosi look like a convict at a parole hearing.

52-48 isn't that big of a spread to disregard the other side.

"An inadequate amount of middle class tax cuts."

Look who's fighting for the majority of us.....

"I won"??

Please! ALmost half the country voted for someone else, and you're not just the president of the people who voted for you, you're the president of everyone.

I highly doubt that the president is just going to suck his teeth at the GOP just because he won.
Someone up there said it right...with ANY issue all sides should be listened to. Does he have to follow or agree with what they say? no. But he should listen.

What I don't get is how do we know for a fact that Bush didn't listen? If all he has to do is listen, well hell! Thats a pretty lax standard. I'm positive Bush must have listened, and then did what he wanted to anyway.

Looks like we'll get the same from Obama. And thats fine. I'm sure that pleases many people.

48% the percentage of the country they are representing!

There will be an election in another 4 years, and I am sure that democrats will want to win, so if Obama goes against his bipartisan promise, a lot of the swing voters that swung to his side will pendulum to the other. Either was we are getting screwed with a governmen planning to go into trillion dollar deficit and printing money that isn't worth anything and deflating the economy further.

I would like to see President Obama and Congress at least listen to the concerns the Republican party has, at least until the Republican Party starts exhibiting party politics. At that point, they need to be told to creep back into a corner, and come out when you can be nice and play fair. It's the same thing I would've said to the democratic party in 02 and 04, and the Republican party in '06

I'm sorry, what is a Republican again?

Just kidding. And hold on just a fat minute. Obama is famous for inviting people of opposite opinions onboard.

"Another big concern is the nonpartisan studied that said something like 250 billion won't be spent before 2011."

This is the spin the right is putting on it right now. Here are some more facts:

1.) The report they are referring to was about the bill previously, not as it stands now.
2.) The report is on only a fraction of the bill that is handled by one Committee (out of many). It is not a report about the entire bill itself.
3.) The Republican senators did not acknowledge this before they ran with it. To me, it shows a rush to be partisan.

If the President wants the country behind him and not just Democrates than he needs to be respectful and mindful of conservative representatives and make sure that where ever possible he allows some compromise but certainly not at the cost of the grand picture, just enough that short term history will reflect was reasonable in time for the next election.

I'll post this again:

An inadequate amount of middle class tax cuts.

and throw this in:

The inclusion of tax credits for those who do not pay income taxes.

So, the people who get screwed the most are you and I.

This will definitely be a test of his bipartisanship. If he wants the 48% who didn't vote for him to believe that he really wants to be president for the whole country, he'd better attempt some compromise. His voting record does not show him to be bipartisan (voted 97% with the democratic party).

I think at least an equal say, they are elected officials and they represent a constituency who has the same rights as areas represented by democrats. To shut republicans out would be to cut off your left hand because you can only find the glove for your right hand. It's shortsighted and unnecessary.

Here's my spiel, we can move forward as a nation if we don't work together as a nation. Basically Lincoln's "a house divided can not stand" bit. It still holds true.

"An inadequate amount of middle class tax cuts"

Are you referring to the report that is being misrepresented? That is about a bill that doesn't exist, see above post.

I am having issue with the fact that they only mention 2 words in this quote. Obama has talked at length about being bi-partisan, Republicans have praised his efforts since the election, and he is actively engaging the Republicans regularly on this bill. Not only do his actions speak louder than words, but his words are not being given context what so ever.

How can anyone not have a red flag go up when the words before and after "we won" are not reported? If Obama was being very partisan, I doubt the Republicans would have said that they expect to pass the bill by February. Everyone came out saying it was a good meeting.

One little thing...the election was 52.9%(53%) to 45.7% (46%)...not 48%.

I'm more interested in Obama keeping us out of a depression and getting us through this recession with as little damage as possible than I am in his bipartisanship. The Democrats and Republicans making noise right now all were in leadership positions when the economy ran aground, so sorry if I don't care to hear their expert advice now.

GS, as a small business owner, which of your taxes should be cut and by how much? How long do you think it would take before the economy saw some positive response from your business - in terms of your business then boosting the economy?

Just as any Republican president/congress should take Democrats' view into account, any Democrat president/congress should take Republicans' view into account. Each represents a portion of the USA and, as such, should be taken seriously when big decisions, like this added money to the stimulus package, are made.

While the Democrats may control a large portion of the government right now, in no way do they represent the views of all Americans. There are Republicans in the House and Senate because they were elected to represent the views of their constituents. To dismiss an entire segment of the population just because they are represented by the GOP is wrong.

Nobody is dismissing an entire segment of the population, unless you can guarantee me that half the country went along with every single decision the Bush administration made in the past 8 years no matter WHAT IT WAS.

Hey - I'm all for the idea that there's nothing wrong with listening to all sides, but at the end of the day when a decision falls on his shoulders, he has to be the one to make it. Bush did, for better or worse, while "half of the country" wasn't listened to, so its hardly reasonable to start bleating when Obama does the same exact thing.

I'll post this again:
An inadequate amount of middle class tax cuts.
and throw this in:
The inclusion of tax credits for those who do not pay income taxes.
So, the people who get screwed the most are you and I.

AMEN!

I'm guessing the "I won" comment is being taken out of context. I think he's too smart to be an ass like that. Maybe I'm just giving him too much credit.

If the Politico article is accurate, I don't think contraceptives should be a part of this bill. It's just pure bloatation. This thing is endlessly growing and getting more complicated to the point where no one understands anymore what is happening.

I'm disappointed in how this is being handled. Obama needs to say enough is enough. He needs to keep it simple, or break it up into smaller pieces so something can be done STAT. The last thing we need is to sit by and watch as bloated government takes months and months to cram every goddamn pet project into the biggest spending bill of all time.

Obama ran on bi partisanship... see previous posts about how people believe Obama is the most bi-partisan politician
"The Democrats and Republicans making noise right now all were in leadership positions when the economy ran aground, so sorry if I don't care to hear their expert advice now." Steph, Obama was there too!!!!!!!

"This thing is endlessly growing and getting more complicated to the point where no one understands anymore what is happening" Many republicans want this to be smaller, so maybe he should listen to them more than the democrats. And I don't appreciate you calling conservative, contraception.

From the article "The Republicans stressed that they want to include more middle class tax cuts in the package, citing their proposal to cut the two lowest tax rates — 15 percent and 10 percent — to ten percent and five percent, rather than issue the refundable credit Obama wants."
Why should we be giving welfare away to those that don't pay income taxes when we can use that same money and help those that do!

Steph, what does that have to do with anything? I'm talking about regular taxes for the middle class, not business taxes.

"The inclusion of tax credits for those who do not pay income taxes"

Just because they don't pay "income" tax doesn't mean that they do not pay taxes.

"And I don't appreciate you calling conservative, contraception."

That was the term House Minority Leader John Boehner used to describe aspects of the recovery plan.

I am getting confused. First they complain that Obama is giving out too many tax cuts...then, now the Republicans are saying they want to do big tax cuts. Sounds like they are making major drama while arguing the same side of the debate.

Part of the plan is investing money into infrastructure, and part is tax cuts. Part will probably be something to address the housing issue or loan/credit situation. I do think we need to get things started quickly, but if a major investment needs to be well planned to make it efficient, so be it. We don't need the economy handled like the war. 2010 really isn't that far away...11 months now. And just because construction might not start on infrastructure plans for 11 months, that doesn't mean that work won't begin in other areas of these projects (therefore employing people).

In 2005, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave our infrastructure a D! We need investment in infrastructure anyway to protect our families on the roadways. To make sure that dams don't break and kill people. Don't you remember Minnesota? We need to make sure that bridges, drinking water, hazardous waste, schools, and mass transit are being handled properly. These are things that can seriously kill or harm large groups of people if not handled responsibly. Our country needs this investment, it will employ millions of people in thousands of industries, and will also include tax cuts. I just don't see how people can be against it.

"And I don't appreciate you calling conservative, contraception."

That was the term House Minority Leader John Boehner used to describe aspects of the recovery plan.
I stand corrected Sorry

With that said, "Just because they don't pay "income" tax doesn't mean that they do not pay taxes. " That would be why I and GS bot said ""The inclusion of tax credits for those who do not pay INCOME taxes"
See the word income....
If you want welfare, call it welfare darn it!
Stop fooling people into believe they are tax cuts. Those people themselves do not pay taxes, their employers pay their part for them, but they do not. Calling it a tax cut is a fallacy. And with how great every one is touting Obama, you would think he would be open outright and forthcoming with information, open book, right? It isn't a tax cut, it is welfare. I would much rather prefer that TAX CUT 15% 10% because this is where the majority of the money and spending power in the US lies. I am not even a part of that tax bracket. We pay over 20% so it wouldn't affect me either way, it would just be better served and not socialistic if he offered tax cuts where they were deserved and not offering a hand out.

""This thing is endlessly growing and getting more complicated to the point where no one understands anymore what is happening" Many republicans want this to be smaller, so maybe he should listen to them more than the democrats. And I don't appreciate you calling conservative, contraception. "

Yes, I agree with Republicans that it should be smaller and that Obama should listen to them. That was the point of my comment. And I don't even understand the last part about calling names. You managed to take a comment that you agreed with and turn it into a disagreement. Nice work!

And also, employees do pay social security tax. That's different than income tax.

Though I do agree that if you are giving $ back to people who aren't paying taxes you should call it welfare and not a tax cut.

Where were they a few months ago and definitely in the last 8 years.
All of a sudden they are concerned about the rising debt? Give me a break.

"Where were they a few months ago and definitely in the last 8 years.
All of a sudden they are concerned about the rising debt? Give me a break."

So, you think we can spend our way out this depression? And solve a credit crisis by taking on more debt?