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President Barack Obamaâs 2009 stimulus bill may have helped avoid a second Great Depression, but it was a political fiasco.
As then-congressman Barney Frank liked to say: âThings Wouldâve Sucked Even Worse Without Usâ was an unappealing message for a Democratic bumper sticker.
Republicans relentlessly mocked the $800 billion stimulus as a wasteful porkfest, while Democrats tried fervently to change the subject.
Twelve years later, the politics of stimulus has flipped.
Democrats are relentlessly hyping President Joe Bidenâs $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, while Republicans are trying to change the subject to Dr. Seuss, Mr. Potato Head and the Mexican border.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, arguably the shrewdest Republican strategist in Washington, has started floating a half-hearted anti-stimulus message that the coming recovery would have happened anyway.
âWe are about to have a boom,â McConnell said last week after the Biden bill passed. âAnd if we do have a boom, it will have absolutely nothing to do with this $1.9 trillion.â
As a message, this amounts to âThings Wouldâve Been Just As Great Without Itââan even less appealing bumper sticker than Barney Frankâs.
But youâre almost certainly losing if youâre explaining, ahead of time, why the economic boom youâre expecting on your opponentâs watch shouldnât be attributed to your opponent.
â
âWeâre going to see some fairly amazing economic numbers, and I imagine for the next few years, people will look around and say: âThis is pretty darn good!ââ says American Enterprise Institute fellow James Pethokoukis, a conservative economist who believes the Biden stimulus is somewhat excessive. âIâm sure Republicans will try to spin this, and I have long-term concerns myself, but â â â
President Barack Obamaâs 2009 stimulus bill may have helped avoid a second Great Depression, but it was a political fiasco.
As then-congressman Barney Frank liked to say: âThings Wouldâve Sucked Even Worse Without Usâ was an unappealing message for a Democratic bumper sticker.
Republicans relentlessly mocked the $800 billion stimulus as a wasteful porkfest, while Democrats tried fervently to change the subject.
Twelve years later, the politics of stimulus has flipped.
Democrats are relentlessly hyping President Joe Bidenâs $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, while Republicans are trying to change the subject to Dr. Seuss, Mr. Potato Head and the Mexican border.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, arguably the shrewdest Republican strategist in Washington, has started floating a half-hearted anti-stimulus message that the coming recovery would have happened anyway.
âWe are about to have a boom,â McConnell said last week after the Biden bill passed. âAnd if we do have a boom, it will have absolutely nothing to do with this $1.9 trillion.â
As a message, this amounts to âThings Wouldâve Been Just As Great Without Itââan even less appealing bumper sticker than Barney Frankâs.
It may be an overstated political clichĂ© that if youâre explaining, youâre losing.
But youâre almost certainly losing if youâre explaining, ahead of time, why the economic boom youâre expecting on your opponentâs watch shouldnât be attributed to your opponent.
â
âWeâre going to see some fairly amazing economic numbers, and I imagine for the next few years, people will look around and say: âThis is pretty darn good!ââ says American Enterprise Institute fellow James Pethokoukis, a conservative economist who believes the Biden stimulus is somewhat excessive. âIâm sure Republicans will try to spin this, and I have long-term concerns myself, but â â â
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https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/03/18/the-nightmare-politics-of-fighting-the-recovery-bill-476830