The game is called politics, but it seems many have forgotten that with the passing of Senator Harry Reid’s Jobs Bill in the Senate, 70-28. With all the talk about how jobs are being lost thanks to President Barack Obama’s mishandling of the economy since he took office, there was very little that could be done to prevent this from happening. Hot Air’s Allahpundit is covering this, and I do agree that many Republicans are using this “fig leaf” of a senate bill to boost their bipartisan reputation, but it is more than that.
The name alone should explain why thirteen “Republicans In Name Only” (RINO) supported this. With public opinion swinging away from the Democrats, Republicans are in good position to pick up votes if they even appear to be working with their political rivals to fix economic problems. Senator Scott Brown’s statement following the vote pretty much proves this point,
We need to put partisanship aside to put people back to work. This jobs bill is far from perfect, and ideally would include deeper and broader tax cuts. I supported this measure because it does contain some tax relief that will help Massachusetts businesses put people back to work. Right now, this is a tax-cutting bill. But if it comes back to the Senate full of pork, waste, fraud and abuse, I reserve the right to vote against it.
While those like Brown have received criticism for their vote, let’s try not to forget that this is how politics works. It is a game of give and take, where perception seems more important than tangible progress. You can’t put an outright stop to all this reckless spending, especially when the narrative lately has been that Republicans are uncooperative and are the ones to blame for so little getting done in Washington. Sure it isn’t the least bit true, especially with the super majorities the Democrats held in both the House and the Senate up until recently, but that isn’t the way most in the media have reported it.
The battle for this bill is over, but that doesn’t mean the war is lost. Let the Democrats have this small victory, because when the next bill is proposed, containing all the wasteful spending this administration and its supporters are known for, Brown and the rest of these Republicans can and will (hopefully) vote against it, leaving their critics with nothing to say about how they are “the party of no” seeing as how they voted for this empty piece of legislation… Simply politics as usual…
