My old boss, Rep. David Obey (D-WI), is quoted by TPM saying he thinks the Democratic Party is going to pass too weak an economic recovery package (h/t Josh Orton):
He observed that many projections show the unemployment rate growing even after the stimulus is approved. Later in the briefing, Obey got more candid. "I believe this [bill] may in fact under-shoot the mark" for economic recovery, he admitted.
Based on what we've learned about how little money is being put toward the most stimulative programs (ie. infrastructure), I agree with Obey - it looks like the bill may be too small. So the question is how? How can an economic stimulus package be too small when Congress and the White House will be controlled by the same party that gave us the New Deal? How could Congress and the new president knowingly "under-shoot the mark?"
Because this is no longer FDR's party. Obama - at least right now - isn't behaving like Roosevelt when it comes to domestic policy. He's behaving more like an incrementalist at a time when we need a radical, or at least a proud populist. Likewise, the congressional Democratic Party is torn between its New Deal wing and its Blue Dog wing - and more thematically, between this moment's need for boldness and the party's pathetic cower-in-a-corner psychology.
It's not enough for progressives like Obey to sound the alarm about his colleagues and the incoming administration. Whether this economic recovery package is big and robust enough will be a referendum on the entire progressive movement, from politicians to activists to ordinary voters. It will be a referendum on our ability (or lack thereof) to force the Democratic Party kicking and screaming to be as big as this crisis.
Can we do it? I think so - but it's going to be a tough challenge. The way to start is to make your voice heard by using this handy tool from the Campaign for America's Future to contact your congressional representatives, and then sending an email to your friends and family asking them to do the same.
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