$800 billion is a lot of money, so you'd think that it would see more reporting than the stupid Blago story, which reveals more about the insipid priorities of the traditional media than anything about the Obama administration. Alas, we have the media that soap companies pay for, not one that we pay for. There is however some reporting on the package - this Washington Post piece on the stimulus by Paul Kane and Michael D. Shear sticks out for three reasons. One, they actually try to explain some of the substance of the package and delve into the internal debates within the Democratic caucus and the Obama team. It's basically a fight between people who want to build environmentally sustainable public works projects and those who want more roads and highways in exurban dying areas. The advantage of building roads and highways is that you can put shovels in the ground today, the advantage of smart growth projects is that they are, well, better.
Of course, it's the Blue Dogs who want roads and highways, and progressives and labor people who want sustainable infrastructure.
But the green-collar proposals have also come under fire. Hill, the incoming Blue Dog co-chairman, said he opposes including these proposals and the medical technology project in the stimulus plan, suggesting that "somewhere down the road" they be considered under the normal legislative process.
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