They write letters

I wrote a letter to my Republican Congresswoman:

Thank you for your letter (2/24/09) in response to my concerns over the Republican opposition to the stimulus bill. I appreciate your willingness to engage on this issue.

However, I remain deeply upset by the Republican response to our national economic crisis. The widespread dissemination of easily disproven lies by Republican members of Congress (such as "Pelosi's mouse" and the "Sin City train" canards), for the purpose of confusing the American public at a time like this is simply and utterly inexcusable.

And now, your caucus has decided to promote a federal spending freeze. In a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the GOP caucus explained your rationale: "At a time of record deficits, a freeze would allow the federal government to keep functioning at current spending levels without requiring beleaguered taxpayers to pay for new spending increases. Congress could ensure that essential government functions are carried out without any cuts while still protecting taxpayers from spending increases during a time of economic hardship."

I'm sure that polls well as a bumper sticker slogan, but surely you understand that is literally the worst thing that could be done at this time. As Pat Garofalo recently explained: "The economic stimulus package's main purpose is to close the GDP gap and jumpstart the economy by spurring spending by households, government and the private sector. A spending freeze would act as an 'anti-stimulus,' cutting spending precisely when it's too low and the economy is moving too slowly."
http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/02/24/revive-freeze/

When TPM Media's Josh Marshall heard of your "plan", he wrote: "Let's just stipulate DC Republicans are simply not part of the discussion when it comes to repairing the US economy or arresting our slide into deep economic misery. And any reporters who aren't clear about this are just lying to their readers or viewers. The latest Republican plan, in the face of today's new spike in unemployment, is a freeze on federal spending. I'm not even sure it's fair to say that this is a replay of the disastrous decisions the magnified the Great Depression between 1929 and 1933. It's more a parody of it. When the crisis is a rapid and catastrophic drop off in demand, you handcuff the one force that can create demand (i.e., the federal government) in the throes of the contraction. That's insane. Levels of stimulus are a decent question. Intensifying the contraction is just insane and frankly a joke. It's time to recognize that the only debate here is happening among Democrats and sundry non-affiliated sane people. The leaders of the GOP are simply not part of the conversation."

Blogger John Cole who, until 2005 was a right-wing Republican stalwart, recently took a trip down memory lane. "I remember 2000 and 2001 pretty well. I was a Republican at the time, and we have talked before about how excited I was to vote for Bush. I remember not being able to sleep, waking up early to go vote as soon as the polls open, and I remember going to see a movie during the afternoon to take my mind off the election .... I remember coming home and watching the returns until late in the morning, I remember the sinking feeling over Florida, and thinking “We are going to get screwed. The Democrats are going to steal this.” I remember all of that." ... "And just so we are clear, until shown otherwise, what I remember is the following: 2001, time of mild economic downturn but with a large budget surplus projected as far as the eyes can see, and Democrats stated the tax cuts are bad policy and should not be adopted. 2009, during two wars, a financial disaster, an economic crisis and massive unemployment and trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, and the Republicans and Limbaugh are rooting for Obama to fail so they can regain some political power. Until I am shown otherwise, that is how I see things. What is happening right now is nuts, and there simply is no comparison. Show me the tapes. Show me the transcripts. Show me Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid standing in front of a camera saying “I want President Bush to fail” just like we have seen Mike Pence and the parade of other Republican leaders do in the past few days. Bring it on, and I don’t mean some random jackass on the internet or some crazy tenured prof at a community college somewhere. I will admit my memory was wrong if it happened, but I want to see it, because I don’t remember it. And I’m not merely talking about opposition to policy. I mean stating that they wanted the President to fail. And then when you are done, you can show me the video tapes or transcripts of all the Democrats groveling and begging for forgiveness at the feet of Michael Moore (who, by the way, is fat) after dissing him. Also, when a real crisis happened on 9/11, I remember the Democrats rushing to do whatever Bush wanted. I remember hand-holding and singing on the Capitol Steps. I don’t remember them hoping Bush’s response would fail."

Ms. Capito, you should read John Cole's piece in its entirety at http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=18156. When you do, remember that he was a true believer who was driven from the Republican party when he suddenly realized that the entire Republican edifice was built on lies. He is still conservative, but with a meaning for that word that is unrecognizable in the policies and actions of today's republican party.

Our nation is in a crisis every bit as real and dangerous as 9/11. The Republican party, your party, is responding by promoting nonsensical economic policies that are designed only to confuse. It is in your power, as a member of the Republican caucus, to begin changing that dynamic by insisting that the party play a constructive role in restoring America to greatness.

It is in your power, as a member of the Republican caucus, to insist that your party serve the interests of all Americans instead of seeking partisan political gain at a time of national crisis.