I find myself of two minds in the wake of the House vote on the stimulus package. On the one hand, I’m thrilled that Republicans voted against this monstrosity. On the other hand, it’s frustrating to consider what it took for them to actually stand in unified opposition to crappy legislation. For years, they voted for every pork-laden bill that the Bush White House sent down the pike. Now they finally make a strong statement for fiscal restraint, but only after two straight election pummelings that handed Democrats the White House, both chambers of Congress, and a near filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Things might have been a lot different had Republicans stood up to the Bush administration like they stood up to President Obama today.
