The REAL Problem in Washington Posted by Michael Cohen

As is often his way Matt Yglesias makes a great point today about the economic stimulus proposal agreed to by Congress:

Chris Hayes looks at the pretty disappointing stimulus package that's apparently been agreed to and argues "I think progressives have to do some very long, deep, sustained thinking about why this congress has been such a failure." I dunno about that. The man's not single-handedly to blame for every problem with this congress, but the main reason the congress has been so disappointing has been that George W. Bush is still President.

The initial Democratic proposal was much better than what eventually got agreed to. . . .But the reason it's not very good is the Republicans not some mystifying failure on Nancy Pelosi's fault.

I have my own mystification on why more progressives don't realize this. George Bush and his obstructionist minions in the Senate have pretty much opposed everything Democrats have tried to accomplish over the past year. This at the same time that Democrats are trying to avoid overreaching and protect their slim majorities in both Houses. Anyone who expected that Dems were just going to overturn everything George Bush had done in the first six years of his failed Presidency were smoking something that smelled like Otto's jacket. For all those progressives upset over  the performance of the Democratic Congress I want you to imagine what today's stimulus package would have looked like in a Republican Congress.

I don't offer this post as a defense for everything Congressional Democrats have done. Indeed I have been quite critical in the past, but the notion that a Democratic Congress would put in place significant change in the face of President Bush's unceasing obstructionism was simply never realistic. Newsflash to progressives: the revolution will not happen overnight.

Comments

[Tim]

As a corollary to this sentiment, remember President Clinton versus the Republicans from 1995-2001? He managed to limit their damage to only a few program, kept them from eliminating taxes on the rich, got a few small things done here and there (S-CHIP and the like), and did it while the very cohesive Republican party fumed on TV every day about how much Clinton was screwing up the country by not allowing their bills to pass. Our system gives the advantage to the President, especially when he is in his second term. That just the way it goes.

[Andrew]

I can forgive them for compromising on the energy bill, the stimulus package, and SCHIP. Mukasey, telecom immunity, Kyl-Lieberman, and contempt citations--not so much.

I'm pretty much with you, Michael. But maybe you're misrepresenting the progressive view. We didn't expect a magic rev