Posted 1:54 PM by steve

The GOP doesn't have the votes to derail the Obama/Democratic 'stimulus' plan. And given the Democrats' longstanding tradition of brushing aside GOP objections and suggestions (the Democrats, unlike the GOP, doesn't care about being 'bipartisan'), the GOP doesn't even have the ability to influence the makeup of the package.

So what should the GOP do?

They need to realize that this is but the first skirmish in the election battle of 2010. And while they don't have the votes to win many of these battles, the way they fight these battles will go a long way to determining whether the GOP has a chance of regaining control in 2010.

And to do so, the GOP needs to re-establish themselves as responsible stewards of taxpayer money and protectors of the middle class against the unreasonable demands of both those with more money and those with less. They need to paint the Democrats as a combination of corrupt and clueless.

While the public has accepted the idea of a stimulus package, they haven't signed off on the Democrats using the situation as a means of sending money to their allies and on causes that don't help middle America.

Thus, John Boehner is on the right track ridiculing the Democrats wanting to include money for contraceptives in the stimulus package. The GOP needs to highlight one or two of these types of outlays every day through the day Obama signs the package. They need to reveal the earmarks the Democrats will include; it's a given that there are going to be more 'bridges to nowhere', the GOP needs to find them and expose them to ridicule. Other Republicans need to highlight the CBO report that revealed that only a small fraction of Democratic spending will have an impact before the recession is likely to end. And the GOP needs to continue pushing more aggressive tax cuts for both businesses and the middle class.

And the GOP has to refrain from acting like the Democrats, as nothing will undercut their arguments than news that Republican Senators and Congressmen are earmarking funds for their pet projects.

On the national security front, the Republicans need to declare their opposition to Obama's initiatives (which pretty much consist of doing things opposite of the way Bush was doing them). The GOP needs to declare its opposition to closing Guantanamo and bringing the detainees to the United States (doing so is a no-lose for the GOP: if nothing bad happens, fine, it won't be a campaign issue, but if, God forbid, something goes wrong, the GOP is well positioned). The GOP needs to introduce, on no less than a monthly basis, new legislation to toughen up one aspect or another of our national security apparatus, going beyond whatever it is that Obama proposes. Yes, the legislation won't go anywhere, but again, should something bad happen, I'd rather be on the side that proposed a tougher approach than the party that went with the 'softer' approach.