Cross-Posted from: A Second Look: Obama Repeatedly Reminds House GOP Of Their Zero Sti...

via Obama Repeatedly Reminds House GOP Of Their Zero Stimulus Votes.

In a meeting with House Republicans at the White House Thursday, President Obama reminded the minority that the last time he reached out to them, they reacted with zero votes -- twice -- for his stimulus package. And then he reminded them again. And again. And again.

This is my same old bitch. The article focuses more on the Republican push-back to President Obama's threat of reconciliation than on the facts of the matter. We all know that facts have never gotten in the way of a Republican talking point.

Obama reached out to Republicans during the campaigns.

Once in office, and the Republican economic shit storm came crashing down on his head, the President coolly kept his campaign promise and visited Republican leadership to discuss the stimulus in late January.

The meeting was cordial enough but immediately afterward Republicans began a media campaign against the stimulus even though a number of them were in the various committees that drafted each part. The argument that Republicans were shut out of the process is a lame one considering the efforts the Democrats made in appeasing the right.

Earlier that week, Obama quietly urged House Democrats to drop a contentious piece of the stimulus concerning funding of contraceptives and the complied.

On January 18th, President Obama made a highly publicized effort to reach out to Senator John McCain.

From the Washington Post, January 6, 2009, entitled Obama Pitches Stimulus Plan, GOP Asked to Help Design Bill; $300 Billion in Tax Cuts Sought:

Pitching a plan that is expected to include $300 billion in tax cuts, Obama pledged to consult Republican leaders, who until yesterday had been left out of negotiations between the president-elect's advisers and congressional Democratic staff. "The monopoly on good ideas does not belong to a single party. If it's a good idea, we will consider it," Obama told House and Senate leaders at an hour-long closed-door meeting, according to one attendee.

Here's my bitch. There are a gazillion articles out there that could have been referenced to accentuate the President's efforts for bipartisanship, however this article fails to deliver the President's side of the story. I don't know if the author of this article ever worked for the Associated Press, but it reeks of their input. The article, true to form for the AP ends on a sour, not uplifting, note and emphasizes the Republican talking point that it's the President who is being partisan when he had actually worked hard to include their input. Once again the reader gets to leave the article with the foul taste of conservatism in his mouth as they get the last word again.

The last paragraph:

"Fast-tracking a major legislative overhaul such as health care reform or a new national energy tax without the benefit of a full and transparent debate does a disservice to the American people," said McConnell in a statement. "And it would make it absolutely clear they intend to carry out their plans on a purely partisan basis."

The author could have added one simple sentence that would take this contentiousness ending and turn it positive for the President. Something like this:

...said McConnell in a statement. "And it would make it absolutely clear they intend to carry out their plans on a purely partisan basis." A statement which does not jive with President Obama's largely unrequited past efforts at bipartisanship.

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