Obama Offered Republicans ‘Input’ On Stimulus: But “Oh My God” Is Response To Pelosi Bill

Railroad.  Verb.   To push through hastily or without due consideration.

President-elect Barack Obama offered Republican lawmakers full and complete bipartisanship on the huge economic stimulus bill.

The President-elect has a huge reserve of goodwill due to his big election margin and his party controls the legislative agenda.

But now just a few days from his inauguration, bipartisanship has taken a trip.

Republicans were railroaded.

Related (January 25):
Republicans Plan to Reject Obama Stimulus Unless Changes Adopted

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From ABC News:
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ABC News’ Rick Klein and Dean Norland Report: House Minority Leader John Boehner needed only three words to serve notice that President-elect Barack Obama is nowhere close to achieving the big bipartisan vote on the stimulus package he wants so badly.

“There was no Republican input at all involved in what House Democrats outlined today,” Boehner, R-Ohio, said at a news conference at the Capitol. “I just took a moment to look over the draft from Chairman [David] Obey and the draft or outline from Chairman [Charlie] Rangel. Oh, my God.

“I just can’t tell you how shocked I am at what we’re seeing. You know it’s clear that they’re moving on this path along the flawed notion that we can borrow and spend our way back to prosperity.”

As we discussed earlier, Republicans heard the Obama team’s discussion of $300 billion in tax cuts and thought (or hoped to think) that was a floor. Many Democrats, meanwhile, thought it was an unacceptably high ceiling, and pressed that number down to the $275 billion in the package produced by House leaders, in consultation with Obama aides.

This is not the final package. But it has to be dismaying to the Obama folks to see finger-pointing and recriminations that fall along such familiar party lines.