Wax Out of Their Ears, Finally, Congress Agrees to Compromise Stimulus

Agreement by Congressional Leaders is Less than Either House or Senate Price Tag

Put down the face-paint and Mohawk feathers and refrain from ransacking the first shipload of tea you can find.  Despite the questionable sense of the stimulus package, Congressional leadership appears to overcome their chronic tin-earitis and agreed on a compromise bill amounting to $789 billion, as reported by CNN.com.  You heard it, double-digit billions less than either of the bills that were passed through the Senate and House.

Thanks for the compromise go primarily to Senators Joe Lieberman (D-VT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) for brokering the deal and avoiding the typical pig pile that ensues when bills head into committee before moving along to the President.

Thanks for creating the environment of public pressure that the shaving of dollars politically unavoidable goes to: Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Michael Medved, Michelle Malkin, Charles Krauthammer (among many, many others) and the thousands of bloggers and commenters sticking to this issue over the past two weeks.

There is every reason to believe that internal polling by the DNC may have been at the basis for taking the machete to the spending in both bills to slash as much pork as possible.  A stimulus signed into law at greater than $1 trillion, with the Congressional Budget Office and many economists predicting little or no impact on the economy, would have been a very potent campaign hammer for GOP candidates in 2010, one that Michael Steele.

Lesson learned: We the People still have a voice, and there are indications that the country has not swung radically to the left, as some Dems may have hoped.

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Technorati Tags: Joe Lieberman,Susan Collins,Michelle Malkin,Charles Krauthammer,Rush Limbaugh,Laura Ingraham,Stimulus of 2009

Michael Medved at Seattle's Town Hall

Last night, my fiancee and I made a point of attending Michael Medved's talk at Seattle's Town Hall.  Along with host Enrique Cerna - a long-time fixture in Seattle television - Mr. Medved discussed portions of his new book "The 10 Big Lies About America: Combating Destructive Lies About Our Nation" and took direct questions from audience members on a variety of topics.

At times spirited, the dialogue between Michael and the audience was both entertaining and enlightening, a credit to his credentials as a radio talk show host.  Whether he was suggesting that we may be on the verge of a "new Awakening" in the culture, such as occurred during the Revolution, the abolition movement and the suffrage movement, or responding to difficult questions about his views on gay marriage, Michael was considerate of his questioners.  Mr. Medved is one of the rare conservative voices - not alone, but lonely at times - who relies on intellectual honesty and logic to support his opinions.  For that reason, it was an honor to meet him briefly (we were in the rear portion of the book-signing line and he was operating on a sleep deficit), as it always is an honor to meet someone who shapes your personal approach.

I am reading the book and will report back with my review as soon as I am finished.