The Republicans want the stimulus to fail......

The Republican mantra for 'lower taxes' is not actually a thought-out conviction for what is best for the country; rather it is a tawdry way to buy votes by assuring voters that they can 'have it all' without having to pay for it.

This has worked for them in the past, along with a call for 'smaller government' and 'strong defense'. Their main concern is to stay in power. Once there, however, they haven't a clue how to actually govern. The tax cuts contribute to massive deficits, go to the very wealthy and don't 'trickle down'; hefty contributions from the favored 'fat cats' to their election campaigns are assured. The 'smaller government' promised bloats into expensive bureaucracies, headed by cronies, that fail to effectively run, regulate or oversee the departments for which they are responsible. The 'strong defense' is a black hole of expenditures for horribly expensive weapon systems designed for the cold war. These weapons are produced by companies that have cunningly distributed their resources among the various states to insure maximum influence on their pet lawmakers.

Once in power, the conservatives also bow to their ultra-right base; they want to transform this country into a theocracy forcing all to accept their agenda.

We must further cut the Republican minority in the mid-term elections; they must no longer block or dilute what must be done for the country to thrive. Perversely, Republicans are hoping the situation will become worse before it gets better; then they can gleefully say "We told you so". They choose America's failure over bipartisan cooperation.

We cannot go back to their failed 'policies'. We must give this stimulus package time to show results and get us turned around toward a recovery.