It only took a week but President Obama is getting some serious criticism from the Left. Oregon's wonderful liberal Congressman Pete Defazio just said on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show that President Obama is listening too much to Lawrence Summers--one of Obama's top economic advisors.
The problem is that the Obama team wants a piddling 7% on infrastructure for the stimulus bill. That is wholly inadequate for the severity of the situation. Obama is attaching himself to a consumer-based recovery with tax cuts leading the way. It's the 1990s all over again.
Rachel starts it off in her monologue:
"The president's let's all get along way of doing things has served him very well politically so far, it may in fact be the secret to his political success, but in terms of policy, what the country actually needs is can't we just say that the people with the bad ideas don't get their way anymore."
Rep. DeFazio: "I'm very much with you on that!"
DeFazio hammers Obama's team:
"...the dictate from on high in the negotiations with Obama's advisors, I don't think the President is there (with us on infrastucture) I think he's ill advsied by Larry Summers and some of these other economists. . Larry Summers hates infrastructure. They were very much a part of creating the problem and now they are going to solve the problem?"
This is the crucial issue of the new administration. I hate to see President Obama go with the guys who
brought us here to this situation like Summers instead of with folks like Krugman. Progressives need to fight right off the bat for the heart and soul of President Obama. What is at stake is whether we have a recovery that is aimed at Main Street or just Wall Street.