Hey, Steny: Stop doing the GOP's work for them

So Steny Hoyer goes on FOX News Sunday, and here's the headline he's rewarded with:

Hoyer Says Don’t Expect Stimulus Package Soon

Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the House majority leader, expressed doubt on Sunday that the Jan. 20 goal set by some for getting a stimulus package before the new president could be met.

"It’s going to be difficult to get the package together that early," he said. Instead, he told "Fox News Sunday," lawmakers hoped to have it to the new president by mid-February. [Like the others appearing on the day's talk shows, Mr. Hoyer made his comments before it was known that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson had withdrawn as the Commerce nominee.]

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, was more cautious about any deadline, saying simply, "We will work this just as quickly as we can." As to the amount of a stimulus package, he said only, "It’s whatever it takes to bring this country back on a fiscal footing that’s decent."

But Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, agreed with Hoyer that the Jan. 20 goal was impractical.

Put aside the question of whether Hoyer should have gone on FOX for a second. The issue here is that on the first major legislative agenda item for the Obama Administration, the second-ranking Democrat in the House is already unilaterally declaring that it won't be ready on time.

Whether Hoyer intended to or not, the message he sent is that Democrats don't think the legislation is all that important. Instead of talking about delay, Hoyer should have focused on the urgency of getting something done quickly rather than his estimation that it will take longer than we originally thought.

(He should have been more like Harry Reid, who was actually reasonably good on the stimulus package.)

Aside from the fact that Hoyer undercut the sense of urgency surrounding the stimulus bill, he failed to adequately explain the most likely source of the delay: Senate Republicans. In fact, if Hoyer would have just kept his mouth shut, it's quite possible that the headlines would have focused instead on Mitch McConnell, who signaled his intent to drag out the process as much as possible:

Throughout the full interview, McConnell spoke in very partisan terms, and consistently called the stimulus plan a $1 trillion plan.

That should be a wakeup call to Democratic strategists.

First, no matter how much Democrats talk about bipartisanship, they are never going to get it from Mitch McConnell. Instead of playing an inside game for McConnell's support, it's much smarter to play an outside game and to try to steal 6-10 moderate Republicans like the Maine senators by delivering a popular bill that they can't refuse.

Second, the only reason to cap the stimulus plan at $775 billion is if that is the amount of money they believe will do the job. If they are trying to avoid having Republicans call this a $1 trillion stimulus plan, that boat has sailed.

Returning to Steny Hoyer, the problem here isn't so much the substance of what he said, but rather the fact that he blew the opportunity to advance the narrative that the stimulus plan is the top priority in Congress, and that the only thing slowing it down is the GOP.

The fact that yesterday Mitch McConnell, through his vows of partisan roadblocking, was probably a better spokesman for the Democratic Party yesterday than was Steny Hoyer tells you all you need to know.

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Update (2:32PM): Today, President-elect Obama sounded a far more urgent note than either Hoyer or McConnell:

Obama predicts quick OK on economic rescue plan

WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama declared the national economy was "bad and getting worse" Monday as he began crisis talks with congressional leaders on emergency action. He predicted lawmakers would approve hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending and tax cuts within two weeks of his taking office.

"The economy is very sick," Obama said before meeting with Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. "The situation is getting worse. ... We have to act and act now to break the momentum of this recession."

Obama, whose inauguration is two weeks from Tuesday on Jan. 20, said he expected quick approval of rescue legislation by the new Congress.

"I expect to be able to sign a bill shortly after taking office," he said. Pressed on the timing, he said, "By the end of January or the first of February."