The Hill News

Citizens driving the highways of America over the past year may have noticed green and white signs posted near road construction projects that announce that the repairs are the result of “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.” Seeing the sign for the first time, it took me a few minutes to realize that the sign referred to the $787 billion stimulus. My second thought was why suffer the abuse and calumny that has been dished out by the Republicans without taking the credit? I mean, which genius in the White House or the Department of Transportation decided to feature the legislative title of the bill which few ordinary citizens could possibly recognize rather than simply calling it “the stimulus” and reaping the political reward? Would they have ditched the instantly-recognizable “COBRA” in favor of its formal designation “Comprehensive Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act”? This wrongheaded decision neatly sums up Washington’s contempt for plain speaking and it’s a contributing factor to the losses likely to be suffered by the Democrats, the party that can always be counted on to talk over the heads of the American people.

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