The Abomination of 2009 Draws Nigh...

I am going to refer to the stimulus bill, working its way toward passage and the president's signature, as an abomination. The word "abomination" refers to something vile, shameful, detestable; and is usually something hated or despised, or which generates disgust.

If you have been paying attention to the contents of this enormous bill, and you have any understanding of American history, you will recognize that this bill does two things in a grand way:

1. It spends nearly a trillion dollars of money that we don't have, thus generating enormous additional debt.
2. It generates dozens of new government programs, contributes to the bloating of others, and will make it harder to kill off programs which were never part of the umbrella of governmental responsibilities.

It will almost certainly pass, given the makeup of Congress and the current state of politics. Any Republican (or Democrat, for that matter) who votes for it should be exposed as a traitor to his party's values and be drummed out of office at the next available opportunity. It is an abomination. It should be treated that way.

There is precedent for this. The tariff bill passed in 1828 was called the "Tariff of Abominations" by southerners who had contempt for the impact it would have on their antebellum economy. Their predictions were generally on target (the economics lesson involved is both worthwhile and simple). President John Quincy Adams signed it and then lost his re-election bid six months later.

Perhaps that last thought is a glimmer of hope...