Rove: Thanks, Obama, for Boosting the GOP

Republican opposition to bill 'redefined' the party
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 12, 2009 8:15 AM CST
Rove: Thanks, Obama, for Boosting the GOP
President Barack Obama speaks during a town hall style meeting about the economic stimulus package, Monday, Feb. 9, 2009, at Concord Community High School in Elkhart, Ind.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

The Dems may ultimately have gotten their way with the stimulus bill, but the GOP has gotten a lift from the debate process, Karl Rove writes in the Wall Street Journal. Republicans pointed out specific flaws in the bill while introducing ideas of their own, thereby reducing popular support for the bill. “Obama has already re-energized the GOP and sparked a spending debate that will last for years.”

Republicans pulled support from the bill by showing “that it is a massive spending spree, not an economic stimulus,” Rove writes. But they maintained a gracious image in a continued dialogue with Obama. Still, “if Republicans predict economic doom, they will overplay their hand”—the economy will recover on its own, and the Dems will take credit for it.
(More Karl Rove stories.)

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