This country is in a financial crisis unmatched since the Great Depression. Just about every state, most notably California, has tremendous budget deficits and faces cutting education funding in a drastic way. Additionally, with so many people losing their jobs every month, a total of 3.6 million in the past year, and 600,000 just in December alone, health care coverage that came with employment is lost.
The Democrats wish to provide funding for education cuts faced in the states, and also to cover partially the COBRA costs faced by unemployed workers and families. This is an education and health care crisis of massive proportions, that needs to be addressed by the federal government.  There is nothing more that offers hope and a future to millions of Americans than providing necessary aid for education and health care. There is no way for those less fortunate to improve their situation than a massive federal stimulus. Tax cuts are simply not enough and would likely go primarily to the upper class, which has benefited unjustly from the Bush tax cuts of the past eight years.Â
In the midst of this dire situation, the GOP is proving again its lack of concern for the middle and lower classes in America. Not one Republican in the House came to support of the House version of the economic stimulus bill, and only a few seem at the moment to be backing the Senate version, which is NOT as good as the House version. There will be troubles reconciling the two bills in a conference committee to reflect the real needs of the country. One can certainly applaud the few GOP senators who seem to be willing to cross party lines. Kudos to Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Olympia Snowe of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. They are demonstrating statesmanlike behavior and this should be copied by other senators and at least some congressmen in the party of Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.Â
One has to wonder what Lincoln and TR would think of the modern Republicans who have brought us to this state of financial collapse and now refuse, except for a few, to recognize that they are in Washington DC to represent ALL of their constituents, not just the elite upper and business classes!