The 2009 Recovery Act was such a flop, apparently even the term “stimulus” has become politically toxic. That would typically signal it’s time to look at alternative ideas for restarting the economy. But not for Nancy Pelosi, who thinks the stimulus just needs a name change:
Democrats are now being careful to frame their job-creation agenda in language excluding references to any stimulus, even though their favored policies for ending the deepest recession since the Great Depression are largely the same. …
Recognizing the unpopularity of the 2009 package, however, Democratic leaders have revised their message with less loaded language – “job creation” instead of “stimulus” and “Make it in America” in lieu of “Recovery Act” – in hopes of tackling the jobs crisis.
That’s a sharp shift from last year’s messaging strategy, when Pelosi issued hundreds of press releases touting the benefits of the 2009 stimulus bill in hopes of making believers of skeptical voters.
Rebranding old plans is probably one of the left’s favorite pastimes. Apparently, the only reason their ideas are unpopular is because they haven’t come up with a suitable name or marketing strategy yet. Liberals convinced themselves the president’s health care reform plan wasn’t the problem, it was the buzzword “ObamaCare.” And they’re sure the public will be wildly in favor of tax hikes, as long as the term is changed to “revenue increases.”
But renaming the stimulus isn’t going to fool anybody. The public is concerned with the towering federal debt, the fact the previous stimulus failed to produce jobs and excessive government spending. Calling the plan “job creation” instead of “stimulus” won’t hide its price tag – and that’s the part Americans will be focused on.
