I just felt like it was time for Kevin Costner to be the punchline.  My Times column from March 5th is here and below.

Thoughts in 98 words or less

BY PETE SEAT
Times Columnist
Thursday, March 05, 2009

Tax and Spend Costner
Listening to President Barack Obama and other Democrats preach about fiscal discipline recently is like hearing Kevin Costner lecture film students on how to make a successful movie.

Buy America, Buy the World
Among the many flaws of the stimulus bill is the Visclosky advocated Buy America provision. A former college professor once taught our class an important lesson during a chat about city planning.

“Why do you think McDonalds, Burger King and Wendy’s are always on the same block? They don’t concede the neighborhood to their competitor just because the other one got there first.”

Competition breeds success. Free trade makes allies. Protectionism is dangerous foreign, and domestic, policy.

Partisanship Reigns Supreme
Obama’s speechwriting team earned their pay with the well-crafted, “We can’t afford to make the perfect the enemy of the absolutely necessary” line during the stimulus debate. It was an effective way to explain their desire for expediency in passing the bill.

During the rescue plan debate of late 2008, our own Rep. Pete Visclosky had an equally good line when he said, “The Bush administration is rushing us into spending $700 (billion) without stopping to think things through, because there just isn’t time for thinking. They say, trust us, this is necessary.”

Funny how these things work.

Dear GOP: It’s Time to Shine
Instead of Rush v. Obama, let’s make it Republicans v. Democrats. This is a defining moment. At this juncture, which we mere mortals facetiously refer to as time, the Republicans can either pursue a cohesive agenda the American people will embrace, or recede into the world of negativity best embodied by the Anybody But Bush Democrats of 2004. That swift jolt Republicans felt in 2008 was for real, and now it’s time to pick up the pieces and charge forward with an ambitious agenda if they want to get ahead. Which path will they choose?

Do As I Say, Not As I do
Even though Obama said he will no longer accept earmarks, there are 9,000 by last count in the omnibus bill currently before Congress. Some Republicans are up in arms over this needless spending, especially the dollars attached to Visclosky’s PMA Group. The only problem is that 40 percent of the bills’ earmarks were put in there by Republicans! Apologies to Derek Zoolander, but: Earth to Republicans! You can’t rail against something you’re just as guilty of doing.

I guess what they say is true: one man’s pork is another’s sound fiscal investment.

Pete Seat, a Schererville native, is former deputy assistant press secretary to President George W. Bush. He can be reached at peteseat@gmail.com. His column appears in this spot every other Thursday. The opinion expressed in this column is the writer’s and not necessarily that of The Times.