Few converts when Obama lobbies GOP

Republicans in Utah's congressional delegation give President Obama some style points for meeting with the GOP on Capitol Hill Tuesday. But Obama did not win any converts among them for his economic stimulus package.

"I think the president showed a sincere desire to reach out and work with us, and that goes a long way. I'm still not convinced his prescription is right for our country," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, in comments typical of Utah GOP members after Obama met separately with House and Senate Republicans.

"When we talk about cutting taxes, I applaud him. When he talks about growing the debt and continued deficit spending, I vehemently disagree," Chaffetz said. "But it's nice to feel like we're forging a relationship with him so there can at least be a dialog."

Still, Chaffetz said he is far from being a convert for the stimulus package. "I don't think the previous so-called stimulus packages have worked, nor do I have confidence that this new one will."

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said the meetings with Obama were a case of too little, too late. "It was somewhat surreal. I was sitting there realizing that he is asking for our input on a bill we're voting on final passage in the morning. So there a bit of a disconnect."

But Bishop said he appreciated the meeting. "If he continues this pattern in the future, that would be positive and I hope it happens — maybe on a little more timely basis"

Bishop also is not a convert for the stimulus bill. "Some of it is very good … there's a lot of crap," he said. "I assumed this was going to be a bill for doing our infrastructure, a lot of roads and bridges. That's only 3 percent of the total spending here. This is turning into a hodgepodge of everyone wants something, so let's throw something in."

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, said Obama "was dazzling in his grasp of the details, in his capacity to stay calm under fire, in his sincerity in selling his program" — but failed to convert him, too.

"The last stimulus package we passed a year ago didn't work, didn't produce any stimulus at all, and some of the economic theory that was behind that is present in this one," Bennett said.

He complained, for example, that proposed tax cuts are just temporary, so it won't make business owners make any long-term changes that might lead to more jobs. And he said people tend to use money from one-time stimulus checks to pay bills, and not for trips or other spending that could bring stimulus.

Stil, Bennett said, "The president was I believe completely sincere in his desire to make this bipartisan and to reach out to Republicans. And I continue to be available to him for dialogue beacause I think he is sincere."

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said, "The president articulated the reasons why this stimulus package was the right approach to get our economy moving. While I agreed with the president on a few points, some of his arguments were not very compelling."

Hatch said he worried that only $26 billion of the $358 billion in the bill would be spent this fiscal year, so much would not help the economy anytime soon but is being rushed anyway. "I am very concerned that we will waste the taxpayer's money and saddle future generations with unnecessary debt for little or no economic benefit," he said.

Hatch added, "While I am hopeful the Senate will be able to improve the plan, it appears that Democrats are going to block any improvement efforts,"

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