During his campaign, President Obama's advisers promised an economic
stimulus that would be "timely, targeted and temporary." It sounded
pretty good. But now congressional Democrats are pushing something
very different.

The legislation written by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is shortsighted, with potentially harmful long-
term ramifications. What was supposed to be an immediate boost to our
economy has morphed into yet another overreaching spending boondoggle.
There's no place for things like $45 million for ATV trails and
government office renovations. Yet, that's precisely the sort of
unnecessary spending that Reid and Pelosi are pushing.

Perhaps that's why polls show most Americans want major changes to the
stimulus bill moving through Congress. The Republican Party is
listening, and ready to work with President Obama to craft legislation
that would immediately create jobs.

We should first agree that with so many taxpayers struggling to pay
their own bills, every dollar must help job creation. Republicans
offered ideas to focus the stimulus directly on creating jobs and
helping homeowners, but the Democrat leaders in Congress preferred the
top-down big government approach.

In his news conference this week, the president was selling fast and
hard. He clearly senses that the American people have had enough of
these trillion-dollar spending sprees. As the loyal opposition,
Republicans have a responsibility to call him out when he errs, and
work with him when he is right.

In that spirit, let's recognize the Democrats' spending bill is a
mistake. If you like government dependence, you will love the Reid-
Pelosi plan that they are jamming through Congress.