NY Times on McCotter and the stimulus package

The New York Times has an article about the difficulty some Republicans are having selling their no votes on the stimulus bill to their constituents. The article focuses on Thad McCotter, whose district includes a large number of autoworkers and others deeply affected by the current economic recession.

The Times notes that Republicans are really rolling the dice on the failure of the stimulus bill in the wake of public opinion polls that show “wide public support for the measure and disapproval of the Republican approach.” And the Democrats are attempting to go on the offensive about this, including putting out robocalls in McCotter’s district:

“Did you know Congressman Thad McCotter voted against President Obama’s economic recovery plan, endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce?” says the script of an automated telephone call that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee plans to direct to homes in his district this week. The message will encourage voters to call Mr. McCotter and “ask why he voted to raise taxes on middle-class families.”

Both parties are really gambling on this bill. If it fails to help the economy recover, the Republicans will come out much stronger as a result. If it helps significantly, the Republicans will have a difficult time explaining their unified vote against it as anything but partisan politics.