Getting tough

We’re happy to see President Barack Obama getting tough with congressional Republicans who are trying to sabotage the stimulus and recovery bill and bring even greater ruin on the economy. Since Obama campaigned on the promise of bipartisanship, we hope he will also bring his hammer down on short-sighted Democrats who are threatening their own brand of havoc. Obama had it exactly right on Thursday when he warned against reducing “the scale and the scope” of the economic measure. If anything, the government should be more ambitious in its spending on stimulus, recovery and growth.

Obama needs to remind Republicans that he won the election on those terms. And he is going to have to get tough with Democrats. So will House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. We know Obama is capable of uniting disparate groups. That comes with a tendency toward conciliation, which we admire, but we hope he resists it now. Obama made concessions on the House version of the economic plan, and no Republican voted for it.

The president must explain to Americans that a strong economic stimulus is essential for their economic recovery. If Senate Republicans still want to filibuster, Reid should call them on it. No filibuster on this bill could withstand the public outrage.