Crackpot Liberal Group With Obama Ties Calls for $382 Billion Stimulus

Are these people completely insane? Sure sounds like it.

A liberal think tank is calling on Congress to embrace a $382 billion stimulus plan to lower unemployment.

The call from the liberal Demos group comes as the White House and congressional Democrats and Republicans argue over how greatly to cut this year's spending. House Republicans have proposed a total of $61 billion in cuts this year, while the White House has agreed to a total of $10.5 billion in cuts.

Officials with Demos told reporters on a conference call that their new stimulus plan would create 8.2 million government jobs over two years while lowering unemployment from 8.9 percent to 4.5 percent.

They also said it would be politically popular.

“Poll after poll indicates the American people want job creation over other national goals, including deficit reduction,” Demos Vice President Tamara Draut told reporters.

In what should be a shock to nobody, Barack Obama used to be a board member of this group.

In the late 1990s, Demos was conceptualized by Charles Halpern, President of the Nathan Cummings Foundation (1989-2000). Halpern wanted to create a counter-argument to the growing influence of the many right-wing think tanks and establish a multi-issue organization that would focus on progressive policy development and advocacy. By 1999, Demos’ founding staff was assembled. This first group of Fellows and Board members included David Callahan, Fellow at the Century Foundation; Rob Fersh, policy advocate; Stephen Heintz, Vice-President of the EastWest Institute; Arnie Miller, of Isaccson Miller, an executive search firm; David Skaggs, a Colorado Congressman; and Barack Obama, an Illinois State Senator.

The board of trustees also included far left 9/11 Truther Van Jones.

This nuttiness comes as we posted out largest deficit ever in February which, astonishingly, is larger than our debt for all of 2007.

How's that change working out for you?