Welfare Reform as the Next Big GOP Issue

Both Mickey Kaus and Michael Barone argue, persuasively I think, that the stimulus bill essentially repeals the popular Clinton '96 welfare reform bill. The merits aside -- which we'll take up later -- this part of the bill is bound to be enormously unpopular politically over time and is bound to be a major issue in the 2010 campaign and beyond.

For those who don't remember, the Clinton bill was known euphemistically for "ending welfare as we know it." According to news accounts at the time, "the measure, hammered out in Congress over the past several months, imposes a five-year limit on benefits, requires able-bodied recipients to go to work after two years, and gives states incentives to create jobs for people on welfare"

All that was a key component of the Clinton revival after the '94 electoral wipeout.

The GOP revival continues. Just by standing there.