I would argue that Pelosi may have set the stage for this sort of thing by allowing other, similar small measures into her earlier version of the bill. To say this sort of stuff always ends up in “such bills” makes it sound as though this bill is like other bills — but it isn’t. The bill is too massive, the stakes are too large, and the potential benefits of bipartisanship are too great in this case for this bill to be treated just like other bills. Comparing this bill to other bills in the past misses the point, in my opinion. Spending $800 billion after about two months of debate is not acceptable under ordinary circumstances, and Democrats should reserve the right to complain if Republicans try something similar in the future.

As for Inouye’s statement that he’s looking for any vehicle to bring this forward, Inouye hasn’t impressed me. If I could send his primary challenger $10 bucks right now, I would. It just gives Richard Burr an opportunity to sell the idea that the bill isn’t really about stimulus — and these sorts of items grind away at support for the bill.

I agree, though, that Democrats have done a poor job defending this bill.

A $198-million provision of the proposed Senate stimulus bill would authorize one-time payments of $15,000 to Filipino veterans who are U.S. citizens — many of whom live in California — and $9,000 for noncitizens, including those in the Philippines.

The provision is a small part of the overall $885-billion bill, but it has drawn criticism. North Carolina Sen. Richard M. Burr, top Republican on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, “finds it difficult to see how spending money in the Philippines will help stimulate the American economy,” a spokesman said.

…

The payments were added to the legislation by Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), chairman of the appropriations committee and one of three remaining World War II veterans in the Senate.

“It’s a matter of honor and the good name of the United States,” Inouye said outside the Senate chamber Tuesday. He noted that in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt promised the benefits, but Congress reneged on the pledge in 1946.

As for whether the veterans’ payments belonged in the stimulus package, Inouye said, “I’m looking for any vehicle that will carry this forward.” 

Whatever one thinks about benefits to Filipino WW2 vets, the addition was only in the Senate version of the bill, not the House version. This kind of stuff always ends up in such bills, as far as I can tell, partly as a result of the piecemeal and imperfect nature of the legislative process; people selectively become purity fiends whenever it suits them and their ideological interests, as Republicans and apparently moderate Democrats are in this case.

When all is done, the stimulus bill is going to pass about as cleanly as bills of this sort can pass, as far as I can tell. Can you point to a model of legislative efficiency and pork-less-ness in the past in comparison to this bill? I continue to believe that the main problem with the stimulus wasn’t so much the content of the bill but the lack of preparedness by Democrats in dealing with the hard work of defending it.