As Republicans did and do, the Democrats are trying to use this crisis to get **** passed that otherwise wouldn't have a prayer getting through without serious issues arising. As such Pelosi and Obama are no more stupid trying to pass their socialist tax and spend utopia into existence than Republicans were when they essentially turned the country into a proto police state when the Patriot Act was submitted and passed. In point of fact they're not being stupid or funny, both parties know there's no way in hell most of the crap they want to do would pass under normal circumstances when people aren't panicing. Therefore: get people to panic.
And, bottom line, this package even if stripped of all pork and so called unnecassary spending will do nothing to 'stimulate' the economy. At best it will displace private jobs on a 1:1 basis while delaying the price adjustments up and down the stucture of production that need to be made to correct for all the misused resources and bad debts that exist. In other words at best it will give people 'jobs' digging and refilling holes while prolonging the correction process which is inevitable anyway.
The real solution would be to cut government spending with an axe the size of the moon, to cut the growth of the monetary base, to cut taxes on producers and consumers, and to encourage savings to increase the pool of real loanable funds to justify some of the bullshit that's been taking place. Of course, none of that will ever happen.
