Republican Governors with “Principles”
Don’t you just love these people who “take a stand” and show how “uncompromising” they are — without ever making a single sacrifice themselves. Since 2003 we’ve had to listen to thousands of chickenhawks yelling “so many countries to invade, so little time” — as long as somebody else is doing the invading. Sort of like those Three Stooges episodes where Moe points to Larry and Curly and says “and I’ll fight to the last drop of their blood.”
And now we have a few rockribbed “self-reliant” governors who are ready to say “No!” to that commie president and his nanny stimulus package. And what personal sacrifices will these governors be making? They’ll still have their jobs; they’ll keep their salaries, perks, prestige and political clout.
The only sacrifices will come from their lowly constituents who remain — or become — unemployed, and/or get foreclosed out of their homes. But at least these governors can score a few political points by appearing strong-willed and principled.
Arnold Schwarzenegger had some choice words for these phony heroes: “Governor Sanford says that he does not want to take the federal stimulus package money. And I want to say to him: I'll take it. I'm more than happy to take his money or any other governor in this country that doesn't want to take this money, I take it, because we in California need it.”
Give ‘em Hell Ahnuld! And this isn’t just rhetoric. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., has introduced a bill that would reallocate money from those five states — Alaska, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina and Idaho — whose governors are too proud to beg.
Weiner said: “If some governors decide to reject the money, 45 other states should be able to use it to create thousands of jobs. We have plenty of projects across the country that will put people to work and help achieve long term economic growth and stability.”
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley said: “All of us are committed to working with President Obama to pull our nation's economy out of the ditch that George W. Bush ran it into. If some of the fringe governors don't want to do that, they need to step aside and not stand in the way of the nation's interests.”
cross-posted at Bring It On!
Labels: Arnold Schwarzenegger stimulus package Governor Sanford, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, Rep. Anthony Weiner New York
posted by Tom Harper @ 7:13 PM
19 Comments:
Hooray for O'Malley getting a mention. (and he got another mention earlier today from Obama).
Still, we know that unlike Bobby Jindal, Schwarzenegger is just a girlie man.
I thought I heard Katie Couric blabbering about this on CBS tonight:
Even though Bobby Jindal makes a show of saying he won't take any of the bailout money for use in providing unemployment benefits, something like $150 million... I thought I heard her say he is still ready to take something like $4 billion in other bailout monies! What a scheiser. He tries to make himself look like the muscle boy Mark Sanford, but he's going to take billions anyway. And I guess he is going to be on the air giving some kind of rebuttal to Obama's speech to Congress tomorrow. Ugh... Perish the thought of GOP voters perceiving him as the second coming of Ronald Reagan. I hope the media doesn't give him loads of adoration after his rebuttal tomorrow. The guy is bad news.
These naysaying guvnors don't give a rat's ass about their constituents, or about average Americans in general.
I like the stand Ahnold is taking against his party's posturers. Good for him, and good for Weiner and O'Malley as well.
"The only sacrifices will come from their lowly constituents who remain — or become — unemployed, and/or get foreclosed out of their homes. But at least these governors can score a few political points by appearing strong-willed and principled."
That nails it, right there. What the three governor stooges are doing is cynical, selfish and despicable. I'm sure that will endear them to the dregs of Bush's base.
BTW, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, said the same thing about wanting the stimulus money of states that turn it down. I think she even said it first. I have a lot of respect for her because she took on a tough job at a terrible time in an economically trashed state. From what I've seen and heard, she's done a pretty good job.
This is awesome. I have called for governors and other GOP people with "principles" to reject the money in a number of my posts. I am glad to see some walking the walk actually. Let them deal with their constituency when the USG gives their money away. Rep. Weiner is a genius for calling their political bluffs. I wonder how Gov. Jindal will feel when they actually take his money away?! Think he will back down with Presidential ambitions on the line?
Plus it comes with the added bonus of continuing to divide the GOP into two parts for the better...those who want the President and our country to fail, and those who want him and us to succeed. Once the fat is cut, the GOP can return as a viable alternative in this two-party system and our country will be better for it.
I always thought nonconformity for the sake of nonconformity was stupid. But nonconformity just to "prove" you have a stand about something is probably even worse. I'm not against Republicans, it's just that for the longest time lately I think they've been having too much pride. I think Obama is trying pretty hard to get them into common ground with the Democrats.
Hell with those governors, I'll take the money. And I promise to use it to create, um, jobs or something.
DB, there is a big potential downside to having some states not use the stimulus money. Keep in mind, the three Republican moderate senators have already watered the bill down.
Late this year there will be all sorts of media stories about whether and to what extent the stimulus has done any good. If several states don't participate and their economies continue to languish, overall economic numbers will be dragged down. That could mean a bad report card for the Obama administration and Democrat-controlled Congress.
And guess what? It will then be time for Republicans to start campaigning for the 2010 elections.
PITS: Yup, O'Malley told 'em off good.
Snave: That's exactly what these governors are trying to do -- take most of the stimulus package but reject certain parts that they don't believe in. Good luck with that. Life doesn't work that way. Most things are a total package that you can either accept or reject.
Otherwise somebody could to go to CostCo and say "I don't want that whole 5-gallon vat of olives; just give me half a pound." Or we could all tell our employers "I'll do these 3 things from the job description, but not that part of it." Don't think so.
SW: Yes, undoubtedly the Republican "base" will be thrilled at the "courage" of these governors. I just hope that base will continue shrinking.
DB: I also enjoy seeing the GOP divided by still another wedge issue. Unfortunately, those governors aren't "walking the walk." They want to take most of the stimulus money, but reject certain parts of it, particularly expanded unemployment benefits for those lazy parasites (probably all Democrats) who aren't working.
Imee: Too much pride is definitely part of their problem. The "hubris before the fall" or whatever that saying is. Except in this case they've already fallen and they're still bursting with all this fake pride.
Randal: I want some of that money too. I'll do the right thing. Trust me.
S.W. is right, it will be interesting to see how the media plays things in about eight or nine months. I think they will probably start up with the "this isn't working" drum sooner than that.
Gee, do I think the media is right-wing? Heh!
"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." A.J. Liebling
Let a bridge or two collapse, or a nice hurricane/flood/earthquake/etc. hit their states and see how fast they cry for Obama to declare them a "disaster zone" so they get federal funding. Meanwhile, their constituency dies because the turkeys wanted to "take a stand." What a crock.
BTW, Tom, did you see? I got my first right wingnut commenter over on my site - I've hit the big time now, yeeeha! :) Movin' on up...hahaha
Bee, that's funny. Congrats! I have seen that guy commenting in a bunch of places. It is always fun knowing you hit a nerve hard enough to get a response.
SW, I agree. There will be a big downside to the rejection of the money, especially in those states. Jindal's play is purely political, but I do feel that if he is going to fight the President on the stimulus on "principle", he needs to also walk the walk. He is the governor of his state and is the one ultimately responsible.
Bee: You're right, they'd sure change their tune if a bridge collapsed in their own district.
Congrats on moving up in the world :) I looked at that guy's blog -- what a piece of work. I was tempted to leave a comment there, but I'm burned out on tangling with wingtards. I got in a lot of online pissing matches during my first 2-3 years of blogging, but that was then. For a long time I was using those traffic exchange programs (BlogExplosion, BlogMad), but I haven't used any of them for awhile now, so I've pretty much fallen off the Right-tards' radar.
"The "hubris before the fall" or whatever that saying is."
I think the saying you mean is, "Pride goeth before a fall."
SW: That's probably it. I think the word hubris means the kind of excessive pride that causes complacency and leads to a fall.
Man, the things I've learned about Jindal the last few days.... I have only begun to post on him.
I am really appreciative of what Huntsman of Utah had to say about the so-called Congressional "leadership." Give Huntsman whatever Sanford doesn't want. He earned it.
Thanks DB, I was pretty excited, lol.
Tom, I don't normally go looking for conversations with repubes (I get enough at work, dontchaknow) but what the heck, if one straggles in, I'll take a shot at them. At least this guy is civil, I've seen others who write like they just came off the Deliverance boat.
JR: I don't know much about Jindal, but with that mealy-mouth way he talks, he'll get trounced if he runs for the White House.
Bee: That's true, I looked through the comments at several of that guy's posts, and he answered everybody civilly. That isn't the case with all of them, trust me.
It's all for show. Most of those states are in no shape to be playing this game. It will come back to haunt them.
Ricardo: I hope that political posturing backfires on those governors.
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