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!