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   Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Gnter Grass still thinks reunification was a bad idea.
 Forty years of writing from Taylor Branch, James Fallows, Katherine Boo, Marjorie Williams, Joshua Micah Marshall, and more.
 With help from Washington, the for-profit college industry is loading up millions of low-income students with debt they'll never pay off.
 The best recent memoir from republican Washington is a hoax. That should tell you something.
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October 20, 2009
DELAYED FANS OF THE STIMULUS.... It seems to be a nearly daily occurrence. Republican officials -- some in Congress, some governors -- who blasted the stimulus package in February suddenly love the public investment in their state and/or district now. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) has probably been the most shameless about it, but he's hardly alone. It looks like we can add Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) to the list.
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that Burr neglected to mention that the fire-department grant wouldn't exist if it were up to him. It's a familiar pattern. Republicans aggressively opposed the stimulus proposal earlier this year, insisting that it was a wasteful effort that couldn't possibly improve the economy (as opposed to, say, a five-year spending freeze, which would have worked wonders). Ever since, the same conservative lawmakers who trashed the recovery bill now believe their area could really use some of those recovery funds, and they love to smile for the cameras when the checks are being distributed. This started within a couple of weeks of the stimulus package passing, and it's only become more common since. (In Burr's case, it's especially embarrassing -- he delivered a weekly Republican Party address in February, denouncing the recovery efforts.) The DCCC even came up with a "Hypocrisy Hall of Fame" for recovery critics who are "celebrating the benefits of President Obama's economic recovery bill in their districts." Last I heard, there 67 GOP lawmakers in the "Hall." The DSCC should probably follow suit -- and save plenty of room for inductees. —Steve Benen 4:00 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (12)Comments
Where are all of the "savvy" Dems? I'd have a TV ad out post haste. Fliers in the mail and radio spots galore. Man-O-man. Where is the Free Liberal Press on all this? Wolf? King? All 35 piece corporate suits. Nauseating... Posted by: stevio on October 20, 2009 at 4:08 PM | PERMALINKRepublicans aggressively opposed the stimulus proposal earlier this year, insisting that it was a wasteful effort that couldn't possibly improve the economy Actually, I believe they insisted, rather forcefully, that Obama and the Dems were socialist-pinko-fascist-Muslim, America-hating, terrorist-loving, Nazis bent on destroying our way of life. Posted by: ckelly on October 20, 2009 at 4:19 PM | PERMALINKSEND. THEM. MOPS. Remember yesterday when we were all talking about the "Grab a Mop" meme? The way to keep that going is to KEEP IT GOING. Mops. Send them. Posted by: Cazart on October 20, 2009 at 4:26 PM | PERMALINKIt's the kind of thing that every Democratic representative will be putting in their 2010 literature and ads. "We were for a stimulus, that money came into this community to help us avoid a national depression. On the other hand, my GOP opponent was against the stimulus, because Obama proposed it, so he was against it. His allegiance to the Republican party comes before everything: community, state, nation, world." Posted by: Rathskeller on October 20, 2009 at 4:28 PM | PERMALINKmops, seriously? honestly, I can't remember a dumber, dead-on-arrival political stunt, not even one from Red State. it's fine --- more than fine -- as rhetoric. If you're talking about it, use it every day, and especially drive the older white politicans crazy with the racial undertones. But a mop is a damned silly, unserious thing to send. I'd like to stay away from meaningless, publicity-seeking stunts. Posted by: Rathskeller on October 20, 2009 at 4:33 PM | PERMALINKLast I heard, there 67 GOP lawmakers in the "Hall." "We're not accustomed to federal dollars in that magnitude finding their way to North Carolina," Burr said At least give him credit for at least noting where the money cam from. Jindal was giving out checks and acting as if he was the one responsible for the funds going as far as to put his name on the check. Posted by: ScottW on October 20, 2009 at 4:55 PM | PERMALINKI can't wait for the opposition ads from democrats highlighting the hypocrisy of these right wingers voting against policies that they benefit from. Posted by: richard wang on October 20, 2009 at 5:03 PM | PERMALINKI figured at the time of passage that the main point of the "no earmarks" bill was so those who voted against the bill couldn't claim credit. Failing that, they would have to work with local and state officials to help them get the money. Once the money showed up, the trap was set. The only thing left is to use this in the next election. The final point for democrats challenging incumbent republicans. The stimulus money was more or less the apple in the Garden of Eden. Posted by: tomj on October 20, 2009 at 5:36 PM | PERMALINKHere in Fla, the Republican leader of the state senate (whose name believe it or not is Atwater--for those who remember Lee Atwater) is worried that unless there is a special session of the legislature, the state will lose billions of infrastructure spending. The project? A rail system from Tampa to Orlando. And the recently conservative Gov Crist (running to the Right as hard as he can because of a senatorial primary challenge) seems likely to call the lawmakers together for just that session. Money talks. Bullshit walks (to Tallahassee). Posted by: JohnMcC on October 20, 2009 at 6:02 PM | PERMALINKEvery bill in Congress should have a provision that earmarks and amendments offered by those who vote against the final bill will be stripped from the bill. Why are we allowing Republicans to water down good bills they are never going to vote for? Why are we allowing politicians to take credit for local spending on items they voted against? Maybe someone could introduce this as the anti-hypocrisy amendment. The red staters in north Georgia who were dead set against the stimulus package are backing the HIRE act, which would give tax credits for the purchase of home furnishings, and double the credit for the purchase of "green" products. North Georgia is the home of the carpet industry, which has been slammed by the recession. Posted by: Obee on October 21, 2009 at 6:22 AM | PERMALINKPost a comment
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