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They Were For It Before They Were Against It
In typical political theater a small group of Republican governors held a press conference to show America what staunch conservatives they were because they were “considering” turning down some money from the federal stimulus package.
None have actually outright rejected the money but, they’re “considering” it. Texas governor Rick Perry who considered rejecting some of the money decided Wednesday to accept it. They held a press conference for this? You betcha! Yes, guess who was there along with the other five GOP governors most of whom, just coincidentally of course, are considering runs for the White House in 2012: Yes, Sarah Palin, what a shock!
But a provision in the bill allows state legislatures to override their governor and accept the money even if their governor turns it down. Per the Associated Press news release on this story this means that “governors like …Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal – a GOP up-and-comer often mentioned as a potential 2012 presidential candidate – can burnish their conservative credentials, knowing all the while that their legislatures can accept the money anyway.” Can you say “grandstanding”?
It gets better. Just a little over a month ago this same group along with many more GOP governors publicly endorsed the stimulus package. Sarah Palin met with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and other senators to press for her state’s share of the package. This sounds an awful lot like Palin taking money for a bridge to nowhere and then saying she was against it all along and turned the money down. Well, she “considered” turning it down.
Even the vice chairman of the National Governors Association, a republican, urged the Senate to approve the plan. So, let me get this straight; some of the republican governors that urged Congress to pass Obama’s stimulus are now considering turning down “some” of the money even though their states desparately need it.
You can’t make this stuff up.
