House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said on Friday that his remark that Republican governors declining to take stimulus funds was a
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GOP Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao, who stunned many observers when he beat embattled Rep. William Jefferson (D) in New Orleans last year, isn't getting much time to settle into his new digs.
Two ministers are leading a group that filed paperwork this week to recall Cao, who has been on the job for six weeks. According to the Times-Picayune, Cao's voting with
House Majority Whip James Clyburn's (D-S.C.) remarks Thursday that the idea that governors would refuse stimulus funds is a "slap in the face to African Americans" is heating up the blogosphere right now, as both Huffington Post leads its politics section with the news.
Clyburn's remarks were targeted at Govs. Rick Perry of Texas (R), Bobby Jindal of Lousiana (R), Haley Barbour (R) of Mississippi and Mark Sanford (R) of Clyburn's home state who said they may not take the money. Those states, Clyburn argued, have large black populations that could benefit from the funds. Perry has since said he will take the funds, the AP points out, and none of the others have stated unequivocally that they won't take the money. And Sanford now says he is open to taking the money.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) and Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter (R) have also said they have reservations about taking the money.
Of course, the issue here is, like most things, is politics (read: perception) versus reality. One can't help but realize all of these folks have political futures and many are considered potential 2012 GOP presidential contenders. They are all grabbing headlines by taking this supposed principled policy stand, but again, it is worth noting, none have followed through on it. The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz cuts through the political posturing this morning in his column:
But can you imagine the local revolt if Sanford or one of his statehouse colleagues actually passed up tens of billions of dollars for their citizens--money for roads, schools, health care--because of a philosophical disagreement with the president?
Talk is cheap. In the end, no one will walk away from the federal funding. You read it here first.
Makes sense, right? Or, if not, who will be the first governor to actually turn down the money? The comments section awaits below.
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Don't forget, in politics, perception is reality. In the battle for the mantle of bipartisanship, President Obama is winning by a mile.
It doesn't matter that Obama got a stimulus bill passed with exactly three Senate Republican votes and not a single House GOP vote. It doesn't matter that both parties turned from talking about bipartisanship to spewing vitriolic accusations of ill will. The American people have spoken, and they're with the president on this one.
A new Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll shows 66 percent of Americans believe Obama "sincerely tried to reach out and be bipartisan," while just 28 percent said he had not. That includes a surprisingly high 42 percent of those who identify themselves as Republicans (52 percent of GOP voters said no).
But just 33 percent of voters say Republicans tried to be helpful to the president and bipartisan in drafting the legislation. Six in ten voters do not think that's the case.
Voters think Obama's rhetoric on the economy, which has turned decidedly alarmist in recent weeks, is spot on. Seven in ten voters say Obama's assertion that doing nothing on the economy would turn the crisis into a catastrophe and the beginning of a long recession is accurate, while just 22 percent say that's too negative a claim.
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And now Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), who also voted against the bill, just posted this on his Twitter page:
petehoekstra If you know of someone thinking of buying first home, now may be the time.Stimulus incentive is very generous!Up to 8k!Check it out.
UPDATE: A reader writes in that first term GOP Rep. Leonard Lance, a Republican that voted for the bill, also touted parts of the legislation recently. From mycentraljersey.com:
Under the terms of the stimulus plan signed into law Tuesday by President Barack Obama infrastructure projects that are "shovel-ready" could be the first to be funded with economic recovery money.
That's the hope of Rep. Leonard Lance, R-Clinton Township, who toured the project's construction sites Tuesday morning with Mayor Carey Pilato, members of the Green Brook Flood Control Commission and representatives of the Army Corps of Engineers, which is overseeing the project. "This is a classic example of a "shovel-ready' project," Lance said after the tour.
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Here is the anticipated Americans United for Change/AFSCME ad that features footage from the signing of the economic stimulus package today.
A spokesman from the group didn't immediately get back to me about where/when/on what channels this is running or how much money is behind the ad buy. Marc Ambinder reports that the ad will run on national cable and in Washington, D.C.
UPDATE: Jeremy Funk, a spokesman for the group, confirms Ambinder's report. He says the ad will be on national cable (CNN and MSNBC) and in the D.C. market. It will go up tomorrow and run through the end of the week.
But, besides turning Cantor into an overnight superstar, several observers are wondering whether the House GOP is missing the desire expressed by many in the country for action on the economy now and if the political maneuver could ultimately come back to haunt them in 2010.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (yes, we know we already wrote about him once today but hey, it's a slow news day) is declaring victory on the stimulus.
Cantor (R-Va.) posted this video, titled "The House GOP is Back" today on the GOP Whip's website.
Anyone know if Steven Tyler is a Republican? How about Joe Perry?
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