GOP lawmakers tout projects in the stimulus bill they opposed

remember kids, pork is bad unless it's feeding your family...

I just never thought GOP members would be so overt and stupid about it.

 

his party forced him to vote against it. what do you want, he has to get reelected some how.

 

seriously though, really? i'm hoping this doesn't escape SOME people. you would've thought that the GOP would be smart enough to say "well, guys, come on we just voted against that bill, kindly STFU about it for at least the next month or so"

 

Hypocrites

 

Shouldn't he have waited until after he gets reelected before showing his cards? How does it help him to vote against it, and then spill the beans before the ink is dry?

 

There are a lot of Repubs doing this or planning to do this in the next few days.

 

They'd tell you that they supported said project, but not a $800 BB cluster.

(Not defending, just giving the plausible spin.)

 

Exactly what's been wrong with Republicans. They only say they are against government waste.

The voters suck too, because they claim to hate pork and big government, then vote for this stuff.

 

Sort of reminds me of when McCain and Cornyn tried big time to avoid increasing veterans benefits and then went around proclaiming how they voted for them.

 

kind of reminds me of how kerry was for the war before he was against it.

it kinda reminds me of when tmac was gonna play then he didnt.

it kinda reminds me of when steve was going to really come back and didnt.

 

Nice post, adoo... much ado(o) about something!
Great use of the different font, as well. Something rarely seen in D&D. Post more!

 

The font in this thread is incredible.

 

He is responsible to his constituents and his constituents only. If we are at the point where a few people in charge of the GOP or DNC can so easily dictate votes, there is no bill, stimulating or not, capable of saving us.

 

He can't have it both ways, not easily. No party "forces" anyone to do anything. If he cared a lot about the programs he voted against and is touting now, that's fine. He's free to explain nuance in his vote. He is also subject to the ridicule that traditionally comes from explaining nuance. That's the legacy of the GOP ever since Bush v. Kerry at least. If he wants to have it both ways that's fine, but he won't find it easy.

The real problem here is that a lot of the Republicans that opposed the bill did so out of party loyalty rather than sincere opposition to the bill itself. That's fine too, but they will have to answer to their constituents.

 

I thought the Republican spin was that anything not in the form of tax cuts are considered porkulus?

 

Exactly the problem with the party now. They are without a leader or a philosophy so they have reverted to the position of being a perfect opposition party (much better than the Democrats at it btw, much more organized that way). They are just against everything Obama is for.

But if they're to have any chance at changing their fortunes in 2010-12, they're going to have to figure out what they're for, not just what they're against.

Obama was an expert at this. At the Iowa JJ Dinner during the primaries he made a point of explaining that it wasn't important to win unless Democrats understood why they wanted to win. The GOP needs someone that can articulate why it's important to win. Not just why Democrats suck but why Republicans would be better. All tax cuts all the time won't cut it.

 

Must be tuff being a repub these days...

 

republicans vote against spending bill after adding earmarks

WASHINGTON — Republican congressmen derided the massive $410 billion spending bill approved by the House of Representatives last week, but some like Houston-area Rep. Ron Paul contributed to its size.

Paul, of Lake Jackson, managed to insert 22 earmarks worth $96.1 million into the bill, leading the Houston delegation, according to an analysis of more than 8,500 congressionally-mandated projects in the bill by the Houston Chronicle.

The so-call "omnibus" bill, which passed the House on a 245-178 vote, with only 16 Republicans in support, was chock-full of congressmen's pet projects for their districts.

Paul's included repair projects to the Galveston Seawall damaged by Hurricane Ike and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

Second to Paul in the Houston delegation was Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, who tallied $63.6 million in earmarks.

Democrats were not far behind, with Rep. Al Green and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee adding $50.1 million and $37.6 million respectively.

Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, whose nine earmarks totaled $32.1 million, said they "allow lawmakers to have a say in how taxpayer dollars (are) spent."

"It is in the best interest of taxpayers," Poe said, "to have their member of Congress secure funding for local projects than to leave it up to unaccountable and un-elected bureaucrats in Washington."

Messages left Sunday by The Associated Press at the offices of Paul, Green and Jackson Lee seeking comment were not immediately returned.

Culberson's spokeswoman Megan Mitchell, said he refuses special project requests "unless the project is cost effective and serves a legitimate government purpose."

President Barack Obama has promised to cut earmarks, but may allow those in this spending bill to slip in under the wire because they were requested before he took office.

Texas' U.S. senators were active as well.

Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison led the state with 104 earmarks worth about $250 million in the House version of the bill.

Like Poe, Hutchison said she would not be doing her job if she left the funding decisions to people "who may have never visited Texas and are unaccountable" to its voters.

Her fellow Republican Texan in the Senate, John Cornyn, helped arrange at least 53 earmarks worth nearly $200 million.

Only one Houston-area congressman — Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin — was earmark-free in the House bill.

"The system," McCaul said, "is susceptible to waste, fraud and abuse."