The Cash-And-Trash Story Gets More Humiliating

[babylonsister]

THE CASH-AND-TRASH STORY GETS MORE HUMILIATING.... In one of the more entertaining moments of President Obama's recent chat with House Republicans, the president offered a spirited defense of the stimulus package that rescued the economy. Obama noted a certain inconsistency in the GOP rhetoric: "{A} lot of you have gone to ribbon cuttings for the same projects that you voted against. I say all this not to re-litigate the past, but it's simply to state, the component parts of the recovery act are consistent with what many of you say are important things to do."

snip//

Sen. Christopher S. Bond regularly railed against President Obama's economic stimulus plan as irresponsible spending that would drive up the national debt. But behind the scenes, the Missouri Republican quietly sought more than $50 million from a federal agency for two projects in his state.

Mr. Bond was not alone. More than a dozen Republican lawmakers, while denouncing the stimulus to the media and their constituents, privately sent letters to just one of the federal government's many agencies seeking stimulus money for home-state pork projects.

The letters to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, expose the gulf between lawmakers' public criticism of the overall stimulus package and their private lobbying for projects close to home.

"It's not illegal to talk out of both sides of your mouth, but it does seem to be a level of dishonesty troubling to the American public," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

This report is pretty astounding. More than a dozen GOP lawmakers who said the recovery package is simply incapable of creating jobs and generating economic growth pleaded with the Agriculture Department to spend stimulus dollars in their areas to "create jobs" and "spur economic opportunities." In several instances, far-right lawmakers would publicly condemn the very idea of economic stimulus efforts and request stimulus dollars within a few days of each other.

more...

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_02/022320.php

[williesgirl]

1. Pres Obama said it all and the beauty of it - in their faces! rec'd

[babylonsister]

2. It disgusts me how dishonest these rethugs are. nt