Republican Governors Quietly Accept Federal Dollars -- While Attacking Federal Spending

[upstatecajun]

Republican governors stormed into state houses this January after campaigning against federal spending, and various so-called state bailouts. They won in part by painting a slanted picture of fiscal mismanagement by their Democratic predecessors.

That rhetoric -- and the rhetoric of their more senior Republican peers -- continues to this day, and occasionally translates into genuinely puzzling acts of malgovernance. Florida Governor Rick Scott, for example, turned down $2.4 billion in federal funds to build a high-speed rail line from Orlando to Tampa.

But in other ways, their failure to publicly embrace additional federal commitments during tough economic times has left them behind the eight ball, politically. As the costs to their states of providing needed social services has risen, and their revenue has fallen, they're looking for sub rosa ways to take the money without catching flak from their bases.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/republican-governors-quietly-accept-federal-dollars-despite-spending-attacks.php?ref=fpa

[iwishiwas]

1. Hypocrits.

[gratuitous]

2. If only there was some way to, you know, get the word out about this

But what???