Say Anything Blog

When just about every single Republican in Congress rallied together to oppose the “stimulus” crap sandwich it was a hopeful moment for the future of the GOP.  But observing the spectacle of Republicans going back to their home states and bragging about the pork stuck into this “stimulus” they voted against reminds me again of why they’re in the minority party.

WASHINGTON — Rep. John Mica was gushing after the House of Representatives voted Friday to pass the big stimulus plan.

“I applaud President Obama’s recognition that high-speed rail should be part of America’s future,” the Florida Republican beamed in a press release.

Yet Mica had just joined every other GOP House member in voting against the $787.2 billion economic recovery plan.

Republicans echoed their party line over and over during the debate: “This bill is loaded with wasteful deficit spending on the majority’s favorite government programs,” as Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., put it.

But Mica wasn’t alone in touting what he saw as the bill’s virtues. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, also had nice things to say in a press release.

Young boasted that he “won a victory for the Alaska Native contracting program and other Alaska small business owners last night in H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.”

One provision would have made it harder for minority businesses to win contracts, and Young explained that he “worked with members on the other side of the aisle to make the case for these programs, and was able to get the provision pulled from the bill.”

Yet later in the day Young — who recently told McClatchy that he would’ve included earmarks, or local projects, in the bill if it had been permitted — issued another statement blasting the overall measure.

“This bill was not a stimulus bill. It was a vehicle for pet projects, and that’s wrong,” he protested.

Republicans aren’t going to find their way out of the wilderness until Americans trust them again.  And Americans aren’t going to trust them again until they know that when Republicans say something they mean it.  Republicans can’t oppose something like the “stimulus” from a righteous limited government standpoint only to turn around and praise the pork tucked into it for the sake of political expediency.