RNC Pushing Article That Targets Republican Senator For Getting Stimulus Pork
Hmmm, this one’s a bit odd. Earlier today, the Republican National Committee blasted out to reporters a research document with a link to an article in USA Today reporting that much of the stimulus package’s construction money will be spent in the districts of well-connected lawmakers.
The RNC document cited the piece to argue that the stimulus cash is nothing but pork and isn’t going where it’s needed. “Where Are The Jobs?” the document demanded. “Where Is The Money? Why All The Pork?”
But there’s only one problem: If you click through the link provided by the RNC to the article itself, you find that it actually targets a Republican Senator, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, as a primary recipient of this pork.
The article actually has a picture of Cochran as its lead photograph. And in the piece (though this passage isn’t in the RNC’s document), it notes that Cochran is the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which oversees disbursement of this money. The piece also says that Cochran’s state of Mississippi will receive $212.8 million of this stimulus cash, more than any other state except California.
In a sense, this is a variation of what we saw earlier this year: Republicans in Congress condemning the stimulus package but then turning right around and taking stimulus cash for their states and districts. Only now it’s coming out of the RNC. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy…
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The 21st century Republican party – the gang who couldn’t shoot straight! -Kevo
I think perhaps the modern Republicans are trying to put a friendly and familiar face on their party. A face not quite so threatening. Someone like Uncle Irving after his stroke.
That’s how we roll in the RNC now baby!!!!
-Michael Steele
Bigger than all of that Greg, whoever wrote the article is pretty inept. There are 7 states not recieving any money from the Corps but only one gets listed, Michigan. Does that mean Michigan has projects that could have been funded but was passed over because of members of the appropriations committee? Or did they just not have any project ready? They say CA, FL, MS, and IL are getting the most money, well hell I know here in FL the unemployment rate is awful and I know it is in CA too. So what does that really mean? How many of the House members of the appropriations committee are from the same states represented by Senators on teh appropriations committee?
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I didn’t get anything out of the article at all honestly. It didn’t say anything about it not delivering jobs though. Nor did it label any of the projects as pork. The RNC is just stupid. They probably didn’t even read it themselves.
SG makes a good point. Aside from MS, CA, FL and Illinois are three of the top 5 most populous states in the Union. Of course they will be getting the majority of the money. IL is in terrible shape. Our former-former Gov is in prison and our former Gov is on his way. We have an 11 billion deficit and no hope of it getting any better. Oh and IL is the president’s home. Naturally IL is going to get its hands on some dough.
Why , if the article is about pork going to senators’ districts, is the only one mentioned a republican? Was the RNC completely wrong, or wetre there some DEMOCRATS who got fistfuls of cash too?