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  1. #1
    Senior Member SOSADFORUS's Avatar
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    GOP govs break with party over stimulus

    updated 2 hours, 3 minutes ago


    GOP govs break with party over stimulus

    NEW YORK - Most Republican governors have broken with their GOP colleagues in Congress and are pushing for passage of President Barack Obama's economic aid plan that would send billions to states for education, public works and health care.

    Their state treasuries drained by the financial crisis, governors would welcome the money from Capitol Hill, where GOP lawmakers are more skeptical of Obama's spending priorities.

    The 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, scheduled meetings in Washington this weekend with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and other senators to press for her state's share of the package.

    Florida Gov. Charlie Crist worked the phones last week with members of his state's congressional delegation, including House Republicans. Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas, the Republican vice chairman of the National Governors Association, planned to be in Washington on Monday to urge the Senate to approve the plan.

    "As the executive of a state experiencing budget challenges, Gov. Douglas has a different perspective on the situation than congressional Republicans," said Douglas' deputy chief of staff, Dennise Casey.

    Not a single Republican voted with the majority last week when the House approved Obama's $819 billion combination of tax cuts and new spending. The president's goal is to create or preserve 3 million to 4 million jobs.

    Republicans led by House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio complained that the plan is laden with pet projects and will not yield the jobs or stimulate the economy in the way Obama has promised.

    The measure faces GOP opposition in the Senate, where it will be up for a vote in the week ahead.

    Severe shortfalls
    But states are coping with severe budget shortfalls and mounting costs for Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor. So governors, including most Republicans, are counting on the spending to help keep their states afloat.

    This past week the bipartisan National Governors Association called on Congress to quickly pass the plan.

    "States are facing fiscal conditions not seen since the Great Depression ā€” anticipated budget shortfalls are expected in excess of $200 billion," the NGA statement said. "Governors ... support several key elements of the bill critical to states-increased federal support for Medicaid and K-12 and higher education; investment in the nation's infrastructure; and tax provisions to spur investment."

    Clyde Frazier, a professor of political science at Meredith College in North Carolina, said it wasn't politically inconsistent for Republican governors and members of Congress to part ways on the stimulus plan.

    "For governors, it's free money ā€” they get the benefits and they don't have to pay the costs of raising the revenues," Frazier said. "Senators and representatives get only some credit for the expenditures, and they have to pay the bill."

    That's not to say Republican governors are entirely enthusiastic about the plan. Some worry about the debt incurred through so much federal borrowing.

    'We need some help'
    Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a former member of the House, said he would accept the stimulus money but would have voted against the bill if he were still in Congress. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, said he wasn't sure whether he would accept the approximately $3 billion his state would be in line for.

    "Yes, we need some help and we appreciate the help," Barbour said in an interview. "But I don't know about the details and the strings attached to tell you if I'll take all of it or not."

    The most outspoken critic has been South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who has warned for months of a steep spike in inflation and a severely weakened dollar if Obama's plan passed. His state is on track to receive $2.1 billion of the stimulus money; Sanford has not yet said whether he would accept it.

    "It's incumbent on me as one of the nation's governors to speak out against what I believe is ultimately incredibly harmful to the economy, to taxpayers and to the worth of the U.S. dollar," Sanford said in an interview. "This plan is a huge mistake and is going to prolong and deepen this recession."

    Sanford outlined his concerns in December when the then-president-elect met with governors in Philadelphia to discuss the stimulus proposal. Sanford said he had heard nothing from the White House since then.

    Associates say Sanford, who recently was elected chairman of the Republican Governors Association, has been disappointed in how few of his GOP colleagues have joined him in speaking out against the size and scope of Obama's plan.

    Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who is widely viewed as a potential presidential contender in 2012, said governors have little choice but to accept the relief being offered. "States have to balance their budgets," he said. "So if we're going to go down this path, we are entitled to ask for our share of the money."

    But Pawlenty expressed reservations about the cost of the plan and its impact on the federal deficit, which has already grown to over $1 trillion.

    "I'm quite concerned about the federal government spending money it doesn't have," Pawlenty said. "We're on an unsustainable path of deficit spending and borrowing."
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28949195
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  2. #2
    Super Moderator GeorgiaPeach's Avatar
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    It could really just make you want to give up at times. Can the Republicans not get their act together and vote for the long term good instead of the quick gratification of the temporary fixes for their states? I know that they have special interests breathing down their necks, and real financial crises, but somewhere, someone has got to stand up against feeding the beast of government. For Republican governors to get what they want, they will give more voters to the Democrats through payoffs to the Unions, to ACORN, and to the illegal alien lobby,etc. Their quick fix will result in political suicide and more wilderness wandering, not to mention the loss of millions of more angry voters.

    Will they be rational?

    Psalm 91
    Matthew 19:26
    But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
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  3. #3
    Senior Member SOSADFORUS's Avatar
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    Greed usually wins out "Georgia peach" so sad isn't it! its know wonder we are so tired of it all!
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  4. #4
    Senior Member AirborneSapper7's Avatar
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    states are required by law to balance they're own goofy budgets .... I am sick of this

    When the dollar collapses they are all accountable for their actions and I demand trials for each and every one of them
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  5. #5
    Senior Member SOSADFORUS's Avatar
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    I think it is time to lay off the people running the printing presses that produces the $$$$$$, that is the only way to stop the madness.
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  6. #6
    Super Moderator GeorgiaPeach's Avatar
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    Yes AirborneSapper, you are right that they are required to balance their budgets, but they need to put their big boy and big girl pants on and eliminate the fraud, use programs like E Verify and 287g, and cut the fat, fat, fat bureaucratic waste from the budgets. Getting rid of illegal aliens from the state rolls for free services and benefits would be millions and billions depending on the state.

    SoSad, "Greed" and his brother "Power" are running a big portion of our government.

    Psalm 91
    Matthew 19:26
    But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
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  7. #7
    Senior Member alamb's Avatar
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    it's high time we got back to personal responsability - pay your way!
    this is America!

  8. #8
    Senior Member lccat's Avatar
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    Iā€™m still amazed that the governors and our other Elitists Politicians refuse to Enforce our Immigration Laws and Secure our National Borders which would remove millions of ILLEGALS and their Anchors resulting in Billions saved. The Elitist Politicians and their Elitist Contributors are "socializing benefits" to the ILLEGALS, camouflaged as welfare for United States Citizens, on the backs of United States citizens through our assets such as the Education System, Social Security, and Health Care not to mention our National Security while "privatizing" the profits for themselves!

  9. #9
    MW
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    Senior Member MW's Avatar
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    "For governors, it's free money ā€” they get the benefits and they don't have to pay the costs of raising the revenues," Frazier said.
    Mr. Frazier is right on target.

    "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" ** Edmund Burke**

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