Key Republican Governors Like Palin Oppose the Obama Stimulus Package
Updated on 2/19/09: An earlier version of this blog post asserted that South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford had said he would reject federal stimulus spending. The source was a report from the Online NewsHour, to which I linked. Sanford's spokesman subsequently notified me that the governor has not said one way or another whether he will let South Carolina accept the federal cash.
Updated on 2/18/09: An earlier version of this blog post contained an incorrect version of Sarah Palin spokesman Bill McAllister's quotation about the Chinese and other foreign governments buying U.S. debt. He said "more U.S. debt," rather than "your U.S. debt." I had taken the misquote from a KTUU.com article (to which I linked).
By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Rumors of a split between Republican governors and members of Congress may be overblown.
While no congressional Republicans supported the stimulus plan, the New York Times reported today, several GOP governors have weighed in in favor of it. But some of the most influential Republican governors—including those most likely to run for president in three years—opposed the package.
In terms of presidential politics, the most notable name in the Times piece is Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who campaigned with Obama for the stimulus package last week. Glaringly absent from the Times piece were governors like South Carolina's Mark Sanford, Louisiana's Bobby Jindal, Mississippi's Haley Barbour and Alaska's Sarah Palin—all governors recently named in the Washington Post's excellent "The Fix" column as being among the five most influential and powerful voices in the Republican Party (the other person named was former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney). Palin and Jindal are often named as contenders in 2012, and Barbour gave 2008 a long look before passing on it. Sanford is chairman of the Republican Governor's Association.
None of these sitting governors liked the stimulus package.
Palin released a statement saying that spending in the bill had ballooned and included programs that didn't respond to the problem at hand. "You're going to have the Chinese and other foreign governments buying up more U.S. debt," a Palin spokesman warned. And Palin did also lobby to make sure that Alaska got bucks in the deal. (Where have we heard that tune before?) Whether Alaska will take the money remains unclear.
Barbour opposed the bill. Jindal, a former House member, has said that he would have voted against the bill and is also unsure whether his state will take the federal bucks. (Both men apparently want details on what sort of strings are attached and whether it leaves states with unfunded mandates in the long run.)
Sanford opposed the bill (it will "hurt, not help" people) and has said his state will refuse the money.
Where do the rest of the GOP governors stand on this? There is an ongoing debate, but it's interesting to follow—especially since some number of these folks will be running for president in three years.
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Tags: governors | economic stimulus | Sarah Palin
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Reader Comments
Palin' around with socialists
So, will the Thrilla from Wasilla pretend to be AGAINST the stimulus package before she's FOR it ?
Did anyone tell her there are no 'bridges to nowhere' in that bill ?
Stimulus package explanation
Stimulus Bill explained
Shortly after class, an economics student approaches his economics professor and says, "I don't understand this stimulus bill. Can you explain it to me?"
The professor replied, "I don't have any time to explain it at my office, but if you come over to my house on Saturday and help me with my weekend project, I'll be glad to explain it to you." The student agreed.
At the agreed-upon time, the student showed up at the professor's house. The professor stated that the weekend project involved his backyard pool.
They both went out back to the pool, and the professor handed the student a bucket. Demonstrating with his own bucket, the professor said, "First, go over to the deep end, and fill your bucket with as much water as you can." The student did as he was instructed.
The professor then continued, "Follow me over to the shallow end, and then dump all the water from your bucket into it." The student was naturally confused, but did as he was told.
The professor then explained they were going to do this many more times, and began walking back to the deep end of the pool.
The confused student asked, "Excuse me, but why are we doing this?"
The professor matter-of-factly stated that he was trying to make the shallow end much deeper.
The student didn't think the economics professor was serious, but figured that he would find out the real story soon enough.
However, after the 6th trip between the shallow end and the deep end, the student began to become worried that his economics professor had gone mad. The student finally replied, "All we're doing is wasting valuable time and effort on unproductive pursuits. Even worse, when this process is all over, everything will be at the same level it was before, so all you'll really have accomplished is the destruction of what could have been truly productive action!"
The professor put down his bucket and replied with a smile, "Congratulations! You now understand the stimulus bill."
Governor Jindal
Thank God that Jindal is thinking about refusing this bill. Anyone who supports abortion, which is almost all of these democrats that voted on this stimulus bill will have to face God at the end. At least our leader in louisiana seems to be following God which is our true leader, not Obama.In the end all of our decisions will be questioned by our lord. Think about it!
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