Posted on 07/15/2009 4:05:52 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Barack Obama and his administration dont mind playing hardball on the stimulus package, as Jake Tapper reports. Yesterday, Senator Jon Kyl suggested that not only should Congress refuse to consider a second stimulus package, they should bring the current Porkulus to a halt before it wastes even more money. Rather than make a reasoned argument for their stimulus package, however, the White House threatened to choke Arizonas federal funds in retaliation:
"On This Week with George Stephanopoulos on Sunday, Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said of the $787 billion stimulus package, the reality is it hasnt helped yet. Only about 6.8 percent of the money has actually been spent. What I proposed is, after you complete the contracts that are already committed, the things that are in the pipeline, stop it.
A day later, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer received letters from Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar all pointing out the billions headed to Arizona.
Kyl publicly questioned whether the stimulus is working and stated that he wants to cancel projects that arent presently underway, LaHood wrote to Brewer, a Republican. I believe the stimulus has been very effective in creating job opportunities throughout the country. However, if you prefer to forfeit the money we are making available to your state, as Senator Kyl suggests, please let me know.
Talk about an empty threat! The Obama administration encouraged South Carolinas legislature to take Governor Mark Sanford to court to force him to accept Porkulus funds. Now they want to posture with Arizonans that criticism of their fiscal policies will result in punitive action against Arizona alone. I guess the Democrats dont plan to compete for Arizonas electoral votes in 2012.
Their logic could use some assistance as well. LaHood notes that of the $48 billion in infrastructure spending in the bill, Arizona will eventually get $520 million. First, a quick calculation shows that as somewhat less than 1/50th (or 1/57th) of the funds, meaning Arizonans wont get the same share as other states. Also, Im not sure if anyone at the White House realizes this quite yet, but all of that money comes from Arizona in the first place and taxpayers all over the nation. Theyre not promising some vast new wealth; theyre promising to return our money back to ourselves, with a hefty chunk of it removed to pay for the bureaucrats that manage it.
This does demonstrate quite nicely the problem with an overreaching federal government, and especially an overreaching executive branch. It sucks money out of the states, and then it plays favorites on returning some percentage to them. Thats not new to the Obama administration, but they seem pretty cavalier about letting their extortion show.
I am sorry, who is the real Don Corleone?
They are setting the stage for that revolution you speak of.
It has to be before they are through doing this, posted up thread also:
I guess I was being politically correct or something. But you are right, because its seriously scaring the crap out of me.
Chicago thug.
obama doesn’t remind me of the bully who picked on the smallest kid in class; he wouldn’t risk a fight that even. obama is the kind who left high school to pick on elementary school kids. The thug in our White House likes power over people who he hopes will be too scared even to fight back. He’s a very sick and dangerous boy in a man’s body. I hope Kyl does what all real men do when they encounter a bully like that. I’ll be cheering for Kyl.
“Ill be cheering for Kyl.”
I’m listening to Kyl on Greta now — This is amazing! He is definitely doing the right thing by going public with this...He needs to keep this in the news and not let it die! IMO.
“Imagining a world without DemocRats.”
Everyday!
Nice tag line.
What do all the Republican Governors say?
Would dem govs like the roles reversed?
Republicans are such wussies..
I’m happy to see Kyl and McCain calling attention to this incredibly thuggish threat. They need to keep it up and not back down. 0bama and the Demonrats think they can keep people ignorant to what they are doing, but it is going to take the response like they are making in bringing attention to their nasty ways. They need to keep it up and not back down because there is no way apolitical people will accept their state being treated like this.
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