One of the things that I find maddening about the Republicans' sloganeering is that they're never held accountable for the consequences of their slogans ("It's not the government's money, it's your money"--actually, it is the government's money, but that's a separate discussion). Well, the Obama administration called Republican Senator Jon Kyl's bluff, after Sen. Kyl criticized the stimulus package:
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is standing up for his colleague Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., under heavy fire from President Barack Obama's administration and national Democrats for suggesting that Congress should cut off future economic stimulus spending.Kyl maintains this year's stimulus law isn't working as advertised and argues that taxpayers shouldn't have to stay on the hook for money that hasn't been spent or won't be spent until years from now.
On Monday, four Obama Cabinet secretaries sent letters to Republican Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer asking if she, too, wanted to shut off the spigot of federal stimulus cash.
"I believe the stimulus has been very effective in creating job opportunities throughout the country," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood wrote to Brewer. "However, if you prefer to forfeit the money we are making available to the state, as Senator Kyl suggests, please let me know."
What we Democrats need to understand is that as long as Republicans can criticize government spending while, at the same time, benefit from it, we simultaneously validate their idiot talking points and enable their political survival.
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And Boy, Howdy! did the Republican Party go ballistic over the "threats" from the Administration!
If there is anything that surpasses the arrogance and the maliciousness of the Republicans, its their stupidity.
What they are blind to is the realization that the U.S. Government (and of course state and local governments are as well,) is a business. It's a multinational corporation. It provides services for fees. The nice thing about that is, in theory, our votes for representation carry more individual weight in this corporate structure. Assigning proxies is illegal, and our votes are assigned as one per individual as opposed to one per share.
That's why they are so in love with government, but are ashamed to admit it because it doesn't play well at home.
How did "offering to accept somebody's offer" turn into "a threat"?
Mr. Kyl has has done something only slightly more mature than a young child threatening to run away from home if he doesn't get his own way, and is shocked when Daddy says "Ok then. Don't forget to pack a lunch."