Republicans in Congress opposed Obama’s stimulus package at every turn, voted against it almost unanimously, and have continually claim it’s a failure. Why then are they so quick to take credit for the jobs it is creating?
House Minority Whip Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) has been one of the Recovery Act’s most vocal critics. After whipping his caucus into uniformly opposing the stimulus, Cantor has been the lead spokesman decrying the program as a failure. Ignoring evidence that that the stimulus is helping to turn around the economy, Cantor repeatedly says that it is “failing” to “create jobs.”
As ThinkProgress reported last year, despite his withering attacks on the stimulus, Cantor hosted two job fairs filled with employers hiring directly because of stimulus grants and programs. Tomorrow, Cantor intends to again host a job fair stimulated by jobs made possible through the Recovery Act:
– Cantor job fair employer AT&T has received two contracts totaling $837,550 from the Recovery Act.
– Cantor job fair employer Bryant & Stratton College received contracts totaling $209,571 from the Recovery Act.
– Cantor job fair employer Chesterfield County received grants totaling $406,773 from the Recovery Act.
– Cantor job fair employer CSX Transportation received grants totaling over $5.7 million from the Recovery Act.
– Cantor job fair employer Goodwill Industries International has received grants of over $6.4 million from the Recovery Act.
– Cantor job fair employer Northrop Grumman Corporation has received grants of over $2.6 million from the Recovery Act.
– Cantor job fair employer University of Richmond has received grants totaling $750,964 from the Recovery Act.
– Cantor job fair employer Nationwide Insurance has received grants totaling $25,617 from the Recovery Act.
– Cantor job fair employer United Way of Greater Richmond has received a $61,125 grant from the Recovery Act.
According to a ThinkProgress review of contracts from the Recovery.gov website, employers at the Cantor job fair tomorrow have received approximately $52,716,129 from the stimulus.
While Cantor has tried to score political points slamming the stimulus as an utter failure, he has relied on it as a crutch to bring both private and public sector jobs to his district… [emphasis original]
Inserted from <Think Progress>
We still have a long way to go with an average of over twenty applicants for every job opening. The only reason that the stimulus isn’t doing better is that Republicans watered it down. Nevertheless, we are far better off than we were when Obama took office and even farther better off than we would be without the stimulus. And what are Republicans offering as an alternative? Tax cuts for the rich, of course..
8 Responses to “Republican Stimulus Hypocrisy”
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There will be no second stimulus and soon this one that is propping the US economy will be finished. That is when the truth will be known as to its success either the unfunded hiring will start or the layoffs will become massive again. I am reserving myself on the effectiveness of this. But I agree the GOP has no bottom too low to stoop to.
Mark, your’re probably correct. I don’t believe that the GOP weakened bill that passed will be sufficient by itself.
Well, in this world of mud-slinging politics, it is up to Cantor’s opponent to point this out even more often than Cantor attempts to take credit for it, even if it is indirectly through job fairs. Otherwise it just stays lost in the blogosphere, with so many other points of contention.
Of course, even as I type this there is some semi-literate pounding out some hateful things on a conservative website, butchering logic and the English language in the process. So, there is some give and take in the blogosphere. (yes, I do pop into conservative sites every now and then. I actually went on a mission to find an articulate, right slanted blog at one point in time. I am dumber for having read some of the things I have read. I was also unsuccessful in my mission. The closest I got was Jon Swift… Which was actually just left leaning satire on right wing agenda.)
I have no doubt that Cantor’s opponant is doing just that, but I doubt that it will make a difference.
You must have felt like Sisyphus. You might look at Andrew Sullivan. I don’t often agree with him, but he’s honest and not a wing-nut.
Well, Mr. Cantor, you got some ‘splaining to do. That’s a lot of cashish for something that’s ‘not working’. Why not tell people the truth? Oh, I forgot, your a Repub and lying is in your DNA.
Lisa, Republicans never lie unless they are conscious.
Republican Stimulus Hypocrites — the gift that keeps on giving. Rachel Maddow did a complete rundown on them a few months ago on her show. She’d name a Republican politician who voted against the stimulus, quote exactly what he/she said, and then show a picture of this same person taking part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new local construction project that was made possible by that commie stimulus package. There were about 20 or 30 people in that exact category.
And ever since then, there have been more and more news stories just like this. And this needs to keep getting out there, so that hopefully more people will see what a bunch of 2-faced F$#!%&!#!$%s the Republicans really are.
Tom, I’m pretty sure I have that video posted here.
That’s why we need to keep posting them 🙂