Over the past year, we have documented the instances where Mike Castle has lauded stimulus projects that he has voted against. And now the national media is beginning to notice, as a result of this Think Progress piece that links back to our original story in February about Castle voting against the very same stimulus projects he now lauds in his campaign for the Senate.
From the Think Progress piece:
In the past two weeks, Castle has blasted multiple press releases publicizing stimulus funds awarded to his state. In his most recent release, he not only calls the money “imperative,” but in “announcing” the funds, he tacitly claims credit for securing them:
Washington | January 7, 2010 – Delaware Congressman Mike Castle announced today that $5,230,610 has been awarded to the State to assist families and individuals in need. […] “As we face the coldest season of the year, it is imperative we provide those programs serving Delaware’s most disadvantaged families and individuals with the resources necessary to house, feed, and protect those in desperate need,” said Rep. Castle. “These grants, totaling more than $5 million, will help the invaluable organizations and programs which are working to help the homeless, hungry, and those facing economic hardship throughout the State.”
Nowhere on the release is the source of they funds or the word “stimulus” mentioned. But the stimulus Castle opposed is the source of the “imperative” funds he now champions:
– The Castle release announces $4,735,313 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Continuum of Care program. According to the HUD website, the Continuum of Care initiative is enabled through $1.5 billion in money authorized by the stimulus.
– The Castle release announces $495,297 to Delaware’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). According to Grants.gov, the FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program is enabled by $100 million in funding through the stimulus.
Now, these latest announcements from Castle claiming responsibility for or lauding something he voted against are nothing new. Castle has been doing this since almost immediately after his NO!!!! vote in February.
Here is a post from July, with a him pictured next to a nice big stimulus check that he voted against:
That was for an announcement by Gov. Markell of waste water project funded by the Recovery bill. Also in early July 2009, Mike Castle was taking credit for AMTRACK project funded by stimulus money. And another one from May, where Castle celebrated the restoration of the Wilmington Train Station, paid for by stimulus funds. In other words, the most dangerous place in the world is between Mike Castle and a shovel entering the ground, or a big check being presented. Whenever that happens in Delaware, Mike Castle is there, no matter if he had anything at all to do with the project getting approved or funded. Indeed, as with his vote against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the stimulus), Mike Castle usually is an obstacle for these projects getting started or funded. Mike Castle loves to rail against spending and then celebrate the results of the spending. It is how he convinces the inattentive Delaware electorate that he is both bringing home the bacon and a fiscal conservative at the same time. It is a lie, but it is a lie he has been telling for decades.
When you take credit for something you did not have anything to do with, people usually call you a cheat and a liar. And finally, our national media is waking up to that fact.