Tag Archives: Stimulus Plan 2009

Someone Is Confused

Poor Charlie Crist is under a lot of pressure by the purgers and it’s obviously making him a bit confused:

“I didn’t endorse it. I didn’t even have a vote on the darned thing,” Crist told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in an interview Wednesday on The Situation Room. “But I understood that it was going to pass and I wanted to be able to utilize it for the benefit of my fellow Floridians.”

Sorry Charlie, that’s just not true:

The “I didn’t endorse” claim might be more compelling were it not for all the evidence of him throwing his support behind the stimulus package.

In reality, Crist endorsed the White House’s recovery efforts in a speech and in writing. He said, in no uncertain terms, standing alongside the president, “[W]e know that it’s important that we pass this stimulus package…. This is not about partisan politics, this is about rising above that, helping America, and reigniting our economy.”

Yep, he really did support it:

“It’s getting harder every day and we know that it’s important that we pass this stimulus package.”

— Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R), at a rally with President Obama on February 10, 2009.

Marco Rubio doesn’t want people to forget it either, he featured a picture of Obama with Crist prominently on his Senate campaign page. Sometimes I can’t decide whether Obama is a genius or whether he’s just extremely, extremely lucky in his opponents. Any credible opponents of Obama seem to be systematically destroying themselves one by one. And BTW, doesn’t John Huntsman (former governor of Utah now ambassador to China) look like a frickin’ genius by getting out of electoral politics before the purging began? He’s probably saving his future political career.

Okay. Mike Castle is our Next Senator. It has been decided on high.

All the signs are pointing to a Castle Senate run and I appears that the fix is in. Just check out the Newark Post coverage of the AMTRACK stimulus event:

Amtrak Bear shops celebrate first car reconstruction with stimulus funds
Published: Monday, July 13, 2009 5:22 PM CDT
The Amtrak Bear Car Shops took time out to celebrate the completion of the first passenger car to be rebuilt with stimulus funds.

Sen. Thomas Carper, Gov. Jack Markell and U.S. Rep. Mike Castle joined Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman and employees at the sprawling complex off Route 40 to tour the rebuilt car that was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Has the word gone out from Tom Carper’s office that Mike Castle is going to be the next Senator? If the fix already in?

How easy would it have been for the Newark Post to report that actual fact that Mike Castle voted against Delaware getting the stimulus money that he was taking credit for?

Here is the extent of the News Journal’s reporting on the fact that Castle is posing as a supporter of President Obama’s Economic Recovery plan:

Workers gather en masse Monday to listen to Sen. Tom Carper, Gov. Jack Markell, Rep. Mike Castle, and some of their own bosses speak about the $58.5 million project at the Amtrak Bear Maintenance Facility.

That was a photo caption. There was this cracker-jack reporting as well…

Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., who ride Amtrak regularly, agreed.

“I was here when a bunch of us weren’t sure Amtrak would even have a future,” Carper said.

He said when people start traveling on the new cars, they are going to find that the doors open when they are supposed to, the air works, and the bathrooms aren’t overflowing.

Hey News Journal….why bother even putting out a paper?

Has even Allan Loudell gotten the memo that Mike Castle’s vote on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is off limits?

Mike Castle Takes Credit For Stimulus Project He Voted Against

Crack reporting by WDEL’s Jim Hilgen leaves out the fact that Mike Castle voted against funding the AMTRACK stimulus project that he is so eager to take credit for.

Stimulus money at work in Delaware
By Jim Hilgen

State and federal officials from Delaware will celebrate the first project completed with federal stimulus funds.

An Amtrak train car, refurbished using stimulus money at the Amtrak shop in Bear will be unveiled on Monday.

Governor Jack Markell will be joined by Senator Tom Carper and Congressman Mike Castle in putting the rail car into service.

As a result of nearly 60 million dollars in federal stimulus funds, Amtrak’s Bear facility has added more than 50 new employees to rehab 60 passenger rail cars between now and February 2011.

Brad DeLong Has A Proposal

Even though we’ve seen improvement in the overall economy, the economic recovery will be long and painful. The latest unemployment numbers showed a jump in unemployment to 9.4% (U3) and the economy still lost >300,000 jobs last week. There’s been talk in some places of a second stimulus package because the first was not large enough. One of the most painful cuts from the Republican 3 (Snowe, Collins and Specter) was the cut of aid to states and we can see that has consequences for Delaware. Economist Brad DeLong has a proposal for a second stimulus package.

I therefore believe:

  • That it is past time for you to seek from the Congress for authority to guarantee the debt of states that, in response to the current recession, (a) seek to conduct their own state-level fiscal expansions, and (b) devise plans and strategies for the long-term repayment of the debt the federal government guarantees that the Secretary of the Treasury certifies as prudent and sustainable.
  • That it is time for you to seek from the Congress an amended Budget Resolution: to include in this year’s forthcoming Reconciliation process an additional $500 billion of federal aid to states, distributed per capita and conditioned on their maintaining effort at the provision of public services–on their not repeating the mistake of Herbert Hoover of cutting government employment and spending in a downturn.

    • I think this is an intriguing idea and could help Delaware avoid painful cuts while it gets its fiscal house in order.

    Updated: Castle Under Siege: Radio Ads Are Here

    AFSCME and Americans United for Change are going to run running radio ads telling Mike Castle he’s got a “second chance” to do the right thing and support President Obama’s economic stimulus package when the compromise plan comes up for a vote.

    Check out the script:

    Radio Script (60 Sec)
    “Second Chance”
    Haven’t you ever wished you had a second chance to do the right thing? Well this week, Congressman/woman [Full Name]______________ has a second chance to get it right when it comes to our economic crisis.
    The first time around, Congressman/woman ___________ voted against President Obama’s jobs plan. But every day since 20,000 Americans have lost their jobs.
    If you ask me that’s plenty of reason for Congressman/woman ______ to change his/her mind when the plan comes back to the House for a final vote.
    And most people agree. In a recent gallup poll – 80 percent of Americans said it is important to pass a plan like President Obama’s – a plan to save or create nearly 4 million jobs. Groups from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to organized labor are supporting the Obama jobs plan.
    Call Congressman(woman) _______, at ————-tell him/her we can’t let partisan wrangling stand in the way of creating the jobs we desperately need.
    Tell ____________ to vote yes on the Obama plan.
    Paid for by AFSCME and Americans United for Change.

    The ad will be is running against 17 House Republicans, 3 Senate Republicans, and one House Democrat (Blue Dog Jim Cooper of Tennessee). Included on the list is Rep. Jim Gerlach, who’s just over the PA border from us, as well as Rep. Charlie Dent from Allentown, PA and Rep. Todd Platts from York, PA. Another interesting target is House Minority Whip Eric Canton of Virginia.

    But more to the point – an ad targeting Mike Castle! Huzzah! Now, which of the following two events is more likely:

    1. Mike “Jellospine” Castle immediately announces support for the compromise package – before a single ad hits the airwaves.
    2. Tom Carper muscles his way in and no ads ever end up being run against Castle.

    UPDATE: Jason says the ads are already running on WDEL, and the wingnuts are flipping out.

    Wingnut Talking Points Smackdown — The Recovery Program

    This edition outsourced to Tommywonk. Read the whole thing, but here is an interesting bit:

    Left out of that argument is the question of how we got to the largest deficit in history. Hundreds of billions spent on a six year war in a foreign country have not provided much economic benefit here at home. The Republicans in Congress might want to think twice before starting out the new term by referring to the past eight years.

    I’d also add to this that it is very clear that the 2 rounds of BushCo taxcuts produced little in the way of “stimulus” (economic gain over the past 8 years were largely fueled by the illusory wealth of the housing bubble), and certainly the last tax cut (rebates) back in the spring helped people pay down debt, but produced no jobs, increased the GDP not one whit. What these taxcuts DID represent was the creation and sustenance of the first deficit budgets since Clinton left. They never paid for themselves (as is now all too evident), and only produced benefits to the upper income folks who got them.

    And while we’re at it, I have a serious request of the media: PLEASE ask these Republicans how it is that we cannot afford to spend tax money, but we can afford to increase our deficits by returning revenues. Either way — given that the budget is in deficit — you are still spending money you don’t have. AND ask these guys how they can propose tax cuts without a proposal on how to either cut spending OR to replace those revenues.

    EDIT: Here is the breakdown of the stimulus expenditures via the NYT —
    stimpackage

    Americans Want Infrastructure Spending

    Frank Luntz, of all people, positively gushes over the results of a new poll he’s run about the concerns of Americans on infrastructure spending:

    Consider this: A near unanimous 94% of Americans are concerned about our nation’s infrastructure. And this concern cuts across all regions of the country and across urban, suburban and rural communities. Fully 84% of the public wants more money spent by the federal government — and 83% wants more spent by state governments — to improve America’s infrastructure. And here’s the kicker: 81% of Americans are personally prepared to pay 1% more in taxes for the cause. It’s not uncommon for people to say they’d pay more to get more, but when you ask them to respond to a specific amount, support evaporates. (That 74% of normally stingy Republicans are on board for the tax increase is, to me, the most significant finding in the survey.)

    Luntz also makes the point that support for infrastructure spending is geographically broad too, Americans understand that infrastructure is more than roads and bridges and that they are clear on accountability:

    The poll found that Americans are far less interested in doing projects quickly than in doing them right. “Don’t screw it up” would be a more popular rallying cry than “get it done.” Washington should not mistake the message of the November election and the desire for change with an “at all cost” mentality. In the poll, 61% chose “accountability” as their first or second priority in any government investment — not the creation of jobs (34%) and not that the investment be truly national in scope (25%).

    And while Americans want accountability, transparency and citizen input to priorities, they also undestand why infrastructure is so bad:

    78% of Americans polled say government is responsible for the failure of America’s infrastructure. They don’t think the problems can be solved in the first 100 days of a new administration in Washington.

    As they say, read the whole thing. I’m surprised at those numbers too, but I suspect that when you spend much of your adult life watching your government (at all levels) re prioritize infrastructure expenditures to meet other demands, at some point you get that part of the commons is just deteriorating. Luntz says that this sends a message to Congress especially for the stimulus spending, but I also think that this sends a message to state and local governments who may be receiving some of this money — not only do you really not want to mess this up, you may want to take a hard look at the business of shuffling local infrastructure projects to the bottom of the deck.