RSS Feed MenuDespite what the President may say, bailouts are never apolitical. Regardless of whether you think TARP was justified (I did and still do) it was hard to miss the obvious political considerations motivating the timing and makeup of the $26 billion state aid package which the House passed yesterday and the president immediately signed.
The bill, which passed the House by 247 to 161, delivers serious money not only to bastions of Democratic support (namely, teachers unions), but also specifically to states like Florida, California and Texas, thereby putting Republican candidates into the unenviable spot of having to take a position on whether or not they would accept the federal funds.
Yesterday’s bill directs $1.3 billion to Florida. By doing so, it puts Senate candidate Marco Rubio and gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott (and I guess, Bill McCollum) in the awkward position of having to explain why they would not accept benefits that the Miami Herald described as follows:
This second — and probably last — round of federal economic-stimulus spending will deliver an estimated $553 million of education money to Florida to save nearly 9,000 school jobs… And it will plug an estimated $794 million into state coffers, mostly to cover health care for the poor. The federal infusion will help the Florida Legislature balance its budget and reduce pressure to cut state services, lay off government workers, curb contracts with private companies or raise fees.
Good luck telling everyone you would reject that, Mr. Scott and Mr. Rubio…
Of course, Charlie Crist is happy. He supported the stimulus from the start and he immediately went on record supporting it, telling reporters gathered in Tallahassee that “We need all the help we can get, especially in this economy. It’s all about jobs, jobs, jobs.”
The bill sends California some $2.5 billion dollars… which is roughly $500 million less than the current governor assumed would be coming his way in the latest budget. But nonetheless, it certainly seems like a pretty good talking point for Senator Boxer (one can imagine her rhetorically asking groups of gathered supporters where the state would be were it not for the brave actions of her and her colleagues…).
But perhaps most revealing of all was the way the bill handles the state of Texas. The bill has a provision that makes Texas’ receipt of some $830 million in federal funds contingent upon its maintaining its current levels of education spending through 2013. Texas was the only state that had such a provision applied to it. It puts Gov. Rick Perry and his fellow Texas Republicans in an awkward spot. Perry and the Texas GOP could ignore the president, cut spending and then get hammered by Democrats for cutting jobs, education spending, AND not accepting federal stimulus funds. Perry’s other option is to maintain the current levels of spending and then get the very funds he roundly criticized being handed out in the first place; all the while looking as if he is merely following the president’s lead.
Using federal stimulus funds to screw governors you don’t like and help states where Democrats are in trouble? This President is not only not above “politics as usual,” he is good at politics as usual.
Follow Jeb on twitter @JGolinkin
Watusie // Aug 11, 2010 at 7:24 pm
16 out of 23 Republican Governors signed a letter through the National Governors association asking for Congress to provide this funding for their states.
Two out of 178 Republicans in the House voted for.
Here it is in the form of a graph: http://kombiz.com/post/933316050/republicans-would-be-catastrophic-for-the-country
Congressional Republicans are happy to put grandstanding partisan politics above the good of the nation.
Oldskool // Aug 11, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Republicans in congress are making life a little too easy for Dems. They should try harder even if they have to vote FOR bills instead of against.
blowtorch_bob // Aug 11, 2010 at 8:06 pm
what about the ongoing bailout of the banks (thanks to the repeal of the Glass-Steagal Act) which is going on week after week? That’s flown completely under the radar.
LauraNo // Aug 11, 2010 at 8:08 pm
More power to him! About time someone bullied the bullies.
rbottoms // Aug 11, 2010 at 8:49 pm
What a crafty bastard, sending money to states to support their socialist police, doctors, and teachers. Next thing you know he’ll want to clean up the water and make our food safer.
Goddamn Kenyan marxistsociliastcommiepinko scum.
SFTor1 // Aug 12, 2010 at 4:30 am
Oh my God it’s a trap! Run for the hills!
sdspringy // Aug 12, 2010 at 9:28 am
This is the same bill that cut Food Stamps to pay for the Union bailout??
Great job reporting the funding Jeb. Yeh real hard to defend against a bill that bails out Unions and to pay for it you cut Food Stamps during the worst recession on record.
Please Dems run on that, Great job.
LFC // Aug 12, 2010 at 1:00 pm
SDSpringy, any chance of a link so I know what you’re talking about?
Rabiner // Aug 13, 2010 at 2:28 am
sdspringy:
“Great job reporting the funding Jeb. Yeh real hard to defend against a bill that bails out Unions and to pay for it you cut Food Stamps during the worst recession on record.”
So you’d rather 160,000 teachers across the country lose their jobs just before the start of the school year? Sounds like a blast.
sdspringy // Aug 13, 2010 at 11:20 am
The funny funding for the Union bailout:
http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/accounting-gimmicks-democrats-using-cuts-to-food-stamps-program-to-pay-for-states-bailout/
If the states are over budget, because of over spending, citizens across the nation are NOT required to bailout POOR fiscal responsibilities in states they do not live in.
GET IT.
Nebraska citizen federal taxes do not need to be used to bailout California budget idiocy. Nor any where stupid state legislatures cannot manage the budgets.
This is a payoff to Unions, it takes federal tax dollars to support poor decision making in states which have pandered to their public service union, now we have the same mentality in the White House.
Jeb you really, really missed the angle on this story, probably on purpose.
DonkeyEdge // Aug 13, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Obama’s toast after people see this.
EXCLUSIVE Obama/Thad Allen Oil Spill Coverup Conversation caught on video:
http://thedonkeyedge.com/2010/08/13/secret-obamathad-allen-oil-spill-coverup-conversation/
gparks // Aug 22, 2010 at 9:23 pm
@Rabiner
None of the teachers would have been in line to be laid-off if the Teachers’ Union had been willing to accept salary cuts.
I thought dems were all about sharing the burden, but I guess that excludes union and government workers, even during the worst recession in generations.