Politics as usual

A couple of days ago, I blogged about the Republican Party using the Stimulus package as a way to help reinvigorate the party, and that they voted against the stimulus package for political reasons. This little tidbit came across Jack Tapper’s blog yesterday, which a lot of people seem to have missed. Transportation Secretary LaHood, a Republican, talked to the press about the Stimulus Bill and whether Republicans will vote for it this time. This is what he revealed about the GOPs on the Hill,

“I’ve talked to my friends and former colleagues in the house and they know the importance of this. You know what their answer is, they have been concerned about the process and the way the bill was put together” … “LaHood said he spoke to 11 Republican congressmen today and “not one of them said they were concerned by what we were trying to do on the transportation side of things. But, you know, they like to be in the room when these things are put together. And they haven’t been. And so I think they were a bit offended by that.”

The Republicans voted against the Stimulus package, not because of the bill, but because they were .. OFFENDED by the process?!?!? They like to be in the room or they were used to being in the room because they had controlled the Congress or had a Republican President for the past eight years? and guess what, they were involved in the process, Obama had consulted Republicans since the beginning and it took THREE centrist Republicans willing to work with Democrats to work out the Senate version. It’s not that they weren’t involved, The Republicans didn’t want to be involved, so they can lie to the American people about how Democrats locked them out of the process. Locking you out and refusing to participate are two very different things.

So the truth finally comes out of a Republican’s mouth. Their opposition has never been about the package, it has always been about showing up the Democrats, who control the Congress, and pretending to be upset about the package. Let me revisit one thing that I’ve said over and over again. I do not remember the Republicans involving the Democrats during the years that the GOP controlled the Congress and the White House. George W. Bush never attempted to reach across the aisle when he had a Republican congress. So, don’t give me that hypocritical crap about “not being involved”.

Republicans are playing dangerously with fire and when you do that, you will eventually get burn. Except in this case, it will be the People of the United States of America who will suffer the consequences of Republicans playing politics as usual.