Posted by Jed Lewison on Tue Feb 3, 2009 at 1:01 PM Pacific

GOP Blocks Infrastructure Projects

Tom Daschle is grabbing the headlines (which isn't so bad, given that we're killing two tax problems today), but that's not the big story.

No, I'm not talking about the fact that Sarah Palin is still skipping out on paying the taxes she owes for per diems and travel expenses for her family paid for by Alaska, I'm talking about the GOP's hypocritical vote against infrastructure spending on the first Senate vote on an amendment to the economic recovery bill.

Here's the details:

The first attempt to expand infrastructure spending in the economic stimulus bill fell short in the Senate Tuesday as lawmakers turned aside a bid to push the total size of the bill over $900 billion.

A motion to waive a budget point of order for an amendment adding $25 billion in additional infrastructure spending to the bill drew a 58-39 vote -- two votes short of the 60 needed.

The amendment, by Patty Murray , D-Wash., would have boosted the bill's highway funding from $27 billion to $40 billion, its transit funding from $8.4 billion to $13.4 billion, and its water and sewer funding from $6 billion to $13 billion.

GOPers are hemming and hawing about how the issue was simply that they wanted to offset the infrastructure spending with cuts elsewhere in the bill. Funny, they don't seem to take the same attitude when it comes to tax cuts.

For days, if not weeks, we've been hearing from GOP leaders that they support the idea of economic recovery, but they want more infrastructure spending. And here they are, with their first chance to increase infrastructure spending, and what do they say? They say no.

And because of the strange rules of the Senate, which require a three-fifths majority for amendments like Murray's to pass the chamber, they get their way, even though only 39 Senators opposed the amendment (38 Rs + 1 loser Dem).

If you ever needed any more evidence to believe that just about every Congressional Republican is a lying, hypocritical hack, today they supplied it.

President Obama has done everything possible to reach out to these clowns. He's compromised with them, he's met with them, he's offered to work with them some more. And all they do is offer the back of their hand.

I wouldn't mind if they offered principled opposition to the economic recovery plan, and proposed something different. They wouldn't get their way, but at least they'd be honest. But all we're getting now are lies and hypocrisy.

It's not especially surprising. But at this moment in time, when there is so much at stake, it really is disappointing that they can't stop playing politics. There's work to be done to get this country back on track, but they seem intent on pulling out every political trick in the book to stop progress from happening.

For eight years, they screwed things up time after time after time. Can't they give it a rest for just a few months and give us a chance to make things right again?

GOP Blocks Infrastructure Projects

Tom Daschle is grabbing the headlines (which isn't so bad, given that we're killing two tax problems today), but that's not the big story.

No, I'm not talking about the fact that Sarah Palin is still skipping out on paying the taxes she owes for per diems and travel expenses for her family paid for by Alaska, I'm talking about the GOP's hypocritical vote against infrastructure spending on the first Senate vote on an amendment to the economic recovery bill.

Here's the details:

The first attempt to expand infrastructure spending in the economic stimulus bill fell short in the Senate Tuesday as lawmakers turned aside a bid to push the total size of the bill over $900 billion.

A motion to waive a budget point of order for an amendment adding $25 billion in additional infrastructure spending to the bill drew a 58-39 vote -- two votes short of the 60 needed.

The amendment, by Patty Murray , D-Wash., would have boosted the bill's highway funding from $27 billion to $40 billion, its transit funding from $8.4 billion to $13.4 billion, and its water and sewer funding from $6 billion to $13 billion.

GOPers are hemming and hawing about how the issue was simply that they wanted to offset the infrastructure spending with cuts elsewhere in the bill. Funny, they don't seem to take the same attitude when it comes to tax cuts.

For days, if not weeks, we've been hearing from GOP leaders that they support the idea of economic recovery, but they want more infrastructure spending. And here they are, with their first chance to increase infrastructure spending, and what do they say? They say no.

And because of the strange rules of the Senate, which require a three-fifths majority for amendments like Murray's to pass the chamber, they get their way, even though only 39 Senators opposed the amendment (38 Rs + 1 loser Dem).

If you ever needed any more evidence to believe that just about every Congressional Republican is a lying, hypocritical hack, today they supplied it.

President Obama has done everything possible to reach out to these clowns. He's compromised with them, he's met with them, he's offered to work with them some more. And all they do is offer the back of their hand.

I wouldn't mind if they offered principled opposition to the economic recovery plan, and proposed something different. They wouldn't get their way, but at least they'd be honest. But all we're getting now are lies and hypocrisy.

It's not especially surprising. But at this moment in time, when there is so much at stake, it really is disappointing that they can't stop playing politics. There's work to be done to get this country back on track, but they seem intent on pulling out every political trick in the book to stop progress from happening.

For eight years, they screwed things up time after time after time. Can't they give it a rest for just a few months and give us a chance to make things right again?

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