Downing a Big Mac

November 18, 2011 at 10:54 AM

By RICHARD CALKINS

Hypocrisy is defined as “A pretense of having a virtuous character or beliefs that one does not really possess.”   An apt description of GOP leaders, who bash stimulus and infrastructure spending while dining from its’ table.

Item:  House Majority Leader Eric Cantor derides spending stimulus money on Nevada (Harry Reid’s home state) high speed rail, but goes to the stimulus trough with an October 9 letter “Virginia…will demonstrate that this historic investment in rail will create jobs… and improve our environment.”  In the same month, be begged the feds for $60 million to build commercial ships. He also bashes HUD, but owns $50K in preferred real estate stock receiving federal housing assistance from HUD.

Item:  House Speaker John Boehner, while bashing the Energy Department’s loan guarantee program that included Solyndra, sought funds from the same program for a uranium project in Ohio.  House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa also sought program funds for Aptera Motors which would “greatly assist a leading developer of electric vehicles .”  House Energy Chair Fred Upton sought $250 million for Solyndra-like projects in Michigan.

Item:  Among the candidates, Rick Perry received $2 billion in stimulus money for highway and airport projects.  Ron Paul wrote three letters asking to tap the stimulus for high speed rail in Texas.  Michelle Bachmann asked for a $750,000 stimulus grant for a small airport in St. Cloud, Minnesota.  Newt Gingrich took $1.6 million from Freddie Mac as a consultant.

These are but a few of hundreds of examples.   One magazine said that “the fiscal hawks’ bashing of spending they seek privately feels like watching a fitness guru down a milkshake and a Big Mac.”  Indeed.

Please add a comment

Leave a Reply

Name:

Email:
(Your email will not be publicly displayed.)

Please type the letters and numbers shown in the image.