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Governors to Obama on stimulus, from “no thanks, but thanks” to “we’ll take everything we can get, great leader!”

Posted on March 31st, 2009 – 10:54 AM
By James Shiffer

Even in America, the earls and dukes must pay fealty to the king. There’s a provision of the stimulus law that requires governors to write to President Obama that they will use the stimulus money to grow the economy and create jobs. In its commitment to transparency, the White House has set up a clickable map so you can read these “certifications,” and they actually provide some entertaining reading. Some governors have gone through contortions in their acceptance of this massive spending, while others heap praise on the president. It doesn’t always break down along partisan lines, either.

There’s the mild “no thanks, but thanks” message. Take Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican:

As I noted during the debate on this bill, Minnesota is a net donor to the federal government. One study shows that our state receives 72 cents for every $1 in federal taxes sent to Washington D.C. For that reason, although I have concerns about the scope and nature of this legislation, my administration will work to effectively utilize the funds available to Minnesota.

Then there’s the glowing words from Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat:

Thank you for your leadership in providing the most sweeping economic recovery package in our history to put people to work and invest in our long-term economic growth.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, accepted the money with a snarl:

As you know, I have been vocal in my opposition to this legislation because I believe there are better ways to reinvigorate our economy and believe H.R. 1 will burden future generations with unprecedented levels of debt

Many governors dispensed with the rhetoric and stuck with the boilerplate. Take Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, a Democrat:

I hereby certify that the Commonwealth of Virginia will request and use funds provided by this Act; and that the funds will be used to create jobs and promote economic growth.

The most verbose I’ve found was the two-page manifesto from Gov. Janice Brewer of Arizona. She’s a Republican who replaced Democrat Janet Napolitano, who left the governor’s office to become Obama’s Secretary of Homeland Security:

Despite my reservations, however, to forgo these funds at this time would be a disservice to Arizona taxpayers who have remitted their federal taxes in good faith and have seen many of those hard earned dollars expended for the benefit of residents of other states. Our citizens need their fair share of those funds returned home to provide for their
families during these hours of our greatest need.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 10:54 am and is filed under Government spends your money. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

6 Responses to “Governors to Obama on stimulus, from “no thanks, but thanks” to “we’ll take everything we can get, great leader!””

  1. Kevin MN Says:
    March 31st, 2009 at 1:24 pm

    It would be great if a newspaper could refrain from using the stupid conservative meme, “Great Leader” It is demeaning to the President and infers that he wasn’t democratically elected and that he is some kind of dictator. I know that conservatives have been working for a very hard time to take the vote away from the poor, minorities, and young people, but our votes do count just as much. Its really offensive that you would use the same rhetoric as Rush and Sean. It demeens the President and the citizens that democratically elected him to lead this country.

  2. James Shiffer Says:
    March 31st, 2009 at 2:01 pm

    Kevin MN, I wasn’t aware that Rush and Sean are using that term. I merely picked up on some of the phrasing of the more laudatory letters from governors

  3. andy Says:
    March 31st, 2009 at 8:25 pm

    Kevin, as a republican I personally was only able to
    stop 3 would be voters this year. This is way down from
    last year. By the way, whether you believe it or not, Bush
    was elected democratically as well.I know that must
    really get your blood boiling. where is the consistency
    mr. progressive?

  4. maxx Says:
    April 1st, 2009 at 5:40 am

    “andy”

    George Bush Jr. cheated both in 2000 and 2004. As a computer programmer I have followed the “amazing” machines that enabled George Bush Jr. to cheat his way in, twice. You would never trust your money to these if they were ATMs.

  5. andy Says:
    April 1st, 2009 at 8:47 am

    You are sooo learned, thank you for setting me straight.
    This is a typical response by conspiracy theorists left
    wingers. Good job of deflecting the point I made. You and
    all extremist Dems are hypocrites when it comes to
    preaching equality and fairness.

  6. Dave Says:
    April 1st, 2009 at 9:36 am

    It’s so very entertaining to watch the poor defeated right
    -wingers cry about being defeated. The facts are that the
    policies of the neo-cons led to this meltdown, just as
    the policies of Harding and Hoover did previously. And,
    the fix is the same: get the government involved to create
    the jobs that will ultimately rebuild the country both
    fiscally and physically. So, while the crybabies whine
    about losing, at least we are on the right track after 8
    years of deception and disaster. If Obama can turn this
    train wreck in his first term it will be miraculous. In
    the meantime, let’s all remember which party created this
    mess. And, let’s all remember that the Republicans fought
    this thing and gave us 3 votes out of the entire Congress.
    Let them obstruct and try to make America fail so they
    can blame it on the Democrats. They created this mess,
    and now they oppose fixing it. Don’t forget that at the
    polls next time.

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