GOP & THE STIMULUS: HYPOCRITES, OR SOCIOPATHS?

It's been one year since President Obama's stimulus package was passed. Republicans are saying the stimulus has done nothing. Yet, there's little doubt that the momentum behind the job-loss tidal wave is slowing down. Check this out job loss swing from the Bush and Obama administrations.

Still, from their rhetoric, Republicans would have you believe that President Obama's economic stimulus program has done nothing for America. In fact, things on the job front could have been much worse.

How do we know this? Because the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said so (they also added that GDP would have been reduced by 3.2% absent the stimulus). As well, independent economists have said that jobs were created or saved because of the stimulus package. And guess what? According to the Wall Street Journal, Republicans are saying so too. Indeed, at least 111 of them criticized and then asked, took credit, and posed at ceremonies for stimulus money in their district because of the benefits and jobs that it would bring or create.

As usual, as the good people at firedoglake.com point out, Rachel Maddow does a great job of exposing the hypocrisy of the Republican Party.



You might want to call what Republicans are doing hypocritical (how do you criticize something, then take credit for it?). But I have another take on this.

Simply put, Republicans think Americans are too lazy or stupid to think for themselves. Now, this might be true, in some parts of their districts. But to pursue a media campaign that criticizes the stimulus package, which the entire party embraces, suggests another, deeper, disorder. Some might say the GOP is now acting like a cult because they choose to ignore external realities they disagree with. This is a good point. Still, I think I'll go with sociopath.

Seriously, check out the symptoms.

- Mark

UPDATE: Here's Fox News and their take on the stimulus bill. Another classic "news" day for Fox.