Looking a little closer and you see Obama's victory came despite very little support from Republicans. In fact, only 3 republicans in the House voted for the bill (he needed two to get bill passed), despite some tax cuts he threw in to appease his rivals.
Furthermore, perhaps the sexiest candidate for the Republican party for president in 2012 has discussed rejecting federal funding. No, not Governor Palin of Alaska, who is technically the 'sexiest' but rather Lousiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who has an excellent way of communicating with voters. But he is not going to reject all funding, rather, just part of the millions that will go towards welfare and those people who have lost their homes due to the economic crisis.
This has Democratic patsies in an uproar, claiming that yet again Republicans are insensitive to the poor in Louisiana. This accusation has fallen of deaf ears for me personally because I've heard the "Republicans don't like poor people" argument before and realize it can't be personal, rather, it stems from fundemental disagreements.
Still, the hardline stance of defiance by Jindal has to be seen as political gamery. A good boy or girl would go along with the people, who have elected Obama and the other officials who approved the bill. But in this case, Jindal and a few of his cohorts seem to want as much attention as possible.
The strategy may pay off.
Remember the Iraq war? You know, that war that is still going on. Well, back in 2003 when Obama was still in diapers, he was one of the few that took a viament stand against the war, calling it a "dumb war." That stance alone helped him win the Democratic election, while Hillary Clinton was left holding the Bill's she helped Bush 43 pass.
So in fairness, maybe Jindal truly thinks this is a dumb Bill. Or maybe he thinks certain parts are wastefull. Regardless, it's an opportunity to represent the 'other side' despite what many economic strategists have said; a stimulus bill is needed.
Compare Jindal, who must be Rush Limbaughs BFF right now to Governor Crist of Florida and you can see why Jindal is doing what he's doing. Crist supports the Bill to a large degree and has now been called "D Light" (as in Democrat Light) by Bush 41, who at 84, still has opinions. Already you can see the Republican debates taking form for 2012, as both Jindal and Crist are likely to be in the running.
Whether Jindal allows people in his state to receive the funding, or if it will go to other states instead, the cards have been dealt and now we are waiting on the dealer to help reveal all of our fates.
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