Republicans: The Party of "No," the Party of Nobody

President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 yesterday, authorizing some $787 billion dollars' worth of government economic stimulus to be spent. (Click here for a slideshow of this process.) Not a single Republican in the House of Representatives voted for the bill; only three Republican senators worked on the bill reconciling the House and Senate versions in preparation for Obama's signature.

During campaign season, I argued that the Republican party, and conservative ideology in general, has become the party of zombies. (Signs of brainlessness: the GOP seem to be taking marching orders from those intellectual heavyweights Rush "I want Obama, and therefore YOU, to fail" Limbaugh and Michelle "generational theft except for the 6-year long Iraq war blank check part brought to you by the GOP" Malkin.) Not simply content to be undead, these bodies are aggressively and viciously seeking to feast off the living. Why Republican congressmen and women act as though foreclosure only affects Democrats is a mystery; why Republican senators seem to think hunger and joblessness are partisan and will only affect Democrats is completely befuddling to rational, caring, PATRIOTIC human beings.

Let's look at some key Republican senators (and congressmen) who opposed the stimulus bill, and combine that with election information and unemployment statistics. Because conservatives can snivel all they like about fake boogeymen like "socialism" and "pork," but the fact remains: REPUBLICANS VOTED DOWN JOBS, AID, AND INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING THAT WOULD BENEFIT THEIR OWN CONSTITUENTS.

Here are some useful tools--this is the breakdown of federal money by particular congressional districts (pdf), employment numbers by state (pdf), and senate and house roll calls of the vote to see how representatives in your state voted on the stimulus bill.

Keep this on file for 2010. If you live in OH, KY, AZ, TX, certain parts of CA, or VA, you may want to remind your elected representatives every day til 2010 that they stood in the way of food stamps, green construction retrofitting, and Head Start for infants and children.

Here's how to find their phone numbers and DC and local offices: U.S. Senators; U.S. Members of the House of Representatives.

And then instead, vote for people who will truly represent you.

Ohio:

Unemployment figures (most recent): December, 2008, 7.8%. From the same document (Ohio Department of Job and Family Services):

The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in December was 465,000, up from 435,000 in November. The number of unemployed has increased by 118,000 in the past 12 months from 347,000. The December unemployment rate for Ohio was up from 5.8 percent in December 2007.

Median household income, family of 4 in OH: $66,734

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R, OH-CD8): voted against the stimulus bill, encouraged entire House Republican caucus to do the same.

Personal net worth: between $2,154,029 and $7,911,000 in 2007, according to Boehner’s mandated financial disclosure statements.

Senator George Voinovich (R, OH): claimed the stimulus bill had "nonstimulative" spending in it. He says he will NOT be running for re-election in 2010 (mp3).

Personal net worth: $901,049 to $2,640,000, according to mandated financial disclosure statements.

Jobs created or saved by the Economic Recovery Bill for the state of OH (pdf): 133,000

Boehner and Voinovich voted against 133,000 jobs for Ohioans.

South Carolina:

Unemployment figures: 9.5% unemployment in December, '08. From the same source:

Some 25,600 South Carolinians joined the jobless ranks last month, raising the total number of unemployed in the state to a record 207,171. The unemployment rate was up from 8.4 percent in November and 6.2 percent in December 2007.

Median family income for a family of 4, SC: $57,932

Senator Jim "This bill is a mugging, a fraud" DeMint (R, SC): believes tax cuts to the wealthy and to corporations will stimulate the economy better than a stimulus package that focuses on job creation.

Personal net worth: $16,002 to $65,000

Senator Lindsey Graham (R, SC): concern troll on the stimulus, at the same time apparently has no problem with the seemingly endless billions the war in Iraq consumes each month.

Personal net worth: $421,032 to $1,722,999

Jobs created or saved by the Economic Recovery Bill for the state of SC: 50,000

DeMint and Graham voted against 50,000 jobs for South Carolinians.

Virginia:

Unemployment figures: 5.2% in December. From the same source:

The number of people counted as unemployed in the commonwealth reached 213,400 in December, up 22,600, or 0.6 percentage points from the previous month, commission data released yesterday showed. December's jobless rate was the highest recorded since January 1996, when the rate hit 5.3 percent.

Median family income, family of 4 in VA: $64,352

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA): flat-out lied about certain provisions; incorrectly claimed spending was not stimulative and not immediate in impact.

Personal net worth: $2,182,171 to $7,106,000

Jobs created or saved by the Economic Recovery Bill for the state of VA: 93,000

Congressman Cantor led the fight to deny 93,000 jobs to his home state.

Plus, he ripped off Aerosmith to make a stupid video bragging about the unanimous rejection of the stimulus bill by House Republicans.

Texas:

Unemployment figures: 6.0% according to the Texas Workforce Commission. From the same source:

Texas saw broad industry losses in December. Hardest hit were Trade, Transportation, and Utilities and Manufacturing, with losses of 8,100 and 8,000 jobs, respectively. Texas’ over-the-year figures fared better with nine of 11 industries posting positive job growth.
 
“The Texas unemployment rate continued to follow the national unemployment rate’s upward trend,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Labor Ronny Congleton. “For the first time since 2004, our state hit the 6.0 percent unemployment mark after record lows of 4.2 percent just a year ago.”

Median family income in TX for a family of 4: $53,291

Senator John Cornyn (R, TX): couldn't be bothered to be present at the cloture vote. Was chatting up wealthy GOP fundraisers/lobbyists instead.

Personal net worth: $18,004 to $95,000

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R, TX): falsely claimed stimulus would not flow to states or would be hung up "in the bureaucracy."

Personal net worth: $3,037,096 to $7,608,000

Republican Governor Rick Perry would prevent his constituents from creating or keeping 269,000 jobs in TX.

Jobs created or saved by the Economic Recovery Bill for the state of TX: 269,000

Every single Republican congressperson from Texas plus both Republican senators voted to deny constituents in TX 269,000 jobs, and Governor Perry is saying he may deny stimulus funding to Texans based purely on partisan politics alone.

Kentucky:

Unemployment figures: 7.8%, according to WorkforceKentucky.gov. From the same source:

A decline of 15,800 jobs in December 2008 brought Kentucky's nonfarm employment to a seasonally adjusted total of 1,843,200. Since December 2007, Kentucky's nonfarm employment has dropped by 36,800.

"This marks the fourth month in a row of year-over-year employment decreases and the largest year-over-year drop in the number of jobs since December 2001," said Detzel.

Median household income, family of four: $52,186

Senator Jim Bunning (R, KY):"massive government spending bill my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will have to pay for", though six years of Iraq war debt of $345 mn/day doesn't seem to trouble him at all.

Personal net worth: $501,003 to $1,057,000

Senator Mitch McConnell (R, KY):"unlimited government spending", but again, didn't seem to have much to say to stop the blank check signed by Congress on the Iraq war.

Personal net worth: $2,858,033 to $12,720,999

Jobs created or saved by the Economic Recovery Bill for the state of KY: 48,000

Senators Bunning and McConnell voted to deny their constituents 48,000 jobs.

Wyoming:

Unemployment figures: 3.4%

Median household income, family of four: $55,624

Senator Mike Enzi (R, WY): "nothing in life is free...squeezing it out of our children and grandchildren." ANOTHER Republican suddenly concerned about deficit spending--where was all this "fiscal responsbility" when the Iraq war started or when TARP I was first being discussed?

Personal net worth: $400,069 to $1,800,000

Senator John Barrasso (R, WY): actually believes "targeted tax relief" creates jobs. Um, no. It just creates well-off people who pay less taxes.

Personal net worth: $3,252,012 to $9,719,999

Jobs created or saved by the Economic Recovery Bill for the state of WY: 8,000

Senators Barrasso and Enzi voted to deny their constituents 8,000 jobs, or an increase in jobs equal to 2.3% of the 345,647-person over-18 population of the state of Wyoming (2000 census figures).

Georgia:

Unemployment figures: 8.1% unemployment rate.

Median household income, family of four: $57,795

Senator Saxby Chambliss (R, GA): disappointed his job-creating (not) $15,000 homebuyer tax credit was not in the final stimulus bill. Believes housing crisis is main cause, if not sole cause, of the Bush recession. 

Personal net worth: $181,006 to $415,000

Senator Johnny Isakson: what Saxby said, minus the part about two day old grandbabies (although if he could've taken credit for them he probably would've).

Personal net worth: $8,342,077 to $24,284,999

Jobs created or saved by the Economic Recovery Bill for the state of GA: 106,000

Senators Isakson and Chambliss voted to deny their constituents 106,000 jobs.

Louisiana:

Unemployment figures: 5.3%, and from the same source:

Louisiana’s unemployment rate for December 2008 was 5.9 percent, up from the November 2008 revised rate of 5.3 percent and up from the year-ago figure of 4.0 percent...The number of unemployed in Louisiana in December 2008 increased to 121,949 from 108,553
in November.

Median household income, family of four: $49,446

Senator David Vitter (R-LA): calls the stimulus bill more "pork barrel spending."

Personal net worth: $855,093 to $3,026,000

Republican governor Bobby Jindal says he may turn down $4 bn allotted to his state from the Economic Recovery Bill.

Jobs created or saved by the Economic Recovery Bill for the state of LA: 50,000

Senator Vitter voted to deny his state's constituents 50,000 jobs. Louisianans can thank their other Senator, Mary Landrieu (D, LA), for voting to bring more jobs to the state.

California:

Unemployment rate: 9.1% (pdf)

Median household income, family of four: $70,712

Jobs created or saved at stake, statewide: 396,000

California's largely Democratic congressional seats and both Democratic senators voted for the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act. We sorely need the state aid, as we're about to go bankrupt as a state, with no budget in place for months thanks to Republican state assemblymen and women who have been too busy playing politics. Like their do-nothing constipating colleagues in the state assembly, a sizeable number of Republican congressmen and women voted against the stimulus bill, and therefore against the interests of their own constituents. Here's the

California House Republican No Vote Hall of Shame:

Unemployment rates all from here (pdf), numbers of jobless people by county here (pdf), numbers of jobs created or saved by Congressional district here. *=not all districts match exactly with county boundaries, hence some figures will be off.

Brian Bilbray, CD-50, San Diego. (San Diego Co.) 7.4% unemployment rate, 117,100 jobless people.* 7,500 jobs, Bilbray voted NO.

Mary Bono Mack, CD-45, Palm Springs. (Riverside Co.) 10.4%, 97,900 jobless people.* 8,700 jobs, Bono Mack voted NO.

Ken Calvert, CD-44, Corona. (Riverside Co.) 10.4%, 97,900 jobless people.* 9,200 jobs, Calvert voted NO.

John Campbell, CD-48, Irvine. (Orange Co.) 6.5% unemployment rate, 107,000 jobless people.* 8,000 jobs, Campbell voted NO.

David Dreier, CD-26, San Dimas. (Los Angeles Co.) 9.5%, 473,500 jobless people.* 7,600 jobs, Dreier voted NO.

Elton Gallegly, CD-24, Simi Valley. (Ventura Co.) 8.4%, 34,700 jobless people.* 7,300 jobs, Gallegly voted NO.

Wally Herger, CD-2, Marysville. (Yuba Co.) 14.4%, 4,100 jobless people.* 7,600 jobs, Herger voted NO.

Duncan Hunter, CD-52, Lakeside. (San Diego Co.) 7.4% unemployment rate, 117,100 jobless people.* 7,100 jobs, Hunter voted NO.

Darrell Issa, CD-49, Vista. (San Diego Co.) 7.4% unemployment rate, 117,100 jobless people.* 8,100 jobs, Issa voted NO.

Jerry Lewis, CD-41, Redlands. (San Bernadino Co.) 9.7% unemployment rate, 88,400 jobless people.* 8,200 jobs, Lewis voted NO.

Dan Lungren, CD-3, Folsom. (Sacramento Co.) 8.7% unemployment rate, 61,600 jobless people.* 8,400 jobs, Lungren voted NO.

Kevin McCarthy, CD-22, Bakersfield. (Kern Co.) 11.8% unemployment rate, 44,500 jobless people.* 8,400 jobs, McCarthy voted NO.

Tom McClintock, CD-4, Thousand Oaks. (Ventura Co.) 8.4%, 34,700 jobless people.* 8,300 jobs, McClintock voted NO.

Howard McKeon, CD-25, Santa Clarita. (Los Angeles Co.) 9.5%, 473,500 jobless people.* 8,400 jobs, McKeon voted NO.

Gary Miller, CD-42, Diamond Bar. (Los Angeles Co.) 9.5%, 473,500 jobless people.* 7,700 jobs, Miller voted NO.

Devin Nunes, CD-21, Tulare. 14.3% unemployment rate, 29,100 jobless people. 7,800 jobs, Nunes voted NO.

George Radanovich, CD-19, Mariposa. 10% unemployment rate, 930 jobless people. 7,900 jobs, Radanovich voted NO.

Dana Rohrabacher, CD-46, Huntington Beach. (Orange Co.) 6.5% unemployment rate, 107,000 jobless people.* 7,000 jobs, Rohrbacher voted NO.

Ed Royce, CD-40, Fullerton. (Orange Co.) 6.5% unemployment rate, 107,000 jobless people.* 7,100 jobs, Royce voted NO.

Now we can see exactly who voted for and against Economic Recovery. Will these same members of the House of Representatives (or Senate) claim credit for any boost to the economy the bill **they voted against** provides? Why reward incompetence, or people who think you're too stupid to connect the dots?

Cynematic blogs at P i l l o w b o o k. Writing this post damn near laid her flat.

Comments

[Julie Pippert]

You must must must know I burned up phone lines today calling these people. The TX people I mean.

Oh ho ho ho it's going to be a jolly time here through 2010.

Great post, Cyn.

P.S. You want a copy of Cornyn's email? With his boo boo boo hiss message about the stimulus package? And NO PLAN OF ACTION?

[cynematic]

Jules,
I linked to the email you posted from Cornyn so that if our posts are read out of order, the infamy of his position will be forever enshrined in my post too.

Just wait til unemployment stats rise. Boy, won't 269,000 jobs in TX seem like a drop in the bucket. PS I highly doubt Cornyn's personal net worth is only $95,000 (as of 2007).

[Miranda]

Great post calling out the GOP. If the economic stimulus works, these guys will be seen as petty, stubborn, obstructionist fools. Of course, if it doesn't work, they will be viewed as lone heroes, sticking to their principles.

But if it does work -- and it's far more likely to work than many of the other "economic stimulus" measures some of these Republicans approved earlier in this mess -- the Dems had better have a UNIFIED media campaign ready to take advantage of it.

[cynematic]

Miranda,
Totally agreed on the Dems' unified media campaign taking full credit for the stimulus bill. It shouldn't be hard for politicians to stand up and claim something good. ;) (Besides, to do nothing as GOPers would have it ensures certain suffering.)

But why wait til dollars start winding their way through the system? There's plenty of hay to be made from hypocritical Republican lawmakers now saying they "wanted the stimulus" when before, they "hated the stimulus" and called it "pork" and "socialism."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/18/gop-governors-consider-tu_n_168099.html

That hypocrisy deserves to get called out every day from now til 2010.

[TRUTH]

Wow, the intelligence level hasn't changed in here the last few months, keeping a nice even keel.

It isn't the stimulus CAN NOT work, it is that it is so FULL of senseless spending. You can post all the numbers you want about the unemployed, spending 500 Trillion on dumb things isn't going to get people more jobs. I won't even get into the many many issues set to receive billions of dollars that provide from a few jobs that will last just a short time down to NO jobs according to the prospective recipient of $30million admittedly.

But that is the liberal way to spend spend spend, and only point out the numbers that make you look good, overlooking the ones that are wasteful, additionally making reference to apples while talking oranges, the democrat language.

[cynematic]

TRUTH, or lack thereof: Who's your elected rep? Are you happy with how they're handling the increasing unemployment where you live? The foreclosures? Did you look up any of the information on the data I linked to? Projected jobs created and saved are broken down by congressional district, you know.

How's the last 8 years of Republicans in charge working for ya?

And, if you find us so stupid here at MOMocrats yet can't seem to engage with the substance of what's posted, you're always welcome to leave and find a site more to your liking. Since your point doesn't seem to be to discuss.

[jobseeker]

What hasn't been well reported about the governors who intend to refuse funds is that in most cases they're saying that they'll take 98% or 99% of the funds, especially the parts with lots of pork barrel spending projects in them. They only want to refuse the small portion of the funds that would go to unemployed workers in their states.