OVERVIEW
MANAGEMENT
PERFORMANCE
POSSIBILITIES
CAPITALS
ACTIVITIES
ACTORS
BURGESS
|
US POLITICS
INFRASTRUCUTURE MONEY IS POPULAR Biden blasts Republicans who called his infrastructure bill 'socialism' and now line up for goodies 
US President Joe Biden smiles during a meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin (off frame) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, June 28, 2021. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images) Original article: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/10/8/2127727/-Biden-tweaks-Republicans-who-called-his-infrastructure-bill-socialism-and-now-line-up-for-goodies Peter Burgess COMMENTARY Peter Burgess | ||
|
Biden blasts Republicans who called his infrastructure bill 'socialism' and now line up for goodies
Written by Aldous J Pennyfarthing ... Community Contributors Team Saturday October 08, 2022 · 1:28 PM EDT It turns out that infrastructure spending is a lot like safe, legal abortions. And not just because the governor of Georgia is redirecting federal highway money to fund a series of roving abortion clinics that follow Herschel Walker’s mistresses around the country like Army M*A*S*H units. The truth is just about everyone, including Republicans, wants federal infrastructure money and abortion access for themselves—but only Republicans go out of their way to rip them away from the rest of us. Well, guess what? Our Illustrious Overlord Dark Brandon of House Biden, Breaker of Financial Chains, Ogler of Ice Cream, Wonderful Wizard of Weed-mancipation, has noticed. And, well, he’s not being shy about calling these weasels out. After CNN published a searing report about Republicans who decried Biden’s infrastructure spending as “socialism” before sticking their own greedy meathooks out for goodies, Biden decided to tweak them a bit. BIDEN: “A report that came out in CNN says, ‘Republicans called Biden infrastructure program ‘socialism,’ and then they ask for the money.’ And it goes through all of the Republicans, the most conservative Republicans, who call it socialism, and how they’re asking. A guy named Paul Gosar, he’s written three separate letters to the administration asking for projects in his district. He says it [will] enhance the quality of life, ease congestion, boost the economy. Voted against it, says it’s all socialism. Go down on the list. Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr. ‘The biggest socialist agenda.’ Three different projects he wants, citing the importance of safety and growth in his district. Rand Paul. You can go down the list. Look it up. Socialism. I didn’t know there were that many socialist Republicans. Think about it, I’m serious. Let’s get serious about taking care of ordinary people, regular people like I grew up [with]. Folks, look. You can’t make this stuff up. … I gotta say, I was surprised to see so many socialists in the Republican caucus.”The more things change, the more they stay the same. Turns out that Democrats want to help regular people all the time, whereas Republicans are only interested in doing so when it’s politically expedient. The CNN story is exactly as Biden describes it, and you should really read it in its entirety if only to marvel at the chutzpah. CNN posts letter after obsequious letter from Republicans who decried Biden’s infrastructure agenda in the most strident terms but are now rattling their collection plates like throngs of bath salts-besotted church ushers. While some Republican members who opposed the law have already been criticized for praising projects made possible by it, these letters went a step further, going out of their way to argue for even more spending back home. All typed out on the standard blue and white letterhead for the House and Senate, the letters are full of the graciousness and politesse of official government correspondence, and make no mention of their votes against the infrastructure law. None cite “socialism” or “radical spending.” No one included a paragraph about House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy calling the law “rushed and irresponsible,” or Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene calling the Republicans who voted for it “traitors.” Often, the letters signed by members of the House and Senate appeal using the same terms that they derided Democrats for using, from “economic growth” to “sustainability” benefits. Hmm. I’d say that’s super embarrassing if I still thought Republicans were capable of shame. But hey, compared to nurturing a cult devotion for a guy who incites insurrections against the U.S. government and steals its most tightly guarded secrets, this is no more embarrassing than wetting the bed a little after a night of heavy drinking. Sure, it’s someone else’s bed and you have no idea who gave you the room key or why Andy Dick is there, but it’s still nothing like conspicuously propping up a Russian spy. Of course, unlike Donald Trump, who blocked federal wildfire relief for California because its residents don’t like him and didn’t rake the forests well enough, Uncle Joe has been so fair about disbursing these funds, and members of his own party are mildly peeved about it. “They’re hanging on to our coattails while they’re opposing these things. And that should have consequences, in my opinion,” Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio, a Democrat, told CNN. “But the administration is, unfortunately like the Obama administration, too evenhanded.” Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg noted his team is respecting Biden’s wishes that politics not be a factor in determining how these grants are awarded. “We’re not going to be trying to be jerks about it,” Buttigieg said. “We’re also not going to be shy about folks knowing who was with us and who was against us.” That’s very admirable, Buttigieg. But maybe there’s room for just a little more jerkiness? No one will complain too much. What d’ya say, huh? --------------------------------------------------- Check out Aldous J. Pennyfarthing’s four-volume Trump-trashing compendium, including the finale, Goodbye, Asshat: 101 Farewell Letters to Donald Trump, at this link. Or, if you prefer a test drive, you can download the epilogue to Goodbye, Asshat for the low, low price of FREE. This content was created by a Daily Kos Community member.
| The text being discussed is available at | https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/10/8/2127727/-Biden-tweaks-Republicans-who-called-his-infrastructure-bill-socialism-and-now-line-up-for-goodies and |