11.8.11

Michele Bachmann Stimulates Minnesota

Who: Steve Benen
What: "How about a Bachmann-inspired stimulus?", Washington Monthly
When: August 10, 2011


Nothing to see here, folks. Go on about your business.

In public, Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann spends much of her time railing against government spending. In private, Bachmann spends quite a bit of time requesting government spending.
    A Freedom of Information Act request filed by The Huffington Post with three separate federal agencies reveals that on at least 16 separate occasions, Bachmann petitioned the federal government for direct financial help or aid. A large chunk of those requests were for funds set aside through President Obama's stimulus program, which Bachmann once labeled "fantasy economics." Bachmann made two more of those requests to the Environmental Protection Agency, an institution that she has suggested she would eliminate if she were in the White House. Taken as a whole, the letters underscore what Bachmann's critics describe as a glaring distance between her campaign oratory and her actual conduct as a lawmaker. Combined with previous revelations that Bachmann personally relied on a federally subsidized home loan while her husband's business benefited from Medicaid payments, it appears that one of the Tea Party's most cherished members has demonstrated that the government does, in fact, play a constructive role — at least in her life and district ....
.... What's more, the phenomenon certainly isn't limited to Bachmann — all kinds of right-wing lawmakers who swear public investments are fundamentally evil, including plenty of this year's radical freshman class, have spent a fair amount of time pleading for more public investment in their states and districts, insisting the spending would be good for the economy ....

To Benen's credit, he isn't simply complaining for the sake of politics. Rather, it seems a simple enough suggestion—create a stimulus package fashioned to satisfy Republican needs. Quite clearly, much of their criticism of government stimulus is mere talk; Rep. Tim Scott (R-SC); Rep. Jon Runyan and his $20m for sand; Reps. Sean Duffy (R-WI) and Michele Bachmann (R-MN) seeking aid for a bridge project, and so on.

It is not that anyone should be surprised or appalled; we've known about this for a while. More to the point, it's something to keep in mind whenever we hear Republicans complaining about economic stimulus and public spending.

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