Republicans Poised to Leap on Spending Abuses (will have their own tracking system)

[underpants]

and it is probably safe to say-their own set of facts


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/02/19/republicans-poised-leap-spending-abuses/

Party prepares to pounce on wasteful spending in the $787 billion stimulus package as they refocus their criticisms of a measure whose success could hurt their 2010 election prospects.


WASHINGTON -- Republicans are preparing to pounce on any wasteful spending in the $787 billion stimulus package as they refocus their criticisms of a measure whose success could hurt their 2010 election prospects.

Democrats want the plan to unfold as smoothly as possible, because voters see it as the product of their party and Obama. Congressional Republicans, however, opposed the bill almost unanimously, and any embarrassing examples of misused funds or other shortcomings will let them say, "I told you so."

House Republicans are setting up "a stimulus-watch program" that will allow watchdog groups and private citizens to report findings as contractors and agencies start spending billions of dollars on roads, schools, renewable energy projects and other initiatives, said House Republican Whip Eric Cantor.

"We'll be taking a look in detail" and "really providing accountability and transparency," Cantor said in an interview Wednesday.

House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio said in a statement: "House Republicans are concerned about the potential for abuse of taxpayer funds in the massive trillion-dollar spending bill that the president signed into law this week. ... We will remain vigilant in our oversight efforts."

Some Republican lawmakers and aides say that even relatively small examples of spending abuse will feed conservative talk shows and fuel criticism of the plan's implementation, just as a handful of dubious items in the bill helped House Republicans mock it and stay united against it. Only three Senate Republicans voted for the bill, giving it the minimum needed for passage.

"It's one thing to do everything you can to hold people accountable," said Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who chairs the Democrats' House campaign committee. "It's another thing for your strategy to bank on cronyism and abuse. It is a very cynical approach."

The White House has established a Web site, Recovery.gov, designed to help Americans track projects funded by the stimulus bill. Obama says in a video: "The size and scale of this plan demand unprecedented efforts to root out waste, inefficiency and unnecessary spending.

Recovery.gov will be the online portal for these efforts, publishing information about how the funding secured by the legislation will be spent in a timely, targeted and transparent manner."

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

1. In the Republican Bizarro "We're Fiscal Conservatives!!!!" Alternate Universe

But remember they are on record as saying they are not "reality based" and they prove it each and every day.

[thunder rising]

2. You know this isn't about reality...it's about getting more money into the pockets of the corporate

masters. These MF only seem ideological to keep from looking like thieves.

[AndyA]

3. Hey Republicans: Why don't you find all that money missing in your money pit known as Iraq?

How about all those millions in contracts that resulted in shoddy work?

Where's the millions that have just gone missing? What are you doing to locate that money??

What happened to all that money? If you really want to stop government waste, why not wipe your own butts first before you start sniffing around someone else's?

[liberal N proud]

4. You say they have their own set of facts?, Who needs facts?

They can just make this shit up as they go along. That is what they have done so far with stories of pork and earmarks, fantasy land/sin city trains and such.

[underpants]

5. Short list of the last 3 weeks or so

CBO report that didn't exist
mice/rats that weren't in the bill
Disney to Vegas train that isn't in the bill
ACORN-that one was just bizarre

[Bandit]

6. We have an eight year record of them examining every bit of spending.

D'Oh I guess they didn't examine much over the last eight years did they. Maybe that is why under their "watch" our National Debt doubled and record deficits were the norm.

[NC_Nurse]

7. Where were they when contractors were ripping us off in Iraq? I don't recall

any outrage over Bush's deficit spending over the last 8 years.


:think: