Last month, President Obama scolded Republicans in Congress for playing both sides when it came to last year's economic stimulus plan. Addressing a group of House Republicans at a retreat in Baltimore, the president accused many in the group of outright hypocrisy, saying, "A lot of you have gone to appear at ribbon cuttings for the same projects that you voted against." Many Obama supporters have levied similar criticisms, and now at least one prominent Republican politician is joining in on the chorus: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Appearing on ABC's "This Week," Schwarzenegger praised the "terrific" effect of the influx of federal dollars into his financially troubled state, and chided Republicans who've tried to play both sides of the fence.
"I find it interesting that you have a lot of the Republicans running around and pushing back on the stimulus money and saying this doesn't create any new jobs," he said. "And then they go out and they do the photo ops and they are posing with the big check and they say, 'isn't this great?'"
Schwarzenegger went on to note that the plan's boost to his state compelled him to be "the first governor of the Republican governors to come out and to support the stimulus money," adding that "anyone that says that it hasn't created the jobs, they should talk to the 150,000 people that have been getting jobs in California."
Schwarzenegger's comments echo not only President Obama's criticism of Republicans in Congress, but also the criticism of others on the left and the right who have voiced their frustrations recently over what Politico has termed as the GOP's "cash-and-trash" strategy. One such critic, liberal MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, has devoted considerable airtime to exposing the politicians who railed against the plan, only to later attempt to take credit, back in their home districts, for the projects funded by the stimulus money. Saying that the actions of these Republicans highlighted what she termed the "myth of bi-partisanship," Maddow encouraged the president, Democrats, and Congress to shun working with the opposition party in any way going forward.
"Grow up, Democrats. Face the music. Do it alone. You're the majority," she said.
