With the Democrats in control of both Congress and the White House, Republicans have to play the unfamiliar role of the opposition party. Their response to President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package, with a lot of complaining backed up by a few poorly planned threats, shows that the GOP has a lot of work to do if it wants to compete in future elections.
While resistance to the stimulus bill is to be expected, a few Republican governors have taken it a step further. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Haley Barbour of Mississippi, Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Sarah Palin of Alaska have said that they are planning on turning down some of the funding. “This administration and this Congress are poised to mortgage the economic future of my four boys and the millions of young Americans just like them,” Sanford said in a political commentary piece on CNN.com. “To me, that’s simply not a morally acceptable outcome.”
What Sanford and the others don’t understand, however, is that doing nothing in the face of such an economic crisis would be so much worse. Obama was elected in large part because Americans trusted him to lead the country through its economic struggle. For governors to withhold badly needed money from their constituents is irresponsible, and for them to do it because of partisan differences is just petty.
Jindal in particular needs to be singled out for his decision, as Louisiana has a bit of a history with poor government response to its troubles. His opposition is aimed at stimulus money meant to expand unemployment insurance. In a state still reeling from Hurricane Katrina, denying unemployment insurance just seems wrong.
Political ambition may also factor into this defiance. Three of the four governors mentioned — Sanford, Jindal and Palin — have been brought up as likely contenders for the 2012 presidential election. Their opponent, of course, will be the incumbent Barack Obama. To win the Republican nomination in a few years, a candidate will have to prove to the conservative base that he or she stood up to Obama and is willing and able to defeat him.
If the stimulus doesn’t work out as planned, these three potential candidates can use the issue the way Obama used the war in Iraq during his run — they were opposed to it from the start. By refusing funds, however, they are trading financial aid for potential political capital.
You know these are strange times when Arnold Schwarzenegger emerges as the voice of reason. In an interview with ABC, the California governor said that the President needs “team players.” “You’ve got to go beyond just the principles,” he said. “You’ve got to go and say, ‘What is right for the country right now?’” Citizens have seen the economy spiral further and further downward; they want the government to do something.
This is where the governors in question are bound to fail. It’s more than fine for them to argue over portions of the bill. It’s their duty as the loyal opposition to fight for conservative principles. In the end, though, refusing money from the bill just looks irresponsible. It would be unfair for GOP politicians not to stand up for their ideals, but it’s just as unfair for Louisianans, Mississippians, South Carolinians and Alaskans to be denied economic aid because their leaders are too partisan to see the need or too arrogant to care.