Governors’ division over plan sets up future of GOP

WASHINGTON (AP) — With an eye toward the 2012 presidential contest, leading Republicans used this weekend’s meeting of the National Governors Association to lay out divergent views of President Obama’s stimulus plan — and competing visions of their party’s future.

On one side were Southern governors, including Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Haley Barbour of Mississippi, and Mark Sanford of South Carolina. All three are outspoken critics of Obama’s $787 billion plan to jolt the economy through investment in education, health care and transportation and have said they are likely to reject some of the stimulus funding.

Jindal and Sanford are considered likely presidential candidates in 2012, but have demurred when asked about their future endeavors.

On the other side were the coastal moderates, including Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who have embraced Obama’s stimulus plan as an important, if imperfect, means of bringing their states out of the grip of recession. Schwarzenegger, a native of Austria, is precluded by law from running for president, but Crist is thought to be a serious prospect.

In the middle is another likely 2012 contender, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has criticized the stimulus bill but nonetheless plans to accept the money for his state. Pawlenty, whom John Mc- Cain nearly chose as his running mate last year, speaks openly of the need for the GOP to modernize and attract more minorities and women while putting a conservative stamp on issues such as health care and alternative energy.

Not present at the governor’s meeting was Alaska’s Sarah Palin, arguably the Republican Party’s biggest star. Palin, who joined McCain on the GOP ticket last year, is viewed as a top prospect for 2012 — but that doesn’t mean other governors are standing by in the meantime.

Sanford, 48, the stimulus bill’s most ardent opponent among governors, acknowledged Sunday that there “may not be much of a national appetite right now” for his strict anti-spending philosophy.

In an interview, he said it was all part of his commitment to bedrock conservative values, which he believes are the key to a Republican resurgence.

Jindal, at 37 one of the nation’s youngest governors, said that the GOP failed by straying from core principles.

Crist, 52, who campaigned with Obama in Florida to pass the stimulus, hinted that Republicans might be making a mistake by defining themselves in opposition to the plan.

Pawlenty, 48, said recent Republican setbacks have offered “an opportunity for a symphony or a chorus of voices” in party leadership.