Republican hypocrisy palpable

Just before President Barack Obama arrived in the Mahoning Valley Tuesday afternoon, Congressman John Boehner, leader of the House Republicans, issued a statement that could only be described as snarky.

“The fact that the President has come to cheerlead the ‘stimulus’ in a city where unemployment is 15.1 percent demonstrates just how out of touch Washington Democrats are with the harsh realities many communities are facing today.

“During this time of hardship, the last thing the people of the Mahoning Valley need is more of the president’s jobs-killing agenda that is only making matters worse.”

Never mind that Obama came to visit the V&M Star plant in Youngstown and to hail the announcement of its French parent, Vallourec, of a $650 million state-of-the-art steel-making facility.

Not surprisingly, the president used the occasion to tout the federal economic stimulus program, from which $19 million is being used for site preparation.

Ground will be broken this summer and 400 construction jobs are to be created. Once the mill is in production, 350 manufacturing jobs will be filled, with an average salary of at least $50,000 a year and full benefits.

That’s why Republican Leader Boehner’s criticism of Obama’s visit Tuesday was snarky.

Hypocrisy

It ignores reality — not only in the Mahoning Valley, but in his own 8th Congressional District. If you visit his official website, you won’t find a single word about any federal stimulus money being allocated to the six counties that make up the district. But, a county-by-county review of the allocation of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds shows that Congressman Boehner hasn’t been shy about taking while the taking’s good.

Boehner led the Republican opposition to the legislation in the House and made sure that not a single member of his party voted for it.

Yet, as President Obama noted in his address to about 150 V&M employees, “These folks who opposed this (recovery program) every step of the way, predicting nothing but failure, they know it’s working because — this always puts a smile on my face — even as they’ve tried to score political points attacking these members of Congress (Valley Democrats), a lot of them go home and then they claim credit for the very things they voted against. They’ll show up at the — to cut the ribbons. They’ll put out a press release. They’ll send the mailings touting the very projects that they were opposing in Washington. They’re trying to have it both ways.”

Boehner’s 8th District encompasses all or parts of Butler, Montgomery, Darke, Mercer, Miami and Preble counties.

The Republican leader in the U.S. House of Representatives must certainly do a fist pump — in the privacy of the GOP members’ cloakroom, no doubt — every time he contemplates this figure: $496,212,000. (That’s four hundred and ninety-six million, two hundred and twelve thousand dollars.)

In addition, the six counties have raked in $82,477,000 in what is called multi-county allocations.

But Boehner isn’t the only hypocrite in Congress with regard to the Recovery Act. Every congressional district in the country has received funding, including the 18 in Ohio. Of those, eight are represented by Republicans.

Thus far, more than $12.3 billion has been made available to Ohio, with $7.1 billion already spent.

And yet, the GOP continues to insist that the economic stimulus program has been a major failure.

So, how has it failed in Montgomery County? The total allocation is $128,634,000, of which $30 million has gone for renewal energy research and development.

A waste?

Wonder if the individuals involved in renewal energy R&D consider the funding a waste of taxpayer dollars?

In Ohio, $1.1 billion has been allocated for 459 transportation projects. Are the Republicans contending that the people who will be working this summer all over the state are stealing public dollars?

If the GOP wants to be considered a party of principle, then every member of Congress who voted against the Recovery Act should refuse to accept any of the money for his or her district.

Otherwise, the thinking public will see them for what they are: Political hypocrites.