Opinions of a Wandering Waif

jonathan-cunningham:

For days, Republicans derided the stimulus, which they had voted against, as a flop that has achieved nothing. Independent sources, though, say that’s not so. IHS Global Insight and Moody’s Economy.com have estimated the stimulus has added 1.6 to 1.8 million jobs to the economy. And the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office put this number at 2.4 million. And throughout the week, the Democratic Party sent out emails to reporters documenting instances when leading congressional Republicans who denounced the stimulus have taken credit for stimulus-funded projects in their districts or states. This list of GOP hypocrites includes Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, House minority leader John Boehner, Sen. Lamar Alexander, Sen. Kit Bond, and nine other senators. (The Center for American Progress, a liberal group, issued a report noting that 111 House Republicans who voted against the Recovery Act have claimed credit for projects it has financed.)

Beyond this rank hypocrisy—which is par for the course in Washington—the issue is whether the Republican Party is knowingly pushing a lie. There’s no doubt that the party’s leading lights have spoken falsely about the stimulus. But have they been deliberately lying? Recently, newly elected Senator Scott Brown declared that the stimulus bill “didn’t create one new job.” Politifact.com, an independent fact-checking outfit, branded that remark a ”pants on fire” lie.

The fact that they’re deliberately lying should be a surprise to no one that’s actually paying attention. These are Ivy-League educated career politicians that receive routine briefings on the subject matter they lie about.  Read the article for more examples and articulation.