Marathon Pundit: Stimulus failure: Shovel-ready or spin-ready?

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Stimulus failure: Shovel-ready or spin-ready?

The embarrassments continue to mount for the Democrats.

From the Senate Republican Communications Center:

SPIN-READY

As The Trillion-Dollar Stimulus Fails To Fulfill Promises, President Obama Is Separating Himself From His Own Sales Pitch On Shovel-Ready Projects

NOW: PRESIDENT OBAMA SAYS “THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS SHOVEL-READY”

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “There’s No Such Thing As Shovel-Ready Projects.” (“The Education of a President,” New York Times Magazine, 10/13/10)

FLASHBACK: DEMOCRATS PITCH “SHOVEL-READY” STIMULUS

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “There Are Almost 100 Shovel-Ready Transportation Projects Already Approved In Colorado Which Are Beginning To Create Jobs.” (President Obama, Remarks, 8/15/09)

· OBAMA: “When I met with the governors, all of them have projects that are shovel ready, that are going to require us to get the money out the door, but they've already lined up the projects and they can make them work.” (President Obama, Meet The Press, 12/07/08)

· OBAMA: “…I Can Say That 14 Days After I Signed Our Recovery Act Into Law, We Are Seeing Shovels Hit The Ground.” (President Obama, Remarks At The Department Of Transportation, 3/3/09)
VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: “The Recovery Act, As We Call It, Provides A Necessary Jolt To Our Economy To Implement What We Refer As ‘Shovel-Ready’ Projects, meaning projects that were on the books that were needed in the municipalities and the states that would improve the quality of life for our constituents, the competitiveness of our businesses, but were unable to be funded.” (Vice President Biden, Remarks At Progressive Governance Conference, 3/28/09)

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D-MI): “Shovel-Ready Infrastructure Projects Are The Most Immediate Way To Create Jobs And Get The Economy Moving Quickly. The Recovery Plan Includes $48 Billion In Funding For Ready-To-Go Road, bridge, rail and other projects to immediately and directly create jobs.” (Sen. Levin, Congressional Record, S.2304, 2/13/09)

SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D-CA): “Local People Are Saying To Us, Please, Senators, Do Something To Help Us Get Out There, Spend The Money On These Shovel -Ready Projects--the highways, the bridges, the transit systems, the sewer systems, the safe drinking water issues. Help us do it.” (Sen. Boxer, Congressional Record, S.1383, 2/3/09)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA): “I Have Heard Colleague After Colleague Say: Well, What Job Is Going To Be Created Through This Spending? Well, Let Me Tell You Very Directly. If You Have A Shovel-Ready Project, We Can Put That Into Place Tomorrow. There Are Thousands Of Them Across The Country Ready To Go.” (Sen. Kerry, Congressional Record, S.1806, 2/6/09)

SEN. BEN CARDIN (D-MD): “We Have Shovel-Ready Projects In Every Jurisdiction In My Home State Of Maryland.” (Sen. Cardin, Congressional Record, S.1386, 2/3/09)

SEN. BILL NELSON (D-FL): “This Economic Recovery Bill … Funds Shovel-Ready Infrastructure.” “This economic recovery bill that we will consider this week begins to move us in the right direction. Now, there ought to be some tweaks and some iterations on it, and we are going to consider that in the amendatory process, but let's consider the thrust of it. It funds shovel -ready infrastructure--those projects that are ready to go--which are going to strengthen our Nation while creating jobs in the construction sector.” (Sen. Nelson, Congressional Record, S.1372, 2/3/09)

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA): “We Need To Repair This Infrastructure, And The Beauty Of Doing It As Part Of This Package Is That It Puts People To Work Immediately On Projects That Are Shovel Ready.” (Sen. Feinstein, Congressional Record, S.1380, 2/3/09)