Virginia House Rejects $125M in Stimulus Cash

[Undercurrent]

RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia's Republican-run House of Delegates rejected a proposed expansion of unemployment benefits Wednesday, along with $125 million in federal stimulus cash to pay for it.

On a mostly party-line 46-53 vote, the House turned down amendments by Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine that were necessary to make Virginia eligible for the federal aid. The vote mirrored a debate raging in state capitols across the nation over whether to accept the federal stimulus cash to cushion soaring unemployment rates in the worst economy since the Great Depression.

Republican governors in several states, including Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, Alaska and Texas, say they will reject at least part of the cash because of mandates by a Democratic Congress and President Barack Obama to broaden state unemployment insurance programs. Wednesday's vote makes Virginia among the first states to definitively repudiate the unemployment insurance expansion.

The vote was also a stinging rebuke to Kaine, Obama's hand-picked chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and becomes a major issue in Virginia's elections this year for governor and all 100 House of Delegates seats.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/08/virginia-house-rejects-m-stimulus-cash/

[Lyric]

1. They're taking an enormous gamble with the lives of their citizens.

They'd better pray that nothing goes wrong in their states that stimulus money would have helped avoid; otherwise, every single one of those fuckers is going to be out of a job.

[rfranklin]

2. Yes, taking those funds for unemployment would be wrong!

It would only make those lazy unemployed turn down the many jobs that go begging every day. Just take a look at all the jobs in your local newspaper....oh, when did the newspaper go out of business?

[Optical.Catalyst]

3. Watch out. The Republicans are hurting their own constituents for pure political gain

Republicans hurting their own constituents for pure political gain is not new. There is something going on with the "refusal to accept the money" or the "return" of the money. The repugs are cooking up some marginally legal attack on President Obama, and they have to establish a precedence by not taking the money.

Some of the conservative individuals at work have a running discussion about this. Regular points are about:

highway funding and speed limits
education funding and school curriculum
agricultural support and farm crops

Somehow, through it all, by not accepting bailout money the States can do something adverse to our President.

[high density]

4. Ah yes, the Ted Stevens NO!!!! strategy

It worked out so well for him.

[underpants]

5. Va. Republicans are in complete disarray

they just ousted their young gun Chairman Frederick this after a bloodbath of a convention last year.

People don't care about "ideological" stands especially when it is their "ideology" that caused most of the economic turmoil we are now facing. They also seem to not be aware of the stimulative nature of unemployment benefits that has been documented here.

[LiberalFighter]

6. I wonder how many of those unemployed have never voted before or don't regularly?

Should be interesting to see what type of turnout there will be in the next election.

[JayMusgrove]

7. Aside from the fact that the linked article is from Fox...

where they try to make this look like a "defeat" for Democratic Governor Kaine, this is an example of Republicans shooting themselves in the foot.

Maybe a little "party" of 10,000 unemployed people showing up outside the VA State House or Reps would change their minds?