Did Sanford Really Say NO to the Stimulus?

[UnrepentantUnitarian]

I don't hear anybody talking about this locally, not on television or in the newspapers (no surprise there -- after all, it's SC). I thought I understood that Mark Sanford said we don't want the federal stimulus funds here in South Carolina. If so, then he's even more clueless than I thought. We have those archaic schools, that Pres. Obama keeps talking about, that need fixing/replacing. We have more roads that are caving in and filled with potholes than any state I've ever seen...an obvious safety concern. We have state agencies sending their employees on mandatory furloughs. Unemployment benefits running short, etc. etc. etc. Gov. Sanford, if you DID say that we don't need those funds, then you certainly don't speak for me, and frankly you speak for South Carolina either.

When will the public in this state wake up?

[Bossy Monkey]

1. I understand that Clyburn outflanked him

http://www.thestate.com/local/story/668249.html?RSS=local

Friday, Jan. 30, 2009
Clyburn wants to bypass Sanford
By JAMES ROSEN - McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — Gov. Mark Sanford might not have even known he was in the wrestling ring when U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn delivered an emphatic smack-down from Washington.

Taking advantage of his increased legislative muscle —thanks to expanded Democratic control and a new president who shares his views — Clyburn moved to blunt Sanford’s ability to prevent South Carolina from getting its share of federal stimulus funds.

Just before the House passed President Obama’s $819 billion economic-stimulus bill Wednesday evening, Clyburn inserted an amendment empowering state legislative leaders to accept the special federal aid if the governor fails to act within 45 days of the measure’s enactment.
Click Here!

S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell and Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell said Thursday the $480 million in the stimulus plan to repair the state’s roads, bridges and other infrastructure is needed, but they expressed concerns about other aid.

(more at link)

Don't know if the amendment is in the final version, or semifinal, or whatever we're up to. But it looks like a good start, and at least Clyburn's on it.

[gamecock]

3. Excellent move

That has got to be Clyburn's smartest choice in his political career. There are quite a few Governors out there, including Sanford and Jindal who don't want the money and would rather metaphorically starve their states to make themselves look good.

[SCantiGOP]

2. What he said

First, he said that he would wait until the check was in hand to decide whether to accept it or not. That's why Clyburn did the end run to prevent him from turning it down. Also, the state legislature introduced a bill which said that, for the purpose of any future federal stimulus money, the legislature and not the Governor is defined as the Chief Executive who is empowered to receive the funds. Since then, he has been going around the country denouncing the package, but he knows he is a powerless hack on this and everything else for the next two years. The Republicans in the legislature hate him far more than the Democrats, who enjoy his idiotic ways that embarrass his party.