In 2009 and 2010, Republicans who opposed the Democrats’ Recovery Act started showing up at ribbon-cutting ceremonies, as if they deserved some credit for the economic package then-President Barack Obama used to help end the Great Recession. At one point, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee put together a list of the House Republicans who tried to take credit for the investments, and the list included more than 70% of the House GOP conference.
The phenomenon was so common, Democrats came up with a label for Republicans who condemned the Recovery Act, except when it helped their constituents: “Highway Hypocrites.”
About a decade later, the phenomenon began anew, as Republicans who opposed President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan also sought credit for the Covid-relief benefits they tried to kill.
But to fully appreciate the scope of the GOP hypocrisy, look no further than the party’s approach to infrastructure investments that wouldn’t exist if Republicans had their way. AL.com had a report yesterday, for example, with a succinct headline: “Tuberville praises $1.4 billion for broadband he voted against.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville used a tweet to call attention to more than a billion dollars in federal aid to expand broadband access across Alabama. But he didn’t vote for the 2021 legislation that made it possible.
The Alabaman has plenty of company. Some GOP members of Mississippi’s congressional delegation this week also celebrated broadband investments from the Biden administration, which they voted against. Republican Sen. John Cornyn yesterday touted federal funds to boost broadband expansion efforts in his home state of Texas, while neglecting to mention that those funds only exist thanks to legislation that he voted to kill.
As is always the case, the context matters. As regular readers know, for as long as there’s been a Congress, there have been lawmakers seeking federal funds for their states and districts — even when those resources came from bills they voted against. The thinking behind the appeals is obvious: They opposed the spending, but if the government is going to make the investments anyway, these members figure they might as well make the case for directing some of those funds to their own constituents.
I’m not unsympathetic to this argument. It’s certainly rooted in the American tradition.
But the details matter, too. Tuberville, for example, argued in his online missive yesterday, “Broadband is vital for the success of our rural communities and for our entire economy. [It’s] great to see Alabama receive crucial funds to boost ongoing broadband efforts.”
And therein lies the problem: If broadband is vital, and these funds are “crucial,” why did Tuberville vote against the investments?
My point is not to single out the Alabaman. I’ve been keeping an eye on this story for months, and I’ve lost count of how many congressional Republicans have touted, celebrated, taken credit for, or some combination thereof infrastructure investments that they voted against — and in several instances, condemned as “socialism.” But the volume only makes a bad situation worse. Postscript: It looks Biden had a little fun at Tuberville’s expense this morning. Biden hits Republicans for being against the infrastructure bill before they touted it: "There's a guy named Tuberville from Alabama who announced that he strongly opposed the legislation. Now he's hailing its passage [makes sign of the cross]." pic.twitter.com/tkLR50zobQ This post revises our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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