After Running Against Govt. Spending, GA Republicans Whine About Not Getting $105 Million Port Grant from THINKPROGRESS 16FEB11

GEORGIA REPUBLICANS slammed Pres Obama for his stimulus programs and all federal spending, but hypocritically are whining about the lack of funding for the port of Savannah. Hey Georgia gop and tea-baggers......how's that extreme right wing agenda working for ya????? And where is all that private corporate economic funding you championed??? Oh yeah, it went to purchase you, so you will protect corporate welfare! From ThinkProgress....

During last year’s election season, some of the most vitriolic anti-government rhetoric came from GOP officials in the state of Georgia. Across the state, Republican lawmakers ranging from members of Congress all the way up to gubernatorial candidate Nathan Deal demonized the government and praised the free market as the solution to all of the state’s problems:

- Rep. Jack Kingston: Kingston’s opposition to government spending was so intense that he even put together a PowerPoint presentation about “destroying the infrastructure of spending” that he presented to the House Republican Steering Committee. [11/30/10]
- Sen. Johnny Isakson: Isakson campaigned on a promise to “stop out-of-control federal spending,” saying that “Congress continues to spend money at an alarming and unsustainable rate, and it is a recipe for disaster and failure.” [3/12/10]
- Sen. Saxby Chambliss: Last summer, Chambliss appeared on the Republican Party’s weekly radio show and complained about how “Congress and this White House still continue to splurge” on federal spending. He warned that future generations would have to “pay higher taxes to foot the bill for Democrats’ out-of-control spending.” [7/3/10]
- Then-gubenatorial candidate Nathan Deal: Deal’s stand against government spending was so extreme that one his spokesmen even compared federal dollars to illicit drugs: “The thing with this federal money is it’s like a drug dealer: the first one’s free and then they’ve got you hooked and you play by their rules.” [8/3/10]

Yet all these Republicans are now singing a different tune related to a local government project they have been advocating for. For years, the port city of Savannah, Georgia, has sought federal funds in order to expand and deepen the Savannah Port, which would allow for more extensive operations and commerce in the major southeastern port. The Georgia congressional delegation as well as Gov. Nathan Deal had requested $105 million in order to make these expansions in the recent Obama budget. Yet the budget contained only $600,000 for the project, falling well short of the request. Now, these same Republicans are complaining about not getting enough federal spending that they all campaigned against this past election season:

- Rep. Jack Kingston: Kingston complained that he “would’ve liked to see more” federal spending given to the port project. [2/14/11]
- Sen. Johnny Isakson: Isakson said it was “critically important that we expand the harbor to ensure it continues to act as a gateway for business to Georgia and to the nation” and that he would work “relentlessly” to get the funding he had requested. Amusingly, the senator also put out a press release the very next day blasting Obama’s budget because it “spends too much.” [2/14/11, 2/15/11]
- Sen. Saxby Chambliss: Chambliss promised to “continue to fight, along with my Georgia colleagues, to fund the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project.” [2/14/11]
- Gov. Nathan Deal: Deal, apparently no longer willing to compare the federal government to a drug dealer, said the state “obviously hoped for a much greater show of support from the president.” The governor even went as far as to say that the Constitution mandate that it’s the federal government’s “responsibility” to pay for ports. [2/15/11, 2/14/11]

Kingston, responding to a tweet asking about the port project from the Georgia Young Democrats on CSPAN, lavished praise on the port project, saying that “infrastructure spending can create jobs.” “There’s a big case out there for infrastructure spending,” Kingston concluded. Watch it:


There is, of course, nothing wrong with Georgia Republicans or lawmakers anywhere requesting funds for important infrastructure projects like those taking place at the Savannah Port Authority. It is however highly inconsistent to run political campaigns demonizing government and promoting the free market as the solution to all economic problems and then complain when you are unable to receive federal dollars for your home-state project — which you are willing to admit creates jobs and helps the economy.