Friday, February 27, 2009
Politics / Woods Bredesen Desperately Trying to 'Clarify' Position on Jobless Benefits
Posted by Jeff Woods on Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 7:23 AM
The Republican governors of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas, along with Alaska and Idaho, have raised protests, saying that expansion could eventually require them to raise taxes. On Wednesday, Gov. Phil Bredesen of Tennessee became the first Democratic governor to express reservations on the issue.It's unfortunate timing for Bredesen because this is also the day that newspapers are reporting Tennessee's unemployment rate jumped to nearly 9 percent in January. And then there's that health and human services job that our governor covets. To win a spot in Obama's Cabinet, it's not exactly a great PR strategy to appear in the national media disrespecting the president's stimulus package along with such governors as Sarah Palin. Maybe that's why Bredesen has been hopping on cable TV lately at every opportunity to try to explain himself.
On MSNBC, he seemed to be trying to back away from what he said previously. Now, he's saying, "I think this plan, on the whole, is a very good thing. I think we're going to use 99 and probably 100 percent of the money."
As for those Republican governors who are rejecting the money, Bredesen says, "I think there's a whole lot of posturing going on here."
Later on CNN, he told Lou Dobbs he didn't think this little dust-up will hurt his chances of landing the HHS position. He said he foresees no "troubles with the White House" for questioning this "one narrow piece" of the stimulus. But the damage already may have been done. Politico has taken to referring to the governor as "recently rumored to be an HHS candidate."
Comments (4)
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So in the age of Obama, it's unreasonable to say, "Slow down a sec. Let's make sure we can afford this?".
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If Bredesen is going it along I stongly recommend he get himself some advisors who can help craft a message, and if he has political advisors he should fire them, unless he is foolhearty enough to actually believe the convoluted mess he has been offering the public. Would anyone support a person for HHS director under a democratic administration, let alone the Obama administration, who is so out of touch with the concerns of the general public and has demonstrated such a total lack of ability to connect the dots? It's not surprising to those of us who have watched the Governor in action that the same man who plans to send back much needed national resources to extend unemployment benefits for working people who are out of a job is the same person who held up toxic soil at the TVA waste spill proclaiming it uncontaminated. Oops! Yet again, this man is out of touch. For a Republic such disregard for the needs of average working people in Tennessee would be shameful, for a Democratic it is unconscionable.
The left's discontent with Bredesen just highlights how fiscally irresponsible they are as a group. Screw the bills! Keep everybody on TennCare! Hell, put more people on! Screw whether or not the state can pay for it, lap up all that stimulus money.
The should remember that state governments can't print more money, and Tennessee's government is constitutionally bound to balance its budget. No deficit spending. State governments have to be responsible.
Again, I haven't heard Bredesen say he won't take the unemployment money. I've heard him say the state needs to determine if it can AFFORD to take the money.
That's a responsible chief executive, if you ask me.
Here's a news bulletin for you Scene leftists who are constantly squealing about Bredesen:
Although he's a Democrat, he didn't campaign as one of the East Coast liberal variety of Democrats when he was running for governor.
If he had, he never would have been elected in Tennessee to begin with.
It's no surprise then, that he hasn't been governing as if he were channeling Ted Kennedy.
Trying to curry favor with the leftist wacko Scene crew isn't a good reason to start.
