Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has reemerged after his disastrous State of the Union response prompted a brief sabbatical from the spotlight. In a Politico piece Monday, Jindal wrote that "the nearly trillion dollar stimulus has not stimulated," but somehow, in spite of terrible government intervention, "things in Louisiana are looking up."
How did that happen? It might have something to do with the millions of dollars in stimulus money that went to the state. Jindal must know about it, because he's been handing it out all over, in giant-check form. Think Progress reports:
Despite the fact that the checks contain millions of dollars of Recovery Act funds for job training programs, housing assistance programs, homelessness prevention programs, police training, criminal justice technology upgrades, and community development block grants, Jindal has been printing his own name on the checks and taking credit for the money. For example, Jindal presented Lafayette with yet another jumbo-sized check that contained at least $2,125,584 in Recovery Act funds. Though the money came from spending policies authorized by the Recovery Act, Jindal did not appear to credit the Recovery Act at all. And although the state stands to gain nearly $8 billion in federal funding from the Recovery Act, Jindal was one of several GOP governors to try to block the measure earlier this year.
They note that the stimulus distribution has garnered Jindal many positive headlines -- in contrast to his grandstanding against the federal funds last fall. Now he's trying to have it both ways: Oppose the stimulus in Washington and get credit for it back home.