How Barstool's Dave Portnoy Handled This Ambush by a Local News Outlet
Washington Post Reporter Whiffs With This Tweet About 'Sovereignty' Winning Kentucky Derby
This Headline Sort of Guts The Washington Post's Pulitzer Win for Covering the...
If There's Anyone That Deserves a Military Parade, It's Donald J. Trump
Can We Pay Liberals to Leave Too?
Young Trumpian Conservatives Are Like the Young Reagan Conservatives of Yesterday
Price Controls for Medicine Have a Devastating Cost
'Trump Knows…' Eclipses the Iconic Bo Jackson Commercial 'Bo Knows…'
Can the West Win Wars Again?
Securing Digital Dignity: A New Line of Defense for Americans
Ignore the Elites — President Trump’s Housing Plan Is Working
From the Gridiron to the Rose Garden — America’s Comeback Starts Here
Small Businesses Aren’t Hiring - Because Big Cronyism Is Eliminating Them
WNBA Player Bows to Woke Agenda, Cries 'White Privilege' Despite Being No. 1...
Pete Buttigieg Said What About Black Babies?
OPINION

Sequestration: Governors Are a Special Interest Too

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

The president made an appearance at the National Governors Association’s winter meeting to drum up support for his position that the sequestration spending cuts should be mitigated with tax hikes. The president understands that state politicians are dependent on federal handouts (see chart below), which makes them ideal candidates to help him convince the citizenry that spending cuts would usher in the apocalypse.  

In the battle with congressional Republicans over sequestration, it would be particularly helpful to the president to have Republican governors fan the flames. The post-appearance coverage that I’ve read indicates that some GOP governors took the bait and others did not. For instance, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal dismissed the president’s position as “just trying to scare the American people.” On the other hand, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell expressed dissatisfaction with congressional Republicans (and the president’s) inability to come to an agreement to avoid sequestration. 

If an article in Politico is accurate, however, Republican governors are working behind the scenes to get congressional Republicans to acquiesce: 

The new rumblings match what’s been going on behind the scenes for months. Governors have publicly signed on to letters bashing Obama and praising House Republicans’ efforts, but privately their offices have been urging lawmakers to work harder to avoid potentially devastating cuts — particularly those that could hit local programs. 

Having worked for a Republican governor who made it a mission for his state to grab as many federal dollars as possible, I have zero reason to doubt that this is the case. The reason is simple: every federal dollar that a state politician can spend is a dollar that he or she doesn’t have to ask his or her voters to part with. Thus, state politicians love the “free” money from the feds and expend great effort (and additional taxpayer money) trying to obtain it. 

Of course, it isn’t really free.

Advertisement

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Recommended

Trending on Townhall Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement