Cooper, Blackburn stimulus votes on the money

Tennessee just cannot seem to get in step with President Barack Obama’s administration, whether during the campaign or now in the infancy of our new president’s White House.

When it comes to the supposed economic stimulus package passed overwhelmingly by the U.S. House Wednesday, it is just as well that history not record Tennessee’s Congressional delegation — Republicans or Democrats — as being on board with this financial farce of a bill.

Certainly, this country given its shaky economic moorings needs a thoughtful, targeted economic stimulus bill of New Deal proportions from Congress. This legislation does not get that job done, and thankfully even Tennessee lawmakers from Obama’s own Democratic Party were brave enough to stand up and tell the truth about the bill’s shortcomings with their votes.

Perhaps the most admirable and principled vote among the Democrats voting against the bill was that of Nashville Rep. Jim Cooper. It would have been quite easy for Cooper to vote for the bill, which among other things does propose to deliver about $76 million in mostly infrastructure funds to Metro Nashville Public School’s Title I facilities.

It also would have been easy for Cooper to get on board since he was one of Congress’ original Obama supporters. Since Obama carried his district overwhelmingly during the general election, Cooper could have voted for this bill and never heard another word from most of his constituents. The fact that he chose not to says volumes about Cooper and this bill.

As Cooper correctly put it, this is not cash money the U.S. government has in its pocket to dole out. This is money that will add to our national deficit.

Furthermore, as Cooper pointed out, only about 5 percent of this money is actually headed to the New Deal-style infrastructure projects most Americans think this bill is intended to fund. Half of it is, according to our Congressman, old-school pork barrel spending on behalf of a Congress that saw the country vote for “change” but refuses to do so itself.

Nashville’s other member of the House, Congressman Marsha Blackburn, also voted against the bill along with Tennessee’s other House Republicans. Blackburn made her own case against the bill, saying it simply fails to target the economy. Instead, it seems to target Congressional pet causes within the palette of government programs.

Hopefully the U.S Senate will back away from this reckless spending plan and present a more sensible, focused stimulus package. Perhaps then the bill can be altered in a conference committee session. If that does not happen, then the Obama administration will own this very poorly crafted, expensive and undisciplined stimulus package.

They will not be able to say Jim Cooper didn’t warn them.

CORRECTION: This editorial originally stated three other Tennessee Democratic House members voted against the stimulus bill. Cooper was the only Tennessee Democrat to vote against it. This editorial has been altered to reflect that correct information.