Error: Unable to create directory /home/demockra/public_html/wp-content/uploads/2010/09. Is its parent directory writable by the server? What’s a Republican Governor To Do?

You know, it’s hard out there for a governor, when he’s trying to make the money for his state budget, and all the infrastructure and unemployment insurance money’s spent, and all the RNC leadership is talking … too much.

Not a single House Republican voted in favor of the “bipartisan” H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law by President Obama last Monday. Republicans were proud of their united opposition to what they called a bill filled with “pork,” though, technically, “pork-barrel spending” is defined as non-essential spending made for specific, pet projects in a congressman’s home district — say, for a $398 million bridge from one scantily-populated town to an airport. Using that definition, there is no pork in this bill, since it allocates money for only large, federal projects, with no mention of specific projects and nothing targeted at specific districts (in fact, the bill’s flaw may just be its breadth, with line-items for things like “Science” within NASA’s budget).

So, anyway, Republicans are very proud of themselves. But it may be a case of cutting off their noses to spite their faces. On the one hand, they want this stimulus bill to be their first major conflict with the Obama administration, so that they have a clearly defined message in opposition to his; i.e., “wasteful spending.” On the other hand, states are seriously hurting for money. Just this last week, the Great State of California finally closed a $40 billion chasm in its budget for next year. (Although, in spite of that, Governor Schwarzenegger terminated 10,000 state employees and cut the salaries of thousands more in an effort to save some cash. Hasta la vista, employees.)

Republican governors are also in charge in some of the poorest states, like Louisiana, South Carolina, and Mississippi, where this money could be really useful! At what point does adherence to ideology actually start hurting people? You may wish to ask the citizens of Louisiana, where Republican Governor Bobby Jindal may refuse $4 billion in infrastructure funds allocated to it under the stimulus plan, according to CBS News. The New York Times reports that Governor Jindal has already refused expanded unemployment benefits because it would raise business taxes.

Republicans don’t want to appear to be hypocrites, so they’ll do the next-best thing: appear to be obstinate. Of course, all of this posturing isn’t being done because Republicans staunchly adhere to their ideals. What did you think this was, Bizzaro United States? Oh, no; these governors are refusing the money because they plan on running for president in 2012! Refusing stimulus money may cause real damage to millions of people in states where demand for social services and entitlement benefits is on the rise, but that clearly isn’t important to Republican presidential contenders who need to be able to point back to a time when they were 100% in line with the Republican talking points about the stimulus.

Thankfully, Governor Schwarzenegger is not running for president (unless they amend the Constitution. Fingers crossed!). Maybe that’s why he will not only take the stimulus money allocated to California, but why he is urging other Republican governors to do so (although he also said he would gladly take whatever money the other governors don’t want). Unless, of course, the other governors are so unselfish that they’re willing to risk the welfare of their states for a cynical attempt at appearing “fiscally responsible” so that they can make a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 by out-conservativing each other. That’s change we can sink in!

Let this serve as another example of why Republicans lost so much in November: as it turns out, they may not care about people. That may be a generalization (and it is!), but I wonder about the guy in New Orleans who’s been laid off and who can no longer make his mortgage payments. I know it will do his heart good to know that Governor Jindal is fighting to prevent him from getting any help because, in so doing, Governor Jindal would boost his chances of being elected president. What does the word “constituency” mean, anyway? Especially when you have to choose between an electorate that can only drag you down and a Republican elite that could be your meal ticket to the presidential nomination.

I’ll give this much to them, though: they stick to their guns, even if those guns will send them hurtling over a cliff. You’ve got to respect someone who is self-centered enough to play chicken with other people’s lives simply to prove a stupid point.

Or not. Which is good, because I don’t.