IT'S THE PRINCIPLE OF THE THING, RIGHT?

It's the principle of the thing, right?

IF every single Republican House of Representatives member voted NO on the recent economic stimulus legislation based on their PRINCIPLES why aren't every one of them lobbying their State Governors to refuse to accept any Federal funds that would be scheduled to be distributed or spent in their States?

IF all but three Republican Senators voted NO on the recent economic stimulus legislation based on their PRINCIPLES why aren't every one of them lobbying their State Governors to refuse to accept any Federal funds that would be scheduled to be distributed or spent in their States?

IF a number of Republican Governors who were so much against the legislation as it made its way toward passage based on PRINCIPLE then they should formally stand up for their principles and respectfully decline to accept Federal funds generated from the stimulus bill.

Come on people, you either have the PRINCIPLES or you don't! It takes courage to follow your core beliefs and principles. Do all these Republican "leaders" have it or not?

Since all these Republican leaders have voiced their opinion that the Economic Recovery Act is completely wasteful and will only make our national situation more dire it is only logical that these Republican "leaders" should not add to the national disaster by accepting any of this "wasteful spending".

There have been a few extremely hypocritical House members on the Republican side of the aisle who, within days of the Bills passage, actually went back to their States and attempted to take credit for the bills passage and praised themselves for bringing money, through the stimulus programs, to the people of their States. Amazing!

Again, if the money that will be appropriated from the Economic Recovery Act is SO wrong and SO wasteful, DO NOT TAKE IT. This would certainly be one way to reduce the final price tag of this "ill fated" legislation.

Of course, a principled refusal would also come with the need for a full and acceptable explanation to the voters (ALL the voters). about how NO assistance is better than at least the attempt for recovery. I wonder if; "Just because" or "Tax Cuts" or "It's against our principles" will work with all the desperate citizens back home.

But, by all means, go for it. After all, it's all about standing up for your principles, right?

Excuse me, but I have yet to grasp the logic that the GOP has adopted that a full blown national meltdown is somehow better than at least the attempt to engage the problems and fight for our survival. You (meaning the Republican Party) have made your goals fairly clear. You win if the country fully sinks into a DEPRESSION instead of the deep recession now plaguing America and the World. The attempts to convince the American public of this logic illustrates the basic fact that our "leaders" actually have an agenda that has little to do with the health of America or its citizens.

To be sure, the Economic Recovery Act or the attempts to shore up the housing market or the financial markets may not be successful. The risk and possibility of failure is certainly present. The critical question that must be asked and answered is whether America and its citizens are worth the risk.

If the GOP is correct in their gloomy predictions I suspect that Americans will be in such deep trouble that the all mighty elections of 2010 or 2012 will be irrelevant. If the American people collectively fight and work very hard to bring our nation back to some level of stability during the next few years (which I believe can and will be done), the GOP itself will become more and more irrelevant in the next few election cycles and they will deserve that result.

Buckle up it's going to be a rough and partisan ride!