In Which Mary Landrieu Spits In My Face

I had emailed Senator Landrieu in the futile hope she could be persuaded – as a Blue Dog who has repeatedly campaigned on fiscal responsibility – to vote against porkulus. Here’s her office’s response, including sloppy layout and formatting.   It’s your basic political blowoff “rest assured” letter, as in, “Rest assured I care oh-so-deeply about whatever crap I need to in order to be re-elected.”  I realize it’s not possible to create a personalized response for each constituent who writes in.  Certainly as a taxpayer I don’t want to fund that kind of staff.  But this “eff you” nonanswer starts out with a bald-faced lie intended to make the reader believe that there was a serious reduction in the amount of money spent on this bill.  I find it interesting that she implicitly acknowledges that this wasn’t about any stimulus, it was pure porkfest.

February 25, 2009 Ms. Laura Curtis [address redacted] Dear Ms. Curtis: Thank you for contacting my office to express your concerns about HR 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue. As you know, HR 1 contained a combination of investments and tax cuts geared toward addressing one of the worst economic crises in decades. The bill passed the House and Senate and President Obama signed it into law on February 17, 2009. When the Senate considered the bill, I joined a number of my colleagues from both parties to reduce spending that would not have sufficiently addressed our immediate economic needs. In total, we managed to eliminate billions of dollars of extraneous spending from the measure. While the bill was still far from perfect, I ultimately voted for it because it contained a number of provisions that were especially important for Louisiana during these difficult times. First, I worked to incorporate language that created an arbitration panel aimed at resolving disputes between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and local governments throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. This panel will ultimately free up to $1.5 billion trapped in bureaucratic red tape since the 2005 hurricanes. This funding is critical to restoring schools, hospitals, firehouses, and police stations across southern Louisiana. Additionally, the bill provided $752 million in relief for farmers who had lost everything from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike as well as last year’s Midwest floods. Since last year’s hurricanes, farmers across Louisiana have urged the swift passage of such relief. Finally, the bill contained substantial tax relief for Louisiana families and businesses. For example, the bill will provide an immediate tax credit to 1.7 million Louisiana households. The credit can total up to $400 for individuals and $800 for couples. At the same time, the bill creates an $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers. In fact, the bill contains numerous tax cuts that will provide $280 billion in relief to families and businesses across America. It is my hope that such measures will play a significant role in jump-starting our stalled economy. I appreciate the opportunity to hear from you and I hope you will continue to contact me on issues of mutual concern. Please also feel free to visit my website at http://landrieu.senate.gov for more information on legislative affairs. With warmest regards, I am Sincerely, A Mary L. Landrieu United States Senator MLL:aar

“I ultimately voted for it because it contained a number of provisions that were especially important for Louisiana during these difficult times.”  i.e. a cash grab at additional FEMA money for “restoring schools, hospitals, firehouses, and police stations across southern Louisiana,” for farmers, and for tax cuts.  As to that “worst economic crisis in decades” – eh.  We’ve been through a lot worse, and not that long ago.