Last Call For Mitch Better Have My Money, Con't

Delusional Republican voters lie to themselves as much as their GOP politicians lie to them, so it all makes sense in the end that reality is meaningless as long as their side "wins".

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slammed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for touting the benefits of the stimulus law for his home state of Kentucky. The $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief law cleared Congress in March without any Republican support.

"Vote no and take the dough," Pelosi wrote on Twitter.

At a press conference on Tuesday, McConnell swung between noting his opposition to the federal rescue package and crediting it with providing substantial financial relief for Kentucky.

"Not a single member of my party voted for it. So you're going to get a lot more money," McConnell said. "I didn't vote for it, but you're going to get a lot more money. Cities and counties in Kentucky will get close to $700-$800 million."

The Kentucky Republican said the state was projected to get $4 billion as a result of the stimulus law. "So my advice to members of the legislature and other local officials: Spend it wisely because hopefully this windfall doesn't come along again," McConnell said.

Republicans were staunchly opposed to Biden's stimulus law, which contained $1,400 direct payments, a renewal of federal unemployment benefits, and aid to state and local governments. They argued it was too large and costly after lawmakers had approved a $900 billion federal rescue package late in 2020. Not a single Republican in Congress voted for it.

However, at least a dozen congressional Republicans have since touted parts of the law, such as small business aid, even though they didn't support the law's passage. Biden rebuked the GOP earlier this year for "bragging" about the law, saying, "some people have no shame."

Also on Tuesday, McConnell pledged a bruising political brawl over Democratic efforts to bypass Republicans to implement their infrastructure spending plans. "This is not going to be done on a bipartisan basis," he said. "This is going to be a hell of a fight over what this country ought to look like in the future and it's going to unfold here in the next few weeks."

 

So Mitch to Kentucky:

1. We didn't vote to give you anything.
2. You're getting money because of Biden and the Democrats.
   
3. We're taking credit for it anyway. 
4. Vote Republican!

 Yes, it's delusional. Yes, Republican voters believe every word of it.

Dennis Beckett wasn't even sure he wanted to cash his stimulus check, especially after he received a letter from President Biden announcing its arrival. Beckett, a retired pipe fitter, owns 25 firearms and staunchly opposes the president's call for restrictions on high-capacity magazines.

After thinking about it for a few days, Beckett finally decided to use the money to fix up his century-old home, recently purchased for $30,000.

But even as the stimulus makes his renovation possible, Beckett also blames it for the rising cost of the construction materials he needs. “Ever since January 20th, everything has shot up,” Beckett said, referring to the day Biden was inaugurated. “Just look at gas — it’s $3 a gallon, when it had been $1.79.”

Beckett’s ambivalence is echoed across Monroe County, made up of small towns and family farms tucked in the Appalachian region of southeastern Ohio.

In this impoverished pocket of the United States, the most recent round of stimulus payments — $1,400 for Americans who earn up to $75,000 — was the difference between getting a medical treatment and not, enrolling a child in college and not. But political divisions are deep here, and Trump voters, who make up the great majority of residents, are blaming the payments for a range of ills.

Some here say the Biden stimulus checks are keeping people from work, fueling a sense that the undeserving are exploiting the system. As the price of basic goods climbs, others worry that the stimulus will lead to runaway inflation on wood, cars, even milk.

“My God-honest opinion was at first that it was nice that the government was helping people,” said Brad Jeffries, 50, a truck driver who was laid off for most of last year and used the stimulus to pay off bills. “But since we got that, everything has went up, so how is that helping people out?”

This former Democratic stronghold has shifted right recently, and many residents now refer to the area as “Trump country.” In 2020, President Donald Trump received an average of 72 percent of the vote in the 420 counties covered by the Appalachian Regional Commission, a joint federal-state agency that steers resources to the 13-state region.

Biden has promised to win some of those voters back with economic incentives like the stimulus and the expanded child tax credit program, which will begin monthly payments to parents in mid-July of $350 per-child under the age 6, and $250 per child for children between 6 and 17.

A Washington Post analysis estimates that more than 90 percent of Trump voters in Monroe County received stimulus checks, one of the highest rates in the region.

“The president understands when we raise the quality of life and achievement of rural America, we improve the quality of life for all Americans,” said Gayle Manchin, whom Biden appointed co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission this spring.

But many of Monroe County’s Trump supporters don’t see it that way. Danny Long, a 41-year-old truck driver, was unemployed for much of last year and was behind on rent and utility bills.

The stimulus helped him catch up. But he credits Republicans for the checks, noting that Americans also received two stimulus payments during the last year of Trump’s presidency. “Biden didn’t do this,” Long said. “Trump did.”

 

So either the Biden stimulus "caused inflation", rather than the basic economics of demand reasserting itself after a depression-strength crash, or it's the Trump stimulus and he gets the credit for it. Also, apparently only Trump voters matter. You'd never, ever, ever see a single story where the people who voted for Biden are happy that they got the money they needed.

You can't win over a self-delusional cultist.

Dems need to stop trying to save people who would literally rather die than be helped and save who want to be helped. You will never appease them, and they will never stop trying to destroy Democrats and their voters.

They will never, ever stop.