Biden: Porkulus was misunderstood or something

Joe Biden wrote a long op-ed for the New York Times lauding Porkulus and how it’s been misunderstood. He argues that the money isn’t going to pet projects.

Notwithstanding this progress, the nature of the Recovery Act remains misunderstood by many, and misconstrued by others: critics have suggested that the entire $787 billion is being spent on pet programs. As the person leading the administration’s efforts to put the Recovery Act into effect, I want to set the record straight.

Hmmm. Funny to read that on the same day the following was published in my local newspaper.

Does research into disease, ticks and malt liquor use stimulate the economy?

U.S. taxpayers will pay $162,000 for a study that sends college students into the wild to collect ticks and plant them on lab mice.

Another grant will pay $25 each to 100 residents of the Pacific Island of Palau for scientists to draw samples of their blood.

Americans will pay $783,000 for a study that invites 100 malt liquor and marijuana users in Buffalo to call in and punch numbers on the telephone to record their habits each day. Each will be paid at least $45 for their time.

The studies are paid for by the $787 billion economic recovery act, an unprecedented effort intended to jump-start the economy, make jobs and modernize the nation’s infrastructure, energy independence and health care systems.

Academic researchers are pleased with the extra billions of dollars to make advances in understanding diseases, drugs and global warming. But the spending raises the question: Can two years of academic research make jobs and stimulate the economy?

Oh, and most of the research projects were previously turned down for funding by the Bush administration. But back to Biden. He claims that Porkulus wasn’t supposed to provide immediate economic relief. Ha!

The care with which we are carrying out the provisions of the Recovery Act has led some people to ask whether we are moving too slowly. But the act was intended to provide steady support for our economy over an extended period — not a jolt that would last only a few months. Instead of quick-hit rebates, we are giving Americans a tax cut in each paycheck. Instead of pumping out all the state aid immediately, we are spreading it over the two years that it will be needed. Road projects, energy projects and construction projects are being started as soon as they pass review, contracts are competitively bid and reporting systems are in place.

Steady support over a long period of time? Like researching ticks and malt liquor? Is he joking? But we do know he’s lying. That, or he has a very short memory. Karl Rove has a better memory.

SHOT — THE VICE PRESIDENT TODAY: “[T]he act was intended to provide steady support for our economy over an extended period — not a jolt that would last only a few months.”

CHASER 1– THE VICE PRESIDENT in March: “The Recovery Act, as we call it, provides a necessary jolt to our economy.”

CHASER 2 — PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA in November: “[W]e have a consensus, which is pretty rare, between conservative economists and liberal economists, that we need a big stimulus package that will jolt the economy back into shape.”

CHASER 3 — PRESIDENT OBAMA, at his first press conference: “[W]ith the private sector so weakened by this recession, the federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life.”

No, Porkulus isn’t misunderstood. It’s exactly what we all think it is, no matter how many times the president and vice president go out there and lie to us. But hey, the deer ticks are happy.