There was a palpable sense of joy and accomplishment at the bi-state and bi-partisan gathering at Portsmouth's Harbour Place. Governors John Lynch of New Hampshire and John Baldacci of Maine were there, as well as both Maine Senators (Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins) and New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen. Congresswomen Carol Shea-Porter of New Hampshire and Chellie Pingree of Maine helped hold the super-sized $20 million check that LaHood signed before a cheering crowd of local activists and business owners. Also present at the ceremony were Speaker of the House Terie Norelli, Executive Councilor Bev Hollingworth, and State Senator Martha Fuller Clark.
Carol Shea-Porter was instrumental in getting federal funding for this important project. The grant is part of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. Only 3% of all the grant applications were funded by the Department of Transportation.
The $20 million comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, often referred to as the Stimulus, signed by President Obama in February, 2009. As Senator Shaheen said in her remarks, "This project is a smart investment of Recovery Act dollars: it will save New Hampshire money in the long run and will create many much-needed construction jobs."
Rep. Shea-Porter voted for the Stimulus and we should all thank her for that! Carol knows what government is all about: doing what individuals cannot do for themselves, securing our resources for the next generation, and taking on critical visionary projects like rebuilding our neglected and crumbling transportation infrastructure.
The Stimulus and other government-driven programs to save the country from another Great Depression are much maligned by Frank Guinta and his fellow Tea Party Republicans. On the campaign stump, Guinta goes out of his way to trash the Stimulus, bragging that he wouldn't have voted for it.
He has said, for example: "From the very beginning, I have opposed the stimulus plan because I don't believe that our government's role is to create jobs. Rather I believe that government needs to lift hindrances to private business like over regulation and high taxes. Only the private sector creates jobs; the government just needs to get out of the way."
His campaign spokesman Brett Bosse described the Stimulus as "a near-trillion dollar waste of taxpayer money."
At the ceremony Secretary LaHood set the record straight. He noted that the ARRA is now supporting more than 15,000 critical infrastructure projects across the nation, thus putting many thousands of people to work.
When asked by the Portsmouth Herald editorial board whether he would support earmarks for replacement of the Memorial Bridge, Guinta said he's taken "a no-earmark pledge." As such, he said, if a project is not a "federal responsibility, other funds than federal funds are going to have to be found. It's a tough stance, and it doesn't mean the project's not worthy. But the budget is $1.3 trillion out of balance. We have to bring the budget into balance."
So Guinta wouldn't ask for earmarks to fix the bridge and he's opposed to the Stimulus, which is providing money for the bridge. So where would the money come from to pay for the repairs? Guinta hasn't said.
A voter might reasonably ask: so why send Guinta to Congress? Isn't part of a Congressperson's job to get help for their district? Guinta is so hamstrung by his Tea Party ideology that he would be useless to the district in terms of bringing help to it.
Carol Shea-Porter, on the other hand, fights aggressively to bring resources to the district. She has gotten numerous earmarks that have benefited the district (e.g., the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard) and she voted for the Stimulus.
The contrast between their visions of the role of government is profound. For Guinta, the less government the better, to the point of wanting to dismantle parts of it like the Departments of Education and Energy and the Food and Drug Administration and wanting to privatize Social Security. (Except, of course, when it comes to a woman's right to choose, where Guinta's opposition to abortion under any circumstances would have government come between a woman and her doctor.) The government should just step back and let business run the show. He seems to long for "the good old days" of the 19th century. His view is completely out of the mainstream.
Carol's view is that the government, while respecting everyone's rights and privacy, needs to play an active role in helping middle class and working people - the vast majority - to lead better lives.
The choice for voters on Election Day couldn't be clearer.
|
