There are pragmatic Republicans and there are the just say "NO" D.C. Republicans.
Governors all across this country must balance their budgets and with times as tight as they are this is a hard thing to do now. If budgets are not balanced, programs are cut, this means jobs are lost.
With this in mind, many must realize that unbeknownst to us, we use state services every day. Whether dropping our kids off at school, getting our streets fixed, going to a hospital for emergency, much of these services are paid out of the state monies. This is why many Republican governors have broken with the say "NO" crew in Washington, D.C. and have backed the Obama Stimulus Package.
These states are relying on this help and have been asking for help since Bush was in office, but to no avail from his administration. With this help these states can retain teachers, state workers, work on state projects, etc.
So, there really is a divide going on in the Republican Party. When Charlie Crist introduced Barack Obama last week in Florida, the GOP was so angry they probably could have taken a gun out and shot him. But the thing is this, Crist don't care what these state or D.C. Republicans have to say, his constituents liked the move. The thing is this, folks want action not the same finger pointing that has happened for the past 8 years out of Washington, D.C., with the same old gridlock.
So, while the Republicans and GOP continue the same old stuff of the old, this is what Barack Obama is doing. Listening.
Mr. Douglas in January sought a meeting with the new administration at the White House office that is a liaison to governors. Instead, he got an Oval Office meeting with Mr. Obama.
When reporters briefly came in — the two men flanked the fireplace just as presidents and foreign heads of state typically do — Mr. Douglas praised Mr. Obama for his leadership. The stimulus bill “might be a little different” if he had written it, the Republican said. “But the essence of a recovery package is essential to get our nation’s economy moving.”
And when George W. Bush was in office?
Privately, Republicans favorably contrasted Mr. Obama with the outgoing Republican president, George W. Bush, according to two participants.
Though Mr. Bush had been a governor — in good economic times — his relations with state executives were distant at best. Amid a downturn early in the decade, he unsuccessfully opposed $20 billion for the states. Last fall, he resisted some Republicans’ pleas for aid.
For many in state government, Obama is really change you can believe in.
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