From NBC’s Harry Enten and Jade Taenzler
In a look ahead to the 2009 and 2010 elections, Govs. Mark Sanford (R-SC) and Haley Barbour (R-MS) hammered the Obama administration for what they described as out-of-control taxing and spending.
In a conference call with reporters, both reacted to what Sanford called the “This way or no way” stimulus relief. Sanford, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, criticized the many federal mandates and called for a “military model” that “is all about giving local authority to local commanders because their eyes and ears are on the ground.”
Barbour, vice-chairman of the association added, “A lot of people who wanted a stimulus think that this is too much money.” He used the firing of General Motors President Rick Wagoner as an example of Obama going to the “extremes” on federal power.
While the Obama stimulus dominated the discussion, Barbour was quick to point out that “it is not just the stimulus that has people upset”. He called the administration’s cap-and-trade energy plan “the largest tax increase in American history” that will “fall primarily on the middle class and the poor.”
MSN
4/24/9
Magnolia Tribune
