Apparently, Republican Congressmen have no problem gleefully welcoming elements of the very stimulus bill they voted against in lockstep with their masters

I am shocked -- SHOCKED -- to read learn that there are some Republican Congressmen who are out in the press pridefully pointing to elements of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  Heck, why not go ahead and imply that you helped bring home some localized spending for infrastructure and other district benefits?  No need to claim you actually voted against it.

As David Lightman of McClatchy Newspapers reports...

Rep. John Mica was gushing after the House of Representatives voted Friday to pass the big stimulus plan.

"I applaud President Obama's recognition that high-speed rail should be part of America's future," the Florida Republican beamed in a press release.

Yet Mica had just joined every other GOP House member in voting against the $787.2 billion economic recovery plan.
...
But Mica wasn't alone in touting what he saw as the bill's virtues. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, also had nice things to say in a press release.

Young boasted that he "won a victory for the Alaska Native contracting program and other Alaska small business owners last night in H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act."

But Young wasn't done yet.  He still had to be sure to contradict himself by bashing the very same bill for being full of pork...

Yet later in the day Young — who recently told McClatchy that he would've included earmarks, or local projects, in the bill if it had been permitted — issued another statement blasting the overall measure.

"This bill was not a stimulus bill. It was a vehicle for pet projects, and that's wrong," he protested.
...
Young wouldn't return a request for comment on the apparent contradiction of his press releases.

UPDATE:  David Waldman (aka Kargo X) over at Daily Kos weighs in as well...

Standard operating procedure, of course. Oppose the bill viciously, vote against it, then show up at every ribbon cutting in the district paid for by federal funds, and cry "Politicization!" if they're not invited. 

One of the comments offers this version of John McCain back home explaining whole stimulus thing.

"Now who can argue with that?" 

Made me laugh, as it is from one of my favorite movies ever.

(Read Kargo's post and the attached comments here.)

Republicans wonder why they are so unpopular these days.  They are simply disingenuous, hypocritical douche bags.