President Obama must wish governors could vote in Congress: While just three of the 219 Republican lawmakers backed the $787 billion economic recovery plan… 22 Republican state executives publicly support the plan. Unfortunately for Minnesotans, Governor Pawlenty is not among them.
These governors reflect the two faces of the Republican Party. Leaderless after losing the White House, the party is mostly defined by its Congressional wing, which flaunts its anti-spending ideology. That militancy drew the mockery of late-night television comics, but the praise of conservative talk-show stars and the party faithful. Governors, unlike members of Congress, have to balance their budgets each year. And that requires compromise with state legislators, including Democrats, as well as more openness to the occasional state tax increase and to deficit-spending from Washington. Many Republican governors are practicing a pragmatic — their Congressional counterparts would say less-principled — conservatism to serve their people. From Jackie Calmes article in 2/18 NYTimes -Click here for full NYTimes story
