National Media beginning to notice that Mike Castle is a Liar
Over the past year, we have documented the instances where Mike Castle has lauded stimulus projects that he has voted against. And now the national media is beginning to notice, as a result of this Think Progress piece that links back to our original story in February about Castle voting against the very same stimulus projects he now lauds in his campaign for the Senate.
From the Think Progress piece:
In the past two weeks, Castle has blasted multiple press releases publicizing stimulus funds awarded to his state. In his most recent release, he not only calls the money “imperative,” but in “announcing” the funds, he tacitly claims credit for securing them:
Washington | January 7, 2010 – Delaware Congressman Mike Castle announced today that $5,230,610 has been awarded to the State to assist families and individuals in need. [...] “As we face the coldest season of the year, it is imperative we provide those programs serving Delaware’s most disadvantaged families and individuals with the resources necessary to house, feed, and protect those in desperate need,” said Rep. Castle. “These grants, totaling more than $5 million, will help the invaluable organizations and programs which are working to help the homeless, hungry, and those facing economic hardship throughout the State.”
Nowhere on the release is the source of they funds or the word “stimulus” mentioned. But the stimulus Castle opposed is the source of the “imperative” funds he now champions:
– The Castle release announces $4,735,313 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Continuum of Care program. According to the HUD website, the Continuum of Care initiative is enabled through $1.5 billion in money authorized by the stimulus.
– The Castle release announces $495,297 to Delaware’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). According to Grants.gov, the FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program is enabled by $100 million in funding through the stimulus.
Now, these latest announcements from Castle claiming responsibility for or lauding something he voted against are nothing new. Castle has been doing this since almost immediately after his NO!!!! vote in February.
Here is a post from July, with a him pictured next to a nice big stimulus check that he voted against:
That was for an announcement by Gov. Markell of waste water project funded by the Recovery bill. Also in early July 2009, Mike Castle was taking credit for AMTRACK project funded by stimulus money. And another one from May, where Castle celebrated the restoration of the Wilmington Train Station, paid for by stimulus funds. In other words, the most dangerous place in the world is between Mike Castle and a shovel entering the ground, or a big check being presented. Whenever that happens in Delaware, Mike Castle is there, no matter if he had anything at all to do with the project getting approved or funded. Indeed, as with his vote against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the stimulus), Mike Castle usually is an obstacle for these projects getting started or funded. Mike Castle loves to rail against spending and then celebrate the results of the spending. It is how he convinces the inattentive Delaware electorate that he is both bringing home the bacon and a fiscal conservative at the same time. It is a lie, but it is a lie he has been telling for decades.
When you take credit for something you did not have anything to do with, people usually call you a cheat and a liar. And finally, our national media is waking up to that fact.
Comment by Unstable Isotope on 8 January 2010 at 9:03 pm:
SNORT!!!
Comment by Unstable Isotope on 8 January 2010 at 9:05 pm:
We need to carefully peruse what Castle said about the stimulus at the time he was voting against it. We also need to find out if Castle has gotten in on the stimulus-bashing like other Republicans.
Comment by Another Mike on 9 January 2010 at 12:16 am:
Mike Castle has made a career in Washington pretending to be something he is not. Mike the moderate, Mike the bridge builder, Mike the maverick. About the only project he has championed that generally goes against mainline GOP thinking is the expansion of stem cell research.
Comment by Jason330 on 9 January 2010 at 8:34 am:
This demonstrates the importance and function of local Indy media blogging. Keep makng notes, keep up the pressure. Keep your vidoe camera handy for his next PR event and the truth about Castle will fight it’s way the the surface in spite of Celia Cohen and the NJ’s determined attempts to kill it.
Comment by just kiddin on 9 January 2010 at 9:55 am:
Castle has made a career of fooling democrats. His only accomplishment in all his years, is the coin thing. Name one thing the man has done to help Delaware. Second, Sean Hannity said yesterday that Delaware will have a republican senator! The fix is in you can bet many dems will vote for Castle as they have blindly for years. Is Castle a teabagger now? In order to win the republicans he will have to sign the Sussex County teaparty mantra or they will be looking for another republican to fill his slot asap.
Comment by jason330 on 9 January 2010 at 10:19 am:
…or the Democrats will let him have the Senate seat for a short term as a victory lap under article five, paragraph three of the Delaware Way Agreement brokered by Tom Carper. That is the scenario that gives me heartburn. (And I have not seen anything from the Democrats that makes me sleep easier at night.)
Comment by John Manifold on 9 January 2010 at 12:09 pm:
Jumped to lead item on Kos:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/9/822844/-DE-Sen:-Hypocrisy-Watch,-Mike-Castle-Edition
Has anyone seen a Castle-for-Senate bumper sticker anywhere? In three months since his announcement, I’ve seen just 1.
Comment by Delaware Dem on 9 January 2010 at 12:28 pm:
I have seen nothing, John.
Comment by Unstable Isotope on 9 January 2010 at 12:29 pm:
I haven’t seen any Castle for Senate bumper sticker either.
Comment by cassandra_m on 9 January 2010 at 12:37 pm:
I haven’t seen any bumperstickers, either. I saw a leftover Castle for Senate sign down at the Riverfront sometime after his announcement, but nothing since.
And the dKos article is cool. I added some links to the Big Check events Castle showed up at that we documented here.
Comment by liberalgeek on 9 January 2010 at 12:42 pm:
Here is a picture that I took of a Castle for Senate bumper sticker 2 months ago.
http://www.twitpic.com/prjjk
The trick is to only look at cars with an initial sales value of $60K or more.
Comment by anon on 9 January 2010 at 12:45 pm:
If I had a dKos account, I’d point out for the baffled Kossacks that Castle only gets away with it because the Dem establishment refuses to call him out.
Comment by JustTheFacts on 9 January 2010 at 1:26 pm:
“If I had a dKos account, I’d point out for the baffled Kossacks that Castle only gets away with it because the Dem establishment refuses to call him out.”
YES !! Second that motion. ALL of them,.
Comment by jason330 on 9 January 2010 at 2:55 pm:
Mad photography skilz geek.
Comment by liberalgeek on 9 January 2010 at 2:57 pm:
Had to hide the license plate for the shot.
Comment by Jason330 on 9 January 2010 at 4:51 pm:
It was Celia cohens ?
Comment by Mike Protack on 9 January 2010 at 5:12 pm:
I was unsure what to read today, Das Kapital, an old copy of Pravda or
view delaware liberal to check the latest in personal attacks, slanted leftist writing and outright dismissal of reality.
It seems the worse Obama makes the country the more coarse and nasty Delaware Liberal gets to be.
By the way, Castle over Biden by 5%.
Mike Protack
Comment by A. price on 9 January 2010 at 5:17 pm:
seems like the more the right wing sees their all white all christian all right paradise slip away, the more they dismiss reality, rewrite history and stick their fingers in their ears and scream “HE CANT BE PRESIDENT! I WONT BELIEVE IT! NO NO NO! 9/11 HAPPENED UNDER OBAMA!”