Obama Threatens Arizona With Stimulus Fund Cutoff After Senator Jon Kyl Says All Stimulus Should Be Cutoff Early Because It's Not Working

ABC's Jake Tapper reports that "on This Week with George Stephanopoulos on Sunday, Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said of the $787 billion stimulus package, 'the reality is it hasn’t helped yet. Only about 6.8 percent of the money has actually been spent. What I proposed is, after you complete the contracts that are already committed, the things that are in the pipeline, stop it.' A day later, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer received letters from Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar all pointing out the billions headed to Arizona. Kyl 'publicly questioned whether the stimulus is working and stated that he wants to cancel projects that aren’t presently underway,' LaHood wrote to Brewer, a Republican. 'I believe the stimulus has been very effective in creating job opportunities throughout the country. However, if you prefer to forfeit the money we are making available to your state, as Senator Kyl suggests, please let me know.'"

Arizona Senators Jon Kyl and John McCain respnoded to the nonsense coming from Obama's administration. The two sent the following letter:

"We were very disappointed to learn of the letters that you and other members of theCabinet sent to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer about stimulus spending and that you would allowyour good offices to be used so obviously for political purposes. Secretary LaHood’s suggestion that the Administration will 'make available' toArizonans tax dollars that they pay is patently offensive. We hope this does not characterize your dealings with the Congress in the future."

Further, Jon Kyl responded on his own by saying, "It’s unfortunate that President Obama and his administration seem unwilling to debate the merits of the stimulus bill and acknowledge its shortcomings. Instead, they have resorted to coordinated political attacks with the Democratic National Committee and the politicization of departments of government by using cabinet secretaries to issue thinly veiled threats to the Governor and the people of Arizona. Since even the President acknowledges the stimulus isn’t working as well as he hoped, the administration should instead be willing to consider whether the unallocated stimulus money could be put to better use." Tweet