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Karl Bode
@karlbode.com

every week I see some variant of this by Republicans: West Virginia senator Shelley Moore Capito voted against the 2021 COVID relief bill. $1.7 million of that funding is being used to bring fiber to rural West Virginia. She now takes credit for the deployment:

capito.senate.govBroadband expansion announced for Randolph, Tucker counties | U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West VirginiaELKINS, W.Va. — A new $4 million broadband expansion initiative in one of the most underserved areas...

72 reposts165 likes

Karl Bode
@karlbode.com

Republicans voted down helpful federal programs (COVID relief, the infrastructure bill), but then rename the infrastructure funding something else on the state level so they can take credit for it anyway:

techdirt.comRepublicans Keep Taking Credit For Billions In Broadband Subsidies Only Made Possible By The COVID Relief And Infrastructure Bills They Vehemently OpposedThere’s an historic $50 billion in broadband subsidies currently heading to the states courtesy of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). T…
Karl Bode
@karlbode.com

One of my jobs is researching and writing about broadband access for the institute for local self reliance, otherwise I'd have no idea. It's not like national or local news outlets are accurately informing locals that their senators are voting against their best interests, then lying about it.

Don Dechert
@dondechert.bsky.social

How was that apportioned to the states? Grants with binding instructions or through other arms of the fed govt? I guess I'm trying to get at who's the decision maker on a project name, because that's where it seems that the link is being forged. And requires a lot of research to explain.

Karl Bode
@karlbode.com

Mostly grants driven through either the FCC or the NTIA, doled out to states to manage. The FCC is pretty feckless in terms of messaging and can't even admit telecom monopolies exist, much less punch back against this kind of stuff

Owen Smigelski
@lothar.blue

Because the electorate, especially the right, is completely ignorant, there are no consequences for GOP politicians to vote against something then take credit for them.

I Don't Want to Wear Pants
@xehtfodrol.northsky.social

The GOP has created a situation where if their representatives vote for widely popular bills they will get primaried. Every nay vote is performative and most of them want the bills to pass so they can tell their constituents (who largely don't vote in primary's) they are taking care of them.

🎃Halved Josh Spooky Edition🎃
@outerleftfield.net

been waiting most of my life for people who were brain damaged by Reagan to realize both that Government can do a lot of great things and that it should, and not just for the wealthy and well connected. Tired of the cognitive dissonance of people taking credit for public goods they opposed

Karl Bode
@karlbode.com

if we had a functional journalism industry (especially local) that wasn't driven by ad engagement this would be a lot harder for them to pull off