The Unemployed Denied, The Elite Win Out

I watched in dismay when S. Carolina Governor Mark Sanford proudly stated that he would not take part in the stimulus package offered by the federal government in spite of the fact that he has thousands standing in unemployment lines. Much like sheep, the unemployed and concerned citizens hadn't pilloried him with anything other than a wet noodle before they felt the shears of an uncaring politico.
Then came the state legislature of Virginia that sang in one voice that they just couldn't accept the stimulus package money either lest they be excoriated by the national far-right conservatives. The logic they offered for the rejection was simple: If they took more money for unemployment compensation, for example, and at some point in the future if said money drained away they would be required to force businesses to pay a greater amount into the system (they have one of the lowest payout in the nation). In other words, they pandered to big business (again) and have now taken on the role as its mouthpiece. One can almost hear them chanting to the unemployed: "Get over it, we can't help you".
Using logic with more holes in it then Caesar's punctured body, both Sanford and the state of Virginia have taken the intransigent attitude of "No further discussion about our reasons", a sort of "Stare decisis, damn it! We'll decide what is right and we won't hear about it again".

Hubris Sans Dignity

I "get it" when a leader, mayor, governor, etc stands by h/her political or economic philosophy. I find it refreshing that anyone in a leadership role would reason that they were elected to make decisions based on their intellectual skills and that they would stay the course on what brought them their initial success in the first place.

Governor Mark Sanford, however, goes beyond the pale when he refuses to help the people of S. Carolina. How he could look into a camera and proudly proclaim that his state can and will withstand the massive unemployment, the huge turn down of private donations in the Palmetto State? Ok, Ok, his hubris at that point was acceptable; sort of a "keep a stiff upper lip" response. But he irritated the hell out of me when he declared that he would only take stimulus monies to "pay down the state debt".
The whole concept of the stimulus package is to create more shovel-ready jobs, not to shove the money into banks or pay off debts that stimulate nothing. Sanford knows this yet he refuses to help his hurting populace. He knows full well that United Way has exhausted its funds and that the food stores for the needy are bare but he refuses to help.
When supposed leadership hurts rather than helps, when it becomes more Machiavellian than compassionate one could deduce a change must result.