House Republicans unveil Washington Watch

House Republicans’ chief deputy whip Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) unveiled the new website Washington House Republicans' chief deputy whip Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) at far right with Cal Poly president Warren Baker, Dean Noori and Teena Fredeen. [Photo from US gov. House website]Watch during the weekly Republican address. Washington Watch will track misuse of taxpayer dollars and ‘stimulus’ waste. When spending tax money, “[W]e should be guaranteed accountability,” said McCarthy. The congressman called the Democratic budget “fiscally irresponsible.”

Democrats routinely point out the Bush administration and Republicans’ prior spending. But McCarthy said. “It’s irresponsible to borrow more than all previous American presidents combined.”

Republican whip Eric Cantor was featured on CBS Sunday Morning; the engaging interview included his wife.

Washington Watch shined a light on its first ‘misuse’ of tax dollars by citing a skateboard park in Rhode Island. It’s a classic case of federal cluelessness when it comes to the use of funding. The city of Pawtucket has a $5.2 million school budget deficit and about a $4.8 municipal deficit and has eliminated 40 city jobs this year. The city is spending $550,000 in stimulus money to construct the skateboard park at a local school. A local official said stimulus projects had to be “shovel-ready” to receive funding and “this is the one we have that is shovel-ready.”

On offense about charges of being the party of ‘no,’ the Republican whip house website also has a section ‘Economic Solutions.’ Proposals include tax credits for home buyers, relief of federal taxes on unemployment benefits and tax breaks for small businesses.

In his address McCarthy mentioned the tea parties, saying he attended one in his hometown of Bakersfield. “[B]elieve me, the message was heard loud and clear,” he said. Noting that families, seniors and small businesses are having to sacrifice, he said, “Washington isn’t willing to make the same difficult decisions.”

On Face the Nation on CBS Sunday senior adviser to President Barack Obama David Axelrod made a puzzling statement. He said the tea parties could “mutate into something that's unhealthy." Axelrod’s comment following the release of a controversial report about rightwing extremism by Department of Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano simply stoked conservative anger. Napolitano’s report categorized virtually all conservatives as “rightwing extremists,” and she singled out returning troops as possible extremists.

Hundreds of thousands of protestors gathered peacefully at tea parties across the nation on Tax Day. Pomp media and Democrats missed an important aspect of those tea parties—the people gathering are those who pay the taxes that enable the federal spending. Democrats and media have featured protests by groups like Code Pink, La Raza and ACORN in a positive light. Some media and celebrities called the participants “racist.” That was perhaps the most outrageous claim.

McCarthy said Republicans “are leading the way with solutions to provide a new direction.” He called the GOP plans “common-sense American solutions” that would appeal to Republicans or Democrats.

House Republicans unveil Washington Watch by Kay B. Day