When Obama talks "shovel-ready," check what he's shoveling

President Obama is asking for even more tax dollars this week for his failed stimulus policies yet his first trillion-dollar stimulus already promised massive spending on infrastructure that would put people back to work.

Didn't happen. The massive spending on infrastructure or the putting people back to work.

Now Obama says putting the taxpayer on the hook for borrowing billions more and then spending those billions on infrastructure is the ticket to pulling the economy out of its Obamanomics nosedive.

“This will not only create jobs immediately, it’s also going to make our economy hum over the long haul,” Obama said of his new borrowing and spending plan in his Labor Day speech to a Big Labor union audience.

Yet a senior White House official told reporters on a conference call the very same day, “We’re not like trying to put out an idea today that in October 2010, this is going to create a lot of jobs. This is not what this is.”

So which is it? Will borrowing and spending billions more on the president’s Big Labor union leadership buddies “create jobs immediately,” as Obama said? Or is that “not what this is”?

And will anyone in the Obama administration ever tell us what it really is without the doublespeak?

Judging by history, it’s not likely.

The first stimulus bill was sold as spending on “shovel ready” projects to provide the jobs that would put millions of people back to work.

According to Recovery.gov, the President’s own website which accounts for the stimulus funding (ahem), of the first $787 billion stimulus bill, a full $275 billion has gone un-spent as of August 27, 2010. And of the $512 billion of stimulus already spent, only $18.5 billion (less than seven percent) has been paid out by the Department of Transportation on these “shovel ready” jobs.

Let me repeat that: less than seven percent has gone for the promised transportation infrastructure.

Democrat candidates not stimulated by Obama's $50b stimulus

In a sign that Democrats are not on-board with what was supposed to be a major cornerstone of their platform this fall, an increasing number of Democratic incumbents and candidates are criticizing Pres. Obama's economic plan.

Within 24 hours of Obama's major address in Ohio on Thursday, a Democratic senator, three House Democrats and another two Democrats vying for open House seats all distanced themselves from Obama's economic plan.

Their remarks indicate that it will be difficult for Obama to get his plan through Congress before the November elections. They also show that Democrats are increasingly on shaky political footing on the economy -- the top issue for voters this year.

On Thursday, Obama, along with the DNC, sought to regain control of the economic narrative. Obama unveiled a proposal that included $50B in new government spending on infrastructure projects and tax breaks for small businesses.

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), who is locked in a difficult race against Weld Co. DA Ken Buck (R), was the first to oppose Obama's proposal. "I will not support additional spending in a second stimulus package," Bennet said in a statement Wednesday.

Since then, House Democrats in competitive races have also voiced their opposition. Rep. Gary Peters (D-MI) said he supports extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, which Obama opposes. He also said he opposes the $50B spending plan. Peters is facing former state Rep. Andrew Raczkowski (R) in MI 09.