Having their cake … ‘and voting against it, too’

Twice recently, President Barack Obama has slammed congressional Republicans for voting against his economic stimulus bill in February 2009 but later touting provisions of the bill that benefited their own constituents.

During his Jan. 29, 2010, question-and-answer session with House Republican lawmakers in Baltimore, Obama brought up the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, as the stimulus is officially known:

“There was an interesting headline in CNN today: ‘Americans disapprove of stimulus, but like every policy in it.’ And there was a poll that showed that if you broke it down into its component parts, 80 percent approved of the tax cuts, 80 percent approved of the infrastructure, 80 percent approved of the assistance to the unemployed. Well, that’s what the Recovery Act was. And let’s face it, some of you have been at the ribbon-cuttings for some of these important projects in your communities.”

Then, on Feb. 2, 2010, Obama riffed on the same theme during a town hall event in New Hampshire:

“I have to point out, though, that some of the very same folks in Congress who opposed the Recovery Act — and claim that it hasn’t worked — have been all too happy to claim credit for Recovery Act projects and the jobs those projects have produced. (Applause.) They come to the ribbon-cuttings and … (laughter). They found a way to have their cake and vote against it, too. (Laughter.)”

We decided that a claim that bold, repeated in two high-profile events within a week’s time, was worth a fact-check.