I've been meaning to respond to M. LeBlanc's post questioning the "hypocrisy strategy" since she wrote it, but it took awhile to get my thoughts together on it. The hypocrisy strategy in question is an attempt to undermine Republican credibility by showing how many Republican politicians are saying two things simultaneously about the stimulus bill. When they're in D.C. and trying to hurt Obama, they say that the stimulus was a complete failure that didn't do anything to create jobs or improve the economy. When they're back home trying to stir up enthusiasm for themselves as legislators, they are praising the stimulus and, most importantly, taking credit for something they voted against. In some cases, they whip out giant checks full of money they have openly denounced and pretend that they're the source of the funds. As M. notes, Rachel Maddow has been hitting this hard.
WASHINGTON – Freshman Rep. Allen West (R-FL), who won his House seat partly by bashing the stimulus and government spending, this week hailed stimulus-funded projects for creating jobs and boosting economic growth.