Winston Salem Journal

While it's tempting to get wrapped up in Richard Burr's (R-NC) two-faced pandering about stimulus spending, that particular brand of hypocrisy masks broader issues that go to the heart of a critical question: Who is Richard Burr working for?

Like all of his colleagues in the Senate, Richard Burr says he's working for the people of his state. But what has he actually done? The Winston-Salem Journal takes a look.

Burr was not alone in opposing the stimulus. Only three Senate Republicans voted for the bill. Burr is a fiscal conservative, and his stand was predictable. But, because he is so strongly against the stimulus, he should have avoided the ceremony in the Alexander County town of Bethlehem, where Christmas truly was coming early. The local fire department was receiving a stimulus check from Uncle Sam. The money will pay to build a new facility.

According to the Hickory Daily Record, Burr said that the grant "is a great thing for this county ... We're not accustomed to federal dollars in that magnitude finding their way to North Carolina." This is where Burr was trying to have it both ways.