Richard Shelby Acts Like a...

...hypocritical jerk. Speaking at an annual public meeting in Cullman County, the King of Pork slammed the stimulus package, although he plans to make sure Alabama gets its "fair share" of the money, and went on a rant about fiscal responsibility:

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“You can’t borrow your way to prosperity,” Shelby said. “We’re the largest debtor in the world. We’re stealing from our grandchildren.”

Really, Dick? Where was that rant when the Republican party was enabling George W. Bush as he put us into hock up to our eyeballs to pay for off-budget war funding? Or when you were earmarking money for yet another building at the University of Alabama or Auburn or UAB, or maybe some defense contracts for one of your biggest supporters?

He's also all about bank regulation -- now.

“I’m for more regulation of banks,” Shelby said. “The federal reserve is the regulator of big banks and they did a poor job.”

Hmm. I don't recall him crusading for more regulation when he was chair of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

But here's the best part -- he's just not quite sure about Barack Obama's citizenship.

Another local resident asked Shelby if there was any truth to a rumor that appeared during the presidential campaign concerning Obama’s U.S. citizenship, or lack thereof.

“Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven’t seen any birth certificate,” Shelby said. “You have to be born in America to be president.”

Which, I guess, is why he supported John McCain, who was born in Panama.

Of course, Shelby's office now claims that his comments were "distorted".

The Cullman Times article contains an incomplete account, and therefore a distortion, of Sen. Shelby's comments regarding President Obama's citizenship. At the town hall meeting in Cullman, Sen. Shelby laid out the Constitutional qualifications for the Presidency and said that, while he hasn't personally seen the President's birth certificate, he is confident that the matter has been thoroughly examined.

You know what, Dick? If you really think the President of the United States isn't a US citizen, if you think his parents perpetrated a fraud 47 years ago on the off chance that their son would run for President one day, then join in one of the stupid lawsuits. Make common cause with crazy Alan Keyes. At least be honest instead of making offhand, "throwaway" comments to play to your base.

And if you really want to talk about fraud, let's talk about how you ran for Senate as a Democrat -- twice. How you took money and votes from Democrats and then, one day after Republicans took control of Congress in 1994, you magically switched your allegiance so you could stay in power. And if you want to talk about irresponsible spending, start with your own.

Otherwise, STFU.