In an interview with Wispolitics, Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald called the Democratic calls for federal assistance to alleviate our budget mess “a gimmick.” He refused to participate in pleas for help from Washington. What was most interesting of course is that when pressed on the issue, he said he would prefer a stimulus plan closer to what President Bush has done, which he hoped would get to the “grassroots and stimulate the economy.” How bailing out the largest firms on Wall St. really gets at the “grassroots” and federal infrastructure projects and direct aid to the states somehow doesn’t strikes me as counter-intuitive at best and blatantly dishonest at worst. Whatever qualms the Republicans have with big New Deal type stimulus plans in the long-term, it cannot be said that they do not work to directly stimulate cash flow to the people who need it most — the unemployed or the barely employed.