Louisiana Democrats were quick to blast out a news release Tuesday morning touting the positive results of a Congressional Budget Office analysis on the stimulus package.The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the stimulus package, was an approximately $787 billion package of various measures designed to help stabilize the sinking U.S. economy.The effectiveness of the stimulus has been debated throughout the year, with Republicans pointing to the current national unemployment rate — 10.2 percent — and claiming the stimulus did nothing to address or mitigate one of its primary focuses.With polling numbers falling for President Obama’s performance on the economy, Republicans see fertile ground to criticize Democrats for supporting the stimulus — particularly in red states, like Louisiana.”It’s long past time for Charlie Melancon to explain his support for Obama’s wasteful spending,” said Roger Villere, chairman of the Louisiana Republican Party, in a Nov. 17 news release. “Voters in Louisiana aren’t looking for another Obama Yes Man in the U.S. Senate.”Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville, is challenging Sen. David Vitter’s seat in the 2010 Senate elections. Melancon voted for the stimulus package. Democrats got a boost from the Congressional Budget Office on Monday when the agency released a positive report on the effects the stimulus has had on the economy.The report found the stimulus has employed an additional 600,000 to 1.6 million people in 2009, and the gross domestic product grew by 1.2 to 3.2 percent higher than it would have if Obama had not signed the stimulus into law. The CBO report cautioned that limitations in measures of employment mean their estimates might be higher or lower than actual numbers, but the ranges they presented “are intended to reflect the uncertainty of such estimates and to encompass the most economists’ views on the effects of the fiscal stimulus.”The CBO is an arm of the federal legislative branch, a nonpartisan organization tasked with evaluating legislation for Congress. CBO analyses are often cited by both parties, and the organization is required to analyze the performance of the stimulus package. The results bolster Democrats’ arguments that the economy would be worse off without the legislation and the full effects of the stimulus are just starting to show.”While we still have work to do to get our economy back on track, it is clear that the Recovery Act has kept us from falling off a cliff,” said Chris Whittington, chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party. “This new report offers indisputable proof that the Economic Recovery Act is working.”Kevin Franck, spokesperson for the Louisiana Democratic Party, said Republican criticism for supporting the stimulus is a “distraction.””We’re not interested in debating national issues,” Franck said. “We’re interested in debating what’s best for Louisiana.”Franck reinforced the contention that the “stimulus is working” and defended supporting the bill, citing Gov. Bobby Jindal. If Louisiana Republicans are against the stimulus, Franck said, “Gov. Jindal is going to have to explain why he’s been traveling around Louisiana the past few months with giant checks” made available through the stimulus package.____Contact Nate Monroe at [email protected]