Feb. 1--This is no time for partisanship and politics as usual in Washington. It is time for Republicans and Democrats alike to come together behind President Obama's economic recovery plan.

This week's unanimous Republican opposition to President Obama's stimulus package was an ugly example of selfish partisanship and this after the president reached out to the GOP trying to build support for his plan to pull the U.S. out of a deep recession.

Tenth Congressional District Rep. Patrick McHenry voted against the stimulus package, saying "With Western North Carolina families hurting and workers losing their jobs, it's clear that we are facing an economic crisis. Action is needed to stimulate our economy and create jobs."

He blamed Democrats for adding wasteful pork barrel spending projects to the plan, which led to his opposition.

"The bill's wasteful spending unfairly diminishes some of its worthy projects like the deployment of broadband infrastructure, which will create jobs in Western North Carolina. To truly stimulate our economy and create jobs, we should provide tax relief to small businesses and working families and fund targeted federal investments in infrastructure." McHenry said.

Concessions were made in an attempt to win over doubters of the plan. The president's plan is two-thirds spending on projects that will create jobs and one-third tax cuts. And it combines the two approaches most experts agree should be at the core of an effective stimulus effort -- tax cuts and additional government spending.

President Obama's plan is an urgent attempt to help ordinary people, more of whom are hurting by the day as layoffs continue and financial institutions grow weaker. It is shaping up to be another lousy year for workers, with more companies expecting to cut payrolls in the months ahead.

Catawba County's unemployment rate reached 10.7 percent in December, the highest in 25 years.

Thursday's announcement by CommScope that it will cut 230 jobs only adds to the Greater Hickory Metro area's unemployment woes. The area lost an estimated 3,400 jobs in 2008.

Meanwhile, North Carolina and local governments face enormous pressure on their budgets that could result in programs vital to laid-off workers being cut unless federal spending helps close the gaps.

While Hickory is still a hub for furniture and textile makers, despite plant shutdowns and tens of thousands of layoffs as cheaper foreign labor took its toll, it's apparent with CommScope's announcement that more jobs are at stake.

Action is needed now to protect the jobs still here and create new ones for those folks no longer working.

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