Sen. Jeff Sessions needs to come down from Washington and visit his home state a little more.

On Thursday, from a podium in Washington and flanked by 10 other Republican senators, Sessions announced his opposition to President Obama’s economic stimulus package, which will come up for debate next week.

He talks about colossal legislation and speaks of the deficit. His remarks make good sound bites, but Sessions is from a state that aches for this help. And we live in a region — the Black Belt — hard hit by hard times.

Already, Dallas County has pages of “shovel-ready” programs prepared for a grant or some stimulus money: there’s work to do at the airport; the two industrial parks; the historic interpretive center; the riverfront park in Selma; plus tons of infrastructure work on streets and roads throughout the county.

The stimulus money will allow projects to roll, putting good men and women to work in pre-construction and construction jobs. Once completed, the projects on the list will put others to work in the industrial parks, the interpretive center and even in the park.

Jobs mean people will spend money in the city and county. The completion of this work means attracting more industry as credit loosens or bringing in tourists to enjoy the rich history of the area.

Mr. Sessions should have a sit-down with some of the people who are laid off from the cigar factory or Global or Bush Hog. They don’t care about partisan politics. These folks care about putting idle hands to work, so they can feed their families.

Sen. Sessions needs to put his GOP party tag in his pocket for this one.