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Has anybody here, seen our old friend Earmark Reform?
Posted by Raven on August 24th, 2008
Where did earmark reform go? What happened to Pork Busting? Is it really not important anymore?
WASHINGTON (AP) – Whatever happened to the Republican Party’s war on pork?
It never was the full-fledged assault envisioned by conservatives, but the GOP’s battle against parochial home-state projects sought by members of Congress has faded into oblivion.
Just months ago, most Republicans in the House swore off pork barrel projects – at least until new reforms could be put in place. The moratorium on such “earmarks” was to be a key plank in the House GOP’s fall platform, issues Republican candidates will emphasize in their campaigns.
Since then, it’s been supplanted by high gasoline prices and the weak economy as dominant campaign issues.
I suppose. I went to the Earmark Reform website and a few updates are listed; the Pork Busters web site hasn’t been updated in quite some time. Guess it’s gotten old and stale.
I think there’s more to it though.
But there’s another factor, too. The appetite for home state earmarks among Republicans – including some party leaders – is almost as great as ever, despite warnings from some conservatives that GOP lawmakers’ refusal to give up their earmarks is costing support among core constituencies.
Exactly. The so called issue has died because those who use it the most worked hard to quell the discontent. Why do we let these things slide? Do we benefit from pork?
August 25th, 2008 at 1:12 am
To be fair, a significant number of House Republicans have been taking a consistent stand for earmarks reform, but these efforts have been steamrolled by the Democratic leadership (which House rules enable) and by certain of their senior Republican colleagues (especially on the Appropriations Committee), whose continuing “business as usual” behavior has prevented the Republicans from presenting a unified opposition that would attract attention as a credible stand.
In the Senate, where a minority can stall bills, too many turncoat Republican senators have not maintained opposition.
I guess too many Republicans with safe seats prefer being a permanent minority so long as they can be bought off with
forty pieces of silvera few scraps of pork for their constituents.August 25th, 2008 at 1:37 am
How can most of the incumbant elephants rail against pork when all an donkey has to do is point out how many millions of bucks the incumbant was responsible for in the last one, two or ten sessions? It seems to me they are only going to get hoisted by their own canard.
The solution, now past using, would have been to get rid of those sleazebuckets for real Republicans, ones that are fiscally responsible with my (and your) money instead of bragging up how much they “bring back to our local economy”. That’s the poorest danged excuse on record!
August 25th, 2008 at 8:56 am
Yeah I think they depend upon pork for their jobs. And, many who vote for them depend upon the pork to keep them employed or otherwise, important.
:hmm:
August 25th, 2008 at 8:58 am
I wouldn’t have a problem with pork except that it’s OUR money being used. If it were state money, it would be better. The best situation would be local money but there’s never enough of that.
Also, as we all know, some of these earmarks are for **projects** that are shady at best. Overall, the entire earmark process needs to end.
:proudusa:
August 25th, 2008 at 8:59 am
One of the leading Repiglicans, Trent Lott, sees the light. A few years too late, that is. :pig:
August 25th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Trent Lott? Good Lord! Wasn’t he the pork king?
August 25th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
I thought that honor belonged to the notorious Demoinkrat Robert Byrd, but Lott was certainly one of the worst.