How about those “Tax and Spend” Republicans?
FYI: I’m actually trying to stay above the political fray of party lines from hear on out. I do think the stereotype and consequent ethememe that democrats are “tax and spend” is pretty absurd, especially then the GOP has more than its fair share of pork is beyond ridiculous. [...]
As it happens, Governor Palin sent a list of 31 earmark requests to Ted Stevens this year. The total projected cost of these earmarks came to $197 million; if you look at per-capita figures, that's the biggest earmark package request of any state.She did this while the Federal government was facing record deficit spending and she, as Governor, was sitting on record state revenues and a massi
It seems as though Congressman John Culberson isn’t content to just lie to the media about his earmarks. Now, he’s lying to his constituents in a mailer sent out using their tax dollars through his congressional office.
This week, Culberson franked out a mailer to his constituents on health care in which he asserted his distaste for earmarks.
He claimed, on health care, that he has bro
May 10, 2008 OUE earmarks $530m to build 38-storey tower Tenants of existing block given till end of this month to vacate premises By Joyce Teo THE fitness chain True Yoga will have to find a new position to assume in the business district after one of its outlets got its marching orders, but it might be a bit of a stretch given the shortage of office space. True Yoga and other tenants, including
Less than a month ago, Congressman John Culberson (R-Houston), who was under the microscope over a weird earmark for the Houston Zoo, said that he believed earmarks should only be used for four distinct purposes:
Culberson, who co-sponsored the $294,000 earmark for the Houston Zoo with Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, said he believed federal spending should be limited to basic functions such as national security, border protection, transportation and medical research.
Now, Culberson has done a complete 180 from that statement and has proffered an earmark for something that has nothing whatsoever to do with national security, border protection, transportation, or medical research:
John Adams never set foot in what is now the Lone Star State. But a local congressman, utilizing a controversial
Earmarks are given a bad name through ignorance of their process and power hungry central administrators who want more power over the use of Federal government revenues.
The Constitution says the Congress is in charge of Federal government spending, NOT the executive branch (the administrator of law ONLY).
Please read the article, digest its meaning and spread [...]
Apparently John Murtha's pork barrel spending is so egregious that even the Drive By's can't ignore it anymore. I can't believe Katie Koran Couric let this piece go on the air.
Reporters who report this kind of democrat sleaze usually do not make it very long (John Stossel being the exception). She just may find a dead horse in her bed.
more pork. . .
Click the Headline Link to Visit Copious Dissent and Read the Full Story.
The arrogance of Barack Obama is truly disgusting. This man figured he would just skate his way to the White House and no one would ever question his actions. You were wrong Barack, very wrong:Friday, March 14, 2008 8:47 AMNewsmax.com By: Jim Meyers
Barack Obama recently came out against earmarks and says he will not take any this year. TOO LATE!!!!
From Byron York:
"In 2006, the Chicago Tribune reported that Mrs. Obama’s compensation at the University of Chicago Hospital, where she is a vice president for community affairs, jumped from $121,910 in 2004, just before her husband was elected to the Senate, to $316,962 in 2005, just after he...
Click the Headline Link to Visit Copious Dissent and Read the Full Story.
Received Via EmailRichard Viguerie on Bush and Earmarks: Whoop-De-Doo (Manassas, Virginia) Richard A. Viguerie, issued the following statement regarding President Bushs policy announced in the State of the Union address regarding earmarks in appropriations bills: Instead of killing the earmarks in last years huge omnibus appropriations bill, President Bush will leave in place all of the 11,735 earmarks, totaling $16.9 billion. And instead of saying that he would veto any bill containing earmarks, Bush said he would veto legislation that did not reduce the earmarks by 50 percent. Whoop-de-doo. President Reagan vetoed the Highway Bill in 1987 because it contained 121 earmarks. But President Bush has given the go-ahead to 5,867 earmarks--half the current number. Obviously, the Republican
In 2006, the issue other than Iraq that most motivated voters at the polls was corruption. Nothing crystallizes this corruption more than the explosion of earmarks - an explosion that continues under Congressional leadership that promised to end it. When it comes to Earmarks, finding Senators who oppose them are few and far between. There are 3 who do stand out however: Jim Demint (R, SC), Tom...
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The Strategic Nature of Ron Paul's Earmarks - The Wall Street JournalExcerpt:"Ron Paul has indeed been responsible for several legislative earmarks intended to fund government activity inconsistent with his libertarian philosophy. At face value, his actions seem hypocritical; however, there is an important mitigating factor which your editorial ("Ron Paul's Earmarks," Aug. 6) failed to mention: Mr. Paul proceeds to vote against the passage of the earmarked bills.In other words, Mr. Paul opposes the type of legislation that allows for the inclusion of these earmarks, yet acknowledges that in the face of a federal government sadly keen on spending, his district deserves the same treatment as others. Considering that extra earmarks do not increase federal spending, he owes this to his constituents.Evan PittmanAtlanta"http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118740056245201632.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last year that she would be happy to “do away with” the practice of funding members’ pet projects
One of the issues that Democrats ran on was eliminating earmarks in bills. Cutting down on pork barrel spending. Now it becomes obvious that they must have meant Republican earmarks.
Thousands of so-called earmarks still adorn spending bills, including 15 from Pelosi in a defense measure.
15 earmarks alone for Pelosi in one bill, this is what you call “doing away with” pork barrel spending?
What’s her excuse? I’m glad you asked.
Democrats, who never promised to abolish the practice altogether
They never promised to abolish them altogether is the excuse. What can we read into that? I read into it that they are saying they want to do away with Republican earmarks. You see, the Democrats are so damned smart and their earmarks are for the common good. We cannot question their earmarks because they k
One of the things that I HAVE to criticize the Democratic majority on is their contiuation of the GOP's policy of secret earmarks.It's our money, we have a right to know and what you are doing is no better than what the crooks you defeated did last year.CNN called every Congressman's office looking for their list of earmarks. Most did not return their calls, but 31 members of Congress did provide the information to CNN. The list runs the gambit of both conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats. Here's the list of our true heroes;Robert Andrews (D-New Jersey)Nancy Boyda (D-Kansas)Kevin Brady (R-Texas)John Campbell (R-California)Kathy Castor (D-Florida)Jim Cooper (D-Tennessee)John Culberson (R-Texas)Susan Davis (D-California)Charlie Dent (R-Pennsylvania)Rahm Emaneul (D-Illinois)Tom Feeney (R-Florida)Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York)Louie Gohmert (R-Texas)Gene Green (D-Texas)Alcee Hastings (D-Florida)Wally Herger (R-California)Bob Inglis (R-South Carolina)Kevin McCarthy (R-Californ
During the last election Democrats promised to reign in out of control earmark spending. However, when they came into power they decided to hide earmark spending in bills until it was too late to vote the spending out of the bills. Last week in an effort by the Republicans to stop this practice, the senate was ground down into a standstill. This appears to have worked as an agreement has been reached to make earmarks more transparent. (more…)
As I first reported here, the Democrats are hiding their earmarks in bills until it is too late for Republicans to vote against them. This hardly seems like a party who is keeping their campaign promise to reign in excessive earmark spending. It seems as though now they are in power the temptation is too great.
Now the Republicans are trying to turn the table on them and forse them to slow down the earmark spending.
For the second straight day, minority House Republicans ground the House to a standstill Wednesday as they drove home their objections to a Democratic plan to deny a floor vote on lawmakers’ thousands of pet projects.
Public anger over the surging number of special member projects called earmarks — derided as pork barrel spending — was a factor in the Republicans’ loss of House control last November, GOP members concede, and now they say they’ve gotten religion on the need for openness in government.
Charges of hypocrisy flew in floor speeches
So much for accountability and transparency of the new Democrat majority. Or maybe the Democrats just have different understandings of them. Uh huh. What it really comes down to is it is business as usual, meet the new boss same as the old boss. They are deciding how to spend the billions they steal from us in smoke filled rooms again. Of course the fact that our money will be spent on social programs for illegals makes it more compassionate right? Not that there is all that much difference between the spending habits of the Democrats and Republicans the last few years either. Maybe its just time to throw all the bastards out and start over. I am of course glad to see Boehner going head to head with the Democrats over pork spending...but where was he when the President spending like a drunk liberal? ~RJHNew York Times article link Top Democrat Plans Advance List of Earmarks By JACQUELINE PALANKWASHINGTON, June 11 A top House Democrat delivered a promise and a threat o
When the Democrats ran for congress last year, they promised to be an open congress and end earmarks in bills. It appears as though they are not quite living up to this promise.
Rather than including specific pet projects, grants and contracts in legislation as it is being written, Democrats are following an order by the House Appropriations Committee chairman to keep the bills free of such earmarks until it is too late for critics to effectively challenge them.
Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., says those requests for dams, community grants and research contracts for favored universities or hospitals will be added to spending measures in the fall. That is when House and Senate negotiators assemble final bills.
Such requests total billions of dollars.
Let’s face it, all politicians love earmark spending, bringing money home to their constituents. But the funny thing here is that the Democrats are skirting around their own rule.
Democrats are sidestepping rules approved their first day in
Randy "Duke" Cunningham's (R-California) acceptance of extravagant gifts in exchange for large defense contracts through earmarks and Ted Stevens' (R-Alaska) $233 million dollar bridge to no where has recently drawn a lot of attention to the issue of earmarks.Earmarks, also known as "pork" or "pork barrel spending", is basically defined as a project that a member of congress adds to a bill, that project is never debated on, and there is never a hearing held on the merits of the project. This makes it easy for a member of congress to slip it into a bill without it being noticed. It also usually serves the interest of someone or a special interest.Earmarks have vastly increased in use over the past decade. They went from 4,126 in 1994, to 12,852 in 2006, according to the Congressional Research Service. In 2006, the total value of earmarks to tax payers was $67.1 billion dollars. While there are some projects that are of course good and need to be done there is still a lot of waste and
