Bipartisan Porkery
Led by the irredeemably corrupt Democrat John Murtha of Pennsylvania, the defense spending bill now pending before Congress is stuffed with more pork than a rib festival. The old unindicted ABSCAM co-conspirator leads the list of earmark spending, but many others, from both parties, are also cramming in glistening gobbets of fresh pork. About $1.8 billion worth of pork in fact.
Twenty-one members were responsible for about $1 billion in earmarks, or financing for pet projects, according to data lawmakers were required to disclose for the first time this year. Each asked for more than $20 million for businesses mostly in their districts, ranging from major military contractors to little known start-ups.
The list is topped by the veteran earmark champions Representative John P. Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat who is the chairman of the powerful defense appropriations subcommittee, and Representative C. W. Bill Young of Florida, the top Republican on the panel, who asked for $166 million and $117 million respectively. It also includes $92 million in requests from Representative Jerry Lewis, Republican of California, a committee member who is under federal investigation for his ties to a lobbying firm whose clients often benefited from his earmarks.
The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, requested $32 million in earmarks, while Steny H. Hoyer, the majority leader, asked for $26 million for projects in the $459.6 billion defense bill, the largest of the appropriations bills that go through Congress.
This is a real problem. Not so much for the money itself, as wasteful as that is. But the potential for corruption is immense, as Representative Jeff Flake, Republican from Arizona (and the most unpopular man in Congress because of his unyielding stand on pork) points out:
“Pork hasn’t gone away at all,” said Representative Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona, an earmark critic who cites the “circular fund-raising” surrounding many of them. “It would be wonderful if this was a partisan issue, with Republicans on the right side, but it is really not. Many of these companies use money appropriated through earmarks to turn around and lobby for more money. Some of them are just there to receive earmarks.”
They lobby for money to get more money to lobby for money. Nice. Stopping pork is a bipartisan issue, folks. The Democrats are proudly pointing to the fact that pork is down by about half this year. Get rid of it all and you'll have bragging rights. Saying you're only half as corrupt is no great thing.
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Blue Crab Boulevard » The Two Faces Of John Murtha — Wednesday, 7 November , 2007 @ 7:07 pm
By Mwalimu Daudi, Sunday, 4 November , 2007 @ 4:59 pm
The Democrat-controlled Congress approval ratings are in the dumps. The economy is booming. No terrorist attacks on US soil since 9/11. Even the MSM is starting to admit that we are winning in Iraq. By all rights the GOP should be looking forward to easily winning the White House and double-digit gains in Congress next year.
Unfortunately, as long as Congressional Republicans continue to pork it up (and the Compassionate Conservative-in-Chief continues to imitate a doormat for Democrats), the GOP slide will continue.
By mockinbird, Monday, 5 November , 2007 @ 1:49 pm
This issue makes me so mad it leaves me sputtering. I feel like mailing bacon strips to my Dem Senator, Bill Nelson, D-Fl.