I’m just disappointed in you, sir. I mean, people vote for you. The arresting Minneapolis police officer, to Senator Larry Craig.
Go figure, right? From the WaPo:
Sen. Barack Obama sought more than $3.4 million in congressional earmarks for clients of the lobbyist son of his Democratic running mate, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, records show. Obama succeeded in getting $192,000 for one of the clients, St. Xavier University in suburban Chicago.
The Club for Growth reports:
Shortly after joining Congress in 2000, Rep. Jeff Flake swore off earmarks forever. Others have followed. GOP Leader John Boehner was arguably the first among current House members. He shunned earmarks way back in 1990 (who said accepting earmarks was necessary for getting re-elected?). And with the earmark crisis reaching a feverish pitch nowadays, fiscal conservatives are realizing that something radical needs to be done. Real reform needs to be enacted, and the first step is to lead by example.
HOUSE MEMBERS
Jeff Flake (AZ-06)
John Campbell (CA-48)
Jeb Hensarling (TX-05)
John Shadegg (AZ-03)
John Boehner (OH-08)
John Kline (MN-02)
Tom Price (GA-06)
Lynn Westmoreland (GA-03)
Virginia Foxx (NC-05)
Trent Franks (AZ-02)
Michele Bachmann (MN-06)
Eric Cantor (VA-07)
Patrick McHenry (NC-10)
Marilyn Musgrave (CO-04)
Paul Ryan (WI-01)
Walter Jones (NC-03)
Devin Nunes (CA-21)
Louie Gohmert (TX-01)
Paul Broun (GA-10)
Henry Waxman (CA-30)
Joe Pitts (PA-16)
Mark Kirk (IL-10)
Todd Platts (PA-19)
Patrick Tiberi (OH-12)*
Mark Udall (CO-02)
SENATORS
Tom Coburn (OK)
Jim DeMint (SC)
John McCain (AZ)
Claire McCaskill (MO)
Richard Burr (NC)
Russ Feingold (WI)
If ever a place needed change, it’s Washington, where the culture of corruption continues to run rampant. The new majority continues to be satisfied with nothing less than business as usual. They don’t understand that Americans have completely lost faith in their elected officials.
It is time to turn things around.
END CORRCUPTION. FIGHT FOR CHANGE. MAKE GOVERNMENT BETTER. SIGN THE PETITION TODAY!
House Democrats promised earmark reform, but have failed to act out of self interest and power preservation – the same reasons Republicans weren’t interested in earmark reform..
However, the Democrats’ inaction has not prevented House Republicans (now in the minority and interested in reforming earmarks) from enacting modest, gradual and “self-imposed” reform on themselves.
Rep. Boehner put it well: “House Republicans have changed…we fully recognize the failure to control earmarks helped cost our party the majority, and dramatic change is needed.”
Until Democrats agree to dramatically reform and reduce earmarked spending, House Republicans have agreed to set higher standards for themselves. They have agreed to:
No More “Monuments to Me”: Ending the use of taxpayer money to fund projects named after members of Congress.
No More “Airdropping” Pork at the Last Minute: Ending the practice of avoiding scrutiny of pet projects by adding them to legislation at the last minute.
No More “Front” Groups to Launder Earmarks: Ending the practice of designating earmarks for “front” operations that mask the true recipients of pork-barrel spending
These are good, if not incomplete steps to solving the problem.
However, I don’t think sufficient earmark reform will come until motivation behind the reform is more about manifesting the will of the people and a sincere belief in the corrupting nature of earmarks; and less about taking a one of the majority’s tools to maintain power…
In other words, at this point, the think Republicans are (conveniently) pushing earmark reform more out of a desire to take away the Democrats’ ability to use the federal budget as a campaign tool – a tool Republicans will likely seek to reinstate once back in the majority – and less out of a desire to do the will of the people or in a belief that earmarks are corrupting and erode trust in government.
Oklahoma Republican Senator Tom Coburn is calling for an investigation into a controversial last-minute changing of an earmark requested by Alaska Republican Congressman Don Young — who was at that time the chairman of the House transportation committee.
Coburn says he will object to the passage of any “technical corrections” to the 2005 transportation bill — where Young’s earmark was included.
Young’s request for $10 million to widen Interstate 75 in southern Florida was approved. But after that Young changed the language to authorize work on an interchange on I-75 instead — despite the fact the project was opposed by local officials.
So why the change?
The change was backed by a real estate developer who had thrown a $40,000 fundraiser for Young that year. Now Coburn is asking Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell for a committee of House members and senators to investigate.
Update: RedState weighs in
