Omnibus: One Last Earmark Bender for Addicted Media, Washington

Yesterday morning, Wednesday, President Obama held a press conference telling Congress this is it for earmarks. It looked like an episode of Intervention on A&E, except the drugged and drunk weren't there to be chided. Oh yeah, and then President Obama stepped off camera to sign a bill with somewhere between 8,500 to 9,200 earmarks (while irrelevant, it just depends on who is reporting the number) worth around $8 billion.

Hey, I get it! I have argued both that (1) it doesn't matter--members of Congress are in the best position to determine the needs of their district and make funding requests therefor; and (2) these earmarks do have a stimulative effect for the economy. Think about it: new technology centers on college campuses for research, new medical technology, new bridges, highways, infrastructure. And, while I don't always take credit for the things the GOP says, Congressman Peter King of NY-03 (and potential GOP candidate for HRC's Senate seat) was on Fox Business on Sunday agreeing that earmarks are a more democratic way of attributing funding to spending projects.

I'm not going to re-hash all the arguments, but it's obvious, after 15-years of Republican control of the executive and/or legislative branches, we saw more earmarks than this nation has ever seen, spent more money than we have ever spent, allowed our elected representatives to accept lavish gifts and campaign contributions in favor of earmarks, and went farther into debt than we have ever gone. New control of the Democrats have given them the want for taste, and they are just taking a taste here. Again, if there were a time for a taste, now is the time--when the economy is poor and people need jobs. Drink up and drink fast, Democrats. This taste needs to end and we need to move on to some more important issues if we want to see health care reform by Summer 2009.

Comments (1)

Kelly Jacobsen

Great post! I love the Intervention comparison. It is very fitting.

Posted by Kelly Jacobsen | March 12, 2009 11:44 AM

Posted on March 12, 2009 11:44

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