“REPRESENTATIVE DUKE CUNNINGHAM AND THE WAGES OF EARMARK SIN”
I have an Op Ed up at the Washington Examiner about earmarks and the Duke Cunningham scandal.
A sample:
Indeed, there have been many supporters of earmarks in both parties who have basically told taxpayers with questions about specific spending requests to take a hike. Here’s what Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., said of the Porkbusters citizens group that has exposed many of these spending outrages: “I’m getting damn tired of hearing from them. They have been nothing but trouble since Katrina.†Clearly, it is a sensitive subject for both parties on Capitol Hill.
At the moment, reform of the earmarking process seems dead in the water. This almost guarantees that Cunningham will not be the last congressman to resign in disgrace as a consequence of a system that almost begs to be exploited for personal gain.
As Oscar Wilde said: “The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.â€
Alas, it would seem likely our lawmakers will take such advice to heart rather than resisting the urge to feather their own nests at the expense of the people who elected them.
Indeed, there have been many supporters of earmarks in both parties who have basically told taxpayers with questions about specific spending requests to take a hike.
While this may historically true, it certainly isn’t during the first 6 years of the GWBush administration, when no Dem was allowed to author any amendment to anything.
That’s not governing, that’s hubris.
Comment by SteveAudio — 6/5/2007 @ 12:35 am