11/9/2007
No bacon for Racine - the 8th district (and Rep. Obey) has it all!
The grass is always greener! Can you believe this?! - the guys at The RacinePost are complaining that their guy doesn’t bring home enough bacon. (Hat tip to Fred Dooley who pointed this out in his blog yesterday.)
So Pete Selkowe, RacinePost, says philosophically he agrees with U.S. Representative Paul Ryan’s hearty stand against earmarks. But then Pete laments Ryan’s not delivering “bundles, bags and truckloads of dollars” to his district!
You can total it up yourself at EarmarkWatch.org – a great web site. Here are Wisconsin earmarks in the House Defense and Appropriations bill – and here, earmarks in the House Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (and kitchen sink) Appropriations bill. I’ve included the detail here for my congressman, Dr. Kagen. Full details for the others are on the EarmarkWatch.org pages.
Earmarks, Defense Bill (House)
Baldwin (3), $7,500,000
Kagen (3), $5,000,000- Appleton, Inc., Flame & Thermal Protection, $2MM
- Utility Tool & Trailers, aluminum structures, $2MM
- Utility Tool & Trailers, military trailers, $1MM
Kind (2), $4,000,000
Moore (4), $1,500,000
Obey (10), $50,000,000
Petri (1), $4,000,000
Ryan (0). $0
Sensenbrenner (0), $0
Earmarks, Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Bill (House)
Baldwin (3), $550,000
Kagen (4), $825,000 - Bay Area Medical Clinic, $200,000
- Menominee Tribe, Wellnes Center, $375,000
- NWTC, mobile health clinic, $175,000
- Shawano Co. Rural Health, $75,000
Kind (4), $550,000
Moore (5), $550,000
Obey (12!), $4,100,000
Petri (2), $350,000
Ryan (0), $0
Sensenbrenner (1), $350,000
As you can see (or not see, as it were), Representative Ryan is living up to his principles, walking the talk. Nary an earmark in these two appropriations bills. I say great!! for him - but then again, I don’t live in his backyard.
Pete, our guy from Racine, says “You decide – You want a piece of these… or the moral high ground?”
I choose the moral high ground.
But then again… I don’t have to worry about choosing! – MY congressman, though only a mere green, inexperienced freshman, has learned fast about earmarks!! Look at the HHS appropriations - $825,000 for Dr. Kagen – higher than any but the very esteemed dean of the group, Chair of the Appropriations Committee, Mr. Sacrosanct David Obey, coming in at $4.1MM. Wow. The other totals look positively paltry by comparison.
And then the Defense bill: Dr. Kagen is outdone by Rep. Baldwin here and W-A-A-A-Y outdone by Mr. Appropriations himself, Rep. Obey. Suffice it to say Dr. Kagen is well on his way to greasing the skids with your tax money and mine.
(Representative Obey’s $50 million in the Defense Appropriations bill is just over Speaker Pelosi’s $49.3 million, but doesn’t come close to Defense Appropriations Subcommittee chair, Rep. Murtha’s $166.5 million!!)
COMMENTS
There is nothing immoral with earmarks. If Congress doesn't specify how the money is spent (and they DO still have the power of the purse) then it's up to the executive to administer how it is spent.
Who is more accountable? Your local congressman or a GAO bean counter?
Once again, the bi-factional ruling party has created a diversionary issue. The real problems are high government spending and confiscatory taxes. Earmarks are a symptom, not a cause.
Brian Heyer (Fri Nov 09 08:41:50 2007)
Nothing wrong with earmarks?
That is the silliest thing I have read all week.
I'm proud of my Representative Paul Ryan for standing up and taking a stance against waste in government.
Fred (Fri Nov 09 11:15:58 2007)
I expect my Rep Dave Obey to get EVERY DAMN CENT back for the 7th District that he can possibly get his hands on. The good people of Wisconsin get the short end when it comes to getting federal dollars, so it's up to Dave to appropriate as much as possible. STICK THE PIG, BRING US THE PORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
correct thinking (Fri Nov 09 14:11:06 2007)
Well from the numbers there it looks like Kagen has the welfare of the 8th District in mind with 5 million in the defense budget. Not.
I'm assuming this is the same bill that Kucinich has said that the Democrats or Committee chairs like Obey could simply table to stop the war funding and therefore no more bombs to drop. Bomb makers aren't in the charity business. Or buy one get one free either.
The odd part of this run down is for Sensenbrenner. I would think his plate would be full of pork projects and that is how he's stayed and gained rank. But the number shows practically nothing-- the price of a modest McMansion. What gives with James ("Il Duce") Sensenbrenner?
And now for the... (wait for it).... Moral High Ground Teaching Moment.
Nick Gillespie from Reason Magazine has reported that Ron (Mr. Constitutional Consistency) Paul, aside from his public stop the war stance, has the most earmarks in his district for any representative of Texas. It works like this: Paul loads up TX with earmarks and votes against the bill because he knows he'll be in the minority. This is 'bank shot' politics at it's worst-- but good for Texas and the war too.
[Gillespie's remarks occurred during the interview here: See Friday, 7AM]
Lon Ponschock (Sat Nov 10 13:36:31 2007)
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