Do you remember Obama’s statement on January 6, 2009, “Higher standard of accountable, transparency, and oversight. We are going to ban all earmarks.”
Over and over throughout Obama’s campaign has said he was going to be the American President that surpassed all others in fiscal discipline and responsibility. In addition, he was going to be the President that leads America back to greatness.
But now we have a “Stimulus Plan” that has 9000 earmarks from Republicans and Democrats trying to get their cut of the pie. Today, I heard audio clips of Democrats and the media repudiating Republicans for doing the very thing that the Democrats wanted to do all along. Who do the Democrats think they are saying that they are virtuous in their transparency because they air out all their dirty laundry through pork but label the Republicans as hypocritical when they take a little money for their constituency too?
Let me let you in on a little secret. The Money from the Tax Payers all across American is going to be spent no matter who uses it! If Republicans disagreed with the Stimulus Bill then they should have taken a stand against it and said, “Obama, your bill is going to kill the American Economy and therefore we are not going to create earmarks that don’t stimulate the economy.” But here’s the dilemma:
Before the Stimulus Bill was written, Obama decided how much the bill was going to cost the American Tax Payer. So the money was going to be taxed and spent because the Democrats were going to push it through anyway. Question: Where would the money go then if the Republicans didn’t take any of it? (Remember once the Stimulus is Past the FED GOV is going to b budget for it. Therefore, the FED GOV won’t take less even though it may not need the all money.) The money would just be allocated to other pet projects. So let’s play this out: Let’s say that Jim Risch (he voted to oust the earmarks) of Idaho doesn’t take any of the money so his neighbor Ron Wyden of Oregon (voted to keep the earmarks) takes twice as much and allocates those funds to the needs of Oregon. What would Jim’s constituents say about that? In short, the Oregonians would benefit (even more) from the money that the Idahoans didn’t take (although they were taxed). In short, the Oregonians would spend, spend, spend on making their state better on Idaho’s and every other Tax Payer’s dime. Does that sound fair to you? It doesn’t to me.
The Republicans are put in the position of, “dang if you do, dang if you don’t.” Politicians aren’t stupid, they know what they are doing and most of them know exactly how to get what they want because they have made representing their state a career. To say that the Republicans’ earmarks is the issue is just another straw man that needs to be set a flamed. Consider Harkin’s justification of his earmark:
Now I’m mad and like Popeye, “I can’t takes it no more!” I’m from NC and spent most of my life there before moving to GA which now call home. I paid taxes in NC when I lived there because I drove on their highways and used the public services and utilities! TAXES ARE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PEOPLE OF THAT PARTICULAR STATE!!!! What benefit do I get out of the not smelling the swine of NC while in GA? It’s not a problem here! What benefit do I get with the benefits that NC residents get when I’m down here in Ga? THE SMELL OF SWINE IS THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA’s PROBLEM. If they don’t want the smell then have NC take care of it themselves SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME ON THIS? When are the States going to man up and provide for it’s own residents?
Again, the real issue is not the earmarks of the republicans or the democrats but the silence of Obama during McCain’s question to the Senate,
“How does anyone justify some of these earmarks: $1.7 million for pig odor research in Iowa; $2 million ‘for the promotion of astronomy’ in Hawaii; $6.6 million for termite research in New Orleans; $2.1 million for the Center for Grape Genetics in New York.” (see video click here)
Apparently the Senate thought that pig odor affects every state in the Union and voted against him and thus in favor for legalized theft. All the while there was a poignant silence from Obama. QUESTION: If the American Economy is more important than party lines then why doesn’t Obama support McCain’s push to take out all the earmarks? Isn’t this what the “Fiscal Responsibility Summit” was all about. Didn’t he say over and over that if there was any wasteful spending from any Governor or Representative that they would have to answer to Obama or his cabinet?
But No, No, No Obama continues to tacitly support anyone who will just take his money (forced from American Tax Payer’s pocket) that he is willing to give out to anyone who is willing to take it with some strings attached. All the while his Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said (just today)
“The president is greatly concerned, and I think that shows in the efforts that he’s taken to illuminate through transparency and accountability wasteful spending and earmarks in legislation.”
But Obama can’t stand with McCain or anyone else who doesn’t support the earmarks in the Stimulus Bill. Earmarks equates to debt and the more debt that the Federal Government has the more the FED GOV can and will tax the American Tax Payer to pay not for the debt but for more programs.
There is no question that Captain Obama is at the helm of the S.S America and that he is attempting to get us out of harms way via the deeper waters of his debt. The question isn’t, “Did we get through it?” But did we preserve the 220 yr old nation that has set slaves free, created equality between races and genders, and is the bastion of individual rights and freedoms for our ourselves, our children and our grandchildren.
Sidenote: want to give a special shout out to democrats McCaskill and Bayh who stood up and followed truth and not political party interests. Send then an email and let them know you support their decisions. See who else voted.
