H/T To Allahpundit for catching this one:  CNN investigates how Congress spends taxpayer money.

 

20 Responses to “Democrats and Pork: The secrecy’s for your own good”

1. Azamatterofact
   May 30, 2007 - 09:40 PM on May 30th, 2007

   I actually wrote an article about a month ago about earmarks and how apparently the government has forgotten how to spend our money. It can be found at http://azamatterofact.blogspot.com/2007/04/we-should-be-so-lucky.html

   Unfortunately, after the initial shock I think their memory is returning.

2. snowy egret
   May 31, 2007 - 07:40 AM on May 31st, 2007

   The motto from the demacrats should be PORK PORK PORK:razz:

3. BonBon
   May 31, 2007 - 07:58 AM on May 31st, 2007

   The first thing that struck me is that it came from CNN. Second thing is that these earmarks even exist. Both parties are guilty of earmarks. My hope is that in the years to come we can change the politics of Congress to allow more transparency and public ability to stop wasteful spending.

   I also see way too many committees being formed because of it and slowing the process up eve more.

   Sometimes you just can’t win for losing.

4. PCD
   May 31, 2007 - 08:00 AM on May 31st, 2007

   BonBon,

   Remember Murtha is King of the earmarks now. The Democrats won’t discipline him when he breaks the Ethics rulse. What Murtha start selling earmarks to the highest bidder.

5. Peejz
   May 31, 2007 - 08:12 AM on May 31st, 2007

   Bon Bon, it i organizations like Open Secrets (dot org) that will be the ones we come to depend on to expose this waste and imo, crime….it is up to all of us to stop it dead in its’ tracks!

6. BonBon
   May 31, 2007 - 01:27 PM on May 31st, 2007

   I agree….it’s a huge problem though but my thought is that because of the internet there seems to be alot more interest in the politics of our nation. Perhaps Open Secrets will be able to start the ball rolling in the right direction. That’s my hope. As for me, I often spend time writing letters to legislatures, senators on both the federal and state level. I hope everyone takes the time to do the same. Only then can we start chipping away at the problem.

   I also think the dems are in big trouble with not only this issue but others as well. I think their corrupt ways is something they hadn’t counted on being publicized.

7. FrmrArtyOffcr
   May 31, 2007 - 06:35 PM on May 31st, 2007

   Robert Byrd is known for his earmarks for WV. There are Robert Byrd named building projects all over that state. Too bad the union Coal Miners vote so blindly Democratic. They might change their votes if they knew that the Democratic party has been responsible for all of the environmental regulations that have cost them thousands of jobs and causing them to not get raises as high as they might have had the power companies been induced to install scrubbers instead of converting to oil back in the 70s. BTW folks, that also resulted in substantially higher prices for other petroleum products as well. It’s also one reason why electricity prices are as high as they are. Coal sells for far less than oil and provides far more BTUs for the dollar. It doesn’t hurt that we have 100 years worth of coal still in the ground. I think we could probably develop a viable alternative enegry source given another century of low energy costs.

8. PCD
   June 1, 2007 - 06:18 AM on June 1st, 2007

   7, FAO, don’t forget the Robert Byrd outhouse that cost the taxpayers a few hundred thousand. I think Lisa actually posted that story originally.

9. TedintheShed
   June 1, 2007 - 06:28 AM on June 1st, 2007

   C’mon giys- you have to admit that pork isn’t just a Democrat problem, but a Republican one as well.

   Blind partisanship should not distract from the facts of important issues like this!

10. PCD
    June 1, 2007 - 06:52 AM on June 1st, 2007

    9, Ted, the subject is “Democrats and Pork”. I’m staying withing the scope of the thread.

11. TedintheShed
    June 1, 2007 - 07:43 AM on June 1st, 2007

    10. PCD-

    To point out pork from the Democrats and to ignore the pork from the Republicans is inane. Pork barrel spending is a problem in our governement that transcends the isle, and to ignore that is like coming up with a solution to illegal immigration that ignores the border entirely.

    It just doesn’t make sense.

    I will adnmit that the Democrats are worse than the Republicans about it, but I refuse to ignore the fact that Republicans do it also. There should be zero, zip, nada.

    Here is an interesting site: Citizens Against Governement Waste.

12. PCD
    June 1, 2007 - 08:13 AM on June 1st, 2007

    Ted,

    I don’t know if you heard of former Rep. Bill Dannemeyer, R-CA. He routinely offered budget resolutions to CUT the actual budget 10% across the board.

    I don’t believe in Bridges to Nowhere or artificial Rain Forests in Iowa. If I were a Rep., I’d be voting against such things as well as most funding for the CPB and Union Demostration projects to name a few pork abuses.

13. TedintheShed
    June 1, 2007 - 08:46 AM on June 1st, 2007

    Look at all of these “R”’s.

    Pork Alert: Defense Authorization

    Washington, D.C. - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today published a comprehensive list of the 447 earmarks worth $7.6 billion in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, H.R. 1585. The bill is one of the first to fall under a new House rule that requires public disclosure of an earmark’s sponsor, recipient, amount, and justification.

    CAGW presents the earmark list in a convenient, searchable Microsoft Excel format. The House Armed Services Committee version, while in the committee report, is difficult to read and cannot be searched. Highlights of the earmark list include:

    $2.42 billion for the C-17 Globemaster III, requested by seven members: Reps. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), Rob Bishop (R-Utah), Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.), Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.), and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) for Boeing in Long Beach, Calif.; Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) for the USAF Aeronautical Center, Wright
    Patterson AFB, Ohio; and Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) for Vought Aircraft Industries, Dallas, Texas;

    $5.3 million for a parachute drying tower at the NAS Oceana in Dam Neck Annex, VA, requested by Rep. Thelma Drake (R-Va.);

    $4 million for a light utility vehicle for the Chenowth Product Racing Company, Inc. in El Cajon, CA, requested by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.);

    $3 million for the Parents as Teachers, Heroes at Home Family Counseling Program in St. Louis, Missouri, requested by Reps. Nancy Boyda (D-Kan.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), and Don Young (R-Alaska);

    $1.9 million for a military working dog facility at Fort Riley, Kansas, requested by Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-Kan.);

    $1 million for a multi-level parking facility at Fort Bliss, Texas, requested by Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas); and

    $600,000 for an addition to a fitness center at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas, requested by Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas).

14. PCD
    June 1, 2007 - 08:52 AM on June 1st, 2007

    Ted,

    I wouldn’t say money for C-17s is waste. We still are using C-130s, C-141s, and C-5As that are getting to be obsolete and expensive to maintain.

15. TedintheShed
    June 1, 2007 - 09:06 AM on June 1st, 2007

    14.

    That’s not the issue- the issue is pork barrel spending.

    If you want the money allocated, then do so via normal fiscal means, not through pork barrel initiatives.

    Besides, that is only one of eight issues here. The point here- is don’t turn the blind eye to what’s happening.

16. AKD
    June 1, 2007 - 02:36 PM on June 1st, 2007

    I’m impressed…

17. FrmrArtyOffcr
    June 1, 2007 - 06:41 PM on June 1st, 2007

    Ted, on the topic of pork barrel spending, most of what you listed have legitimate uses. I have to agree that certain ones are pure pork barrel. When it comes to upgrading military facilities, I have to think about the hospital at Ft Carson, CO when I got there in February, 1985. It was a series of single story wooden barracks structures connected by hallways that were little more than covered walkways and the buildings themselves dated from the 1940s. There was no insulation in the walls nor were the windows more than the original single pane glass. It was not any place I’d want to have to stay in the middle of a Colorado winter. Likewise the maternity ward had one of the highest infant mortality rates in the military due to the inadequate facilities. Before I left Ft Carson in 1987 they had built a modern 4 story hospital complete with a full oral surgery and physical therapy depts. As for the parking garage at Ft Bliss, I have to believe that objections to that are based on a lack of knowledge about the age and design of facilities at most of our military bases. Most of our current bases were laid out during the Vietnam War. At that time, most soldiers were not allowed many of the freedoms our current all volunteer army enjoys. With that in mind, they were not allowed to live off post hence a car wasn’t needed and frequently not allowed. Therefore parking lots were assigned to housing units were designed to handle far fewer cars than occupants. As a result, they are far too small to meet the demands of the current military.

    As for the light utility vehicle from the racing company in CA, I’d like to see what the vehicle is intended for. Perhaps it’s being developed as a new light fast attack vehicle for a spec ops unit.

    The real pork comes in when the military asks for a certain number of a given item and Congress increases that number for no good reason. A few years ago, an Air National Guard unit received authorization for 25% more cargo plans than they had originally requested. While that is rather nuts, it’s better than receiving 25% fewer planes than requested.

18. Fred Dawes
    June 1, 2007 - 07:52 PM on June 1st, 2007

    Both parties are on mass pork that is the way third world government act, Bush is the enemy of life and he hates your freedom and loves the ideals of evil act against you!

19. Peejz
    June 4, 2007 - 08:47 AM on June 4th, 2007

    Ted,

    The Democrats ran and won on a platform of cleaning things up including the pork…7 months in and it is no better than what the Republicans were doing..that is the point.  And the Pork Meister is still in control..MURTHA

20. PCD
    June 4, 2007 - 09:18 AM on June 4th, 2007

    It is much worse. Obey says he’s holding on to the earmarks until the budget bill reconciliation negotiations between House and Senate (Democrats) start. That may be 30 to 40% of the discretionalry spending or more that will be hidden from the public and slammed through to Bush to sign or veto, and we all know how rare his vetos are.

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