The Boston Herald has this heartwarming story about how earmarks can bring old friends and different political parties together. The apparently very philanthropic Democratic Congressman Bill Delahunt secured a $1.1 million earmark for his old friend, former Republican Congressman Amory Houghton, to protect Houghton’s expensive waterfront home from flooding.
This suddenly makes my own gifts of [...]
FW Chairman Dick Armey recently took on the issue of earmarks over at Townhall:
There are three groups of people who regularly spend other people’s money: children, thieves, and politicians. All three of these groups need supervision—a watchful, responsible eye who keeps them in line. For children, that means parents. For thieves, that means police [...]
Hillary Clinton wants Congress to put up $30 billion to prop up investors and others who can’t made bets on the housing market and can’t afford their mortgages. Meanwhile, she’s reiterating her call for a five-year freeze on subprime interest rates, an idea with serious potential detriment. Clinton is doing her best to [...]
In a disappointing turn, the Senate voted last night against the DeMint amendment for a moratorium on earmarks for the 2009 fiscal year. The good guys voting for the ban:
Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bayh (D-IN)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Coburn (R-OK)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dole (R-NC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feingold (D-WI)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McConnell (R-KY)
Obama [...]
These remarks by the Clinton and Obama campaigns are certainly good news on the earmark front, but, unfortunately, the overall outlook for reform still isn’t good.
Hat tip to Amanda Carpenter of TownHall.com
As things heat up on Capitol Hill over a vote on Jim DeMint’s one-year earmark ban, Barack Obama’s Senate staff [...]
The FreedomWorks earmark pledge is a defining issue in the GOP primary to replace retiring Rep. Duncan Hunter, California. From the San Diego Union-Tribune:
Three Republican hopefuls – Bob Watkins, Brian Jones and Hunter’s son Duncan D. Hunter – sounded similar themes at a county Republican Party debate in El Cajon last night before about [...]
John McCain has sometimes had mixed relations with economic conservatives, but one area in which he’s been quite strong is spending — especially when it comes to earmarks. He made strong remarks on earmarks in his speech at CPAC (”I will not sign a bill with earmarks in it, any earmarks in it”). Today, [...]
FreedomWorks will be joining Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) for a rally at the Senate Swamp next Tuesday. The details for the event are posted on Facebook.
If you want to attend, please call 888-564-6273 and ask about the Earmark Moratorium Rally.
In today’s Potomac Watch column, Kim Strassel provides yet another reminder of the overall sad state of GOP elected representatives:
Many [GOP legislators] remain ambivalent about [John McCain] — not because they question his conservatism, but out of resentment that he may get in the way of their earmarks.
This has resulted in a behind-the-scenes brawl, as [...]
Chris focuses on technology, new media, finance, and trade policy at FreedomWorks.
Brendan is the Director of Federal and State Campaigns for FreedomWorks. He is the author of The Conservative Revolution: How to Win the Battle for College Campuses.
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