Why Tiahrt-Moran doesn’t matter to many conservatives
In contrast, here is Minnesota Congressman John Kline:
Rep. John Kline knows the earmark process is broken. That’s why he has sworn off earmarks completely instead of accepting them and trotting out the vacant excuse that he has to because “everyone else is doing it.”
Unfortunately, he’s under pressure back home from people who want their pork. But in response, Kline is courageously holding firm. I love this quote:
“We’re on the side of the angels,” said Troy Young, the congressman’s spokesman.
And what’s even better is that Kline has the perfect explanation down pat to those who are hungry for pork. Excerpt:
[Kline] said the problem is that some 30,000 earmark requests are submitted each year, making them impossible to scrutinize. House members abide by an unwritten rule, Kline said, not to attack each other’s submissions. The result looks a lot like silent vote trading and back scratching, and both parties are guilty of it.
“It’s very arbitrary,” Kline said. “They just allocate money to members of Congress, sometimes based on political reasons, like are you vulnerable in the next election or not, or are you a committee chair.”
Well said. With a message like that spread broadly, earmarks can be a thing of the past.
Related Posts:
- Washington Watch: Help Control Earmarks – and Win an Amazon Kindle!
- Americans for Prosperity — New Earmark Study: Politicians Buy Votes with Taxpayer Dollars
- Politico — Earmark ban ruffles feathers
- Correction — Republican Todd Tiahrt (not Lynn Jenkins) joins Democrat Dennis Moore in supporting Jack Murtha’s earmark
- Editorial — Question for Jerry Moran and Todd Tiahrt: Would you have voted with Tom Coburn and Pat Roberts on the unconstitutionality of federal earmarks?
Tags: 2010, earmarks, John Kline, moran, Tiahrt
