We’re only going to get $10 per resident. Maybe we should have included all those illegals in our population figures.
Oh, and here’s a tidbit sure to please you Campaign for Liberty types (you know who you are): The GOP’s king of the porkers is none other than Congressman Ron Paul.
On the House side, second-term Rep. Mazie Hirono, (D-Hawaii) secured the most earmark projects in the proposed spending bill, totaling $138 million. The top Republican is former presidential contender and self-proclaimed fiscal conservative Ron Paul, (R-Texas), who could stand to get $73.7 million in earmarks.
{ 77 comments }
← Previous Comments
I for one am glad that someone was finally bold enough and sensible enough to stand up and crush Ron Paul before he accomplished anything that would be detrimental to the Republican Party.
Jason,
We’ll just have to disagree that what Paul is doing is what you think is a failure in priciple and not what I see it is, which is a practical plan “B.”
However,
I agree with your column, eliminate all pork, cut taxes and spending and get congress back to just what’s in Article I, Section 8 and the issue is moot.
ps. better not let me know of you taking any federal college grants or deductions on your income taxes. I think you should stand on principle until we can get the 16th repealed.
Jason,
You pretty much explained why I’ve been against earmarks. Notice, I only said when “necessary”. I have never been one to defend earmarks. That is why I find Dr. Paul to be incorrect by placing them in the bills. I am just happy he voted “No”; still he shouldn’t have placed them there to begin with.
Part of the reason I voted for McCain was his landblasting of earmarking and pork-barrel spending. He did vote for the Bush bailouts, which angered me, but his record has been decent on earmarks.
Jason
Not sure what you’re trying to accomplish here. Are you hoping to convert Paul supporters into McCain supporters? (fat chance) Who was your favorite candidate?
Uhhhhhh, I worked on the Barr campaign and I’m a Libertarian Party member. No chance of me voting for McCain.
I’m pointing out the hypocrisy of Paul supporters. You’re either principled or you’re not.
Oh no. This is gonna devolve into one of those “Bob Barr is principled” debates.
Barr really lost some support when he refused to show up at the Ron Paul press conference with Chuck Baldwin, Cynthia McKinney and Ralph Nader. In fact he was “persona non grata” among Paul supporters after this. Not to say he can’t get out of the dog house. Not sure what his motivation was. He obviously thought he was better than the rest, or, “above the frey” perhaps can’t be in the same room with Cynthia McKinney.
I’m pointing out the hypocrisy of Paul supporters.
…and the “W”, McCain, Huckabee, Purdue, Saxby, Gingrey…and so on… supporters are soooo principled. I guess being a “values” voter trumps principled voter. I’ll put my principled support of Ron Paul up against theirs any day.
If this Post would have been titled “Ron Paul isn’t perfect, and neither is his supporters”, I would have agreed, but to say, due to a strategy to try to get tax dollars refunded to his constituents, makes his supporters unprincipled… you lost me.
By comparison, Ron Paul is way ahead on the principled scale than most in the House… and that goes for his supporters as well. But if you insist that there is no scale, only principled or not… Then I say, just about everyone fails that standard and would be curious of which currently elected official (including their supporters) would be on your list that made the 100% principled cut.
My problem with Paul’s actions are this: He founded a movement and we hear repeatedly from many of his supporters that he’s the answer to all the GOP’s problems and the only one who can save the republic.
The truth is that he’s a politician who does what’s convenient, like so many other politicians out there, Republican and Democrat alike. Support Ron Paul when he’s right and oppose him when he’s wrong, just like we should with every other politician out there.
“In fact he was “persona non grata” among Paul supporters after this.”
Must sting to know 40 people don’t like you.
Seriously, is there any thread Paul-tards couldn’t steer back to their man?
Buzz and Jason,
I just went through the House bill’s that Paul has either sponsored or co-sponsered. I could not find any of the sponsored ones that I totally disagreed with. But, there were a number of the co-sponsored ones I think are bad (mostly for Article one section 8 reasons):
HR 179
HR 444
HR 483
HR 692
HR 933 (maybe, need more info)
HR 1255 (maybe, need more info)
(list probably not exhausted, but must work some today)
Also, if I hear that he votes “yes” on any of the bailout or spending bills that contain his introduced earmarks, I’ll try to be the first to sound the alarm. I actually have faith that the other “Ronulans” would do so as well. OK?
“The truth is that he’s a politician who does what’s convenient, like so many other politicians out there, Republican and Democrat alike. Support Ron Paul when he’s right and oppose him when he’s wrong, just like we should with every other politician out there.”
The problem is you’re calling him the GOP’s “king porker” when he clearly is not. Multiple times you were provided the same link and data that the article you copied from cited.
I know what they were doing, they were using the line that shows earmarks others, however, they missed Alexander’s name.
I think it says a lot when you refuse to acknowledge that you posted false information. Fox did not call him the pork king, YOU did, and YOU are wrong.
The readers and other front page posters deserve better. Instead of admitting that you might be wrong, you choose to stick with what you have up there. I know from now on when I read your posts I’ll be questioning whether or not the information is truly factual, or simply something you wanted to hurry and post thinking everyone would over look the inaccuracy of the post.
Do whatever want RuralDem. For the thousandth time, I accurately posted what the Fox News article said. If you don’t like it, take it up with Fox News.
Again Buzz, all it takes is a simple visit to the report FoxNews used to see that Ron Paul is not, as YOU claim, the “GOP’s king of porkers”.
What you did is take the FoxNews article, add your own little spin to it, then you cry “blame fox news not me” when the numbers are wrong.
I guess if I wanted to make a blog post copying your post, I should not correct it, instead I should take the easy way out and say “blame Buzz not me”.
Face it, you failed to check a link that FoxNews gave you in the paragraph.
Heck, I wonder if you even actually read the article that you cited from.
Ron Paul says, “We need more earmarks.”
http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2009/03/10/rep-ron-paul-we-need-more-earmarks/
As I stated on Jason’s Blog. Not all earmarks are equal… not all are “bridges to nowhere.” Paul makes a great point. If the first Tarp was earmarked, we’d all know where the money went.
A scathing new report by a congressional watchdog panel blames the Treasury Department for failing to track how banks are spending taxpayer money provided through the government’s $700 billion financial rescue package, also known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.
Where did taxpayer money go? The panel, which has been charged with overseeing TARP and is led by Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Warren, said in its report that it “still does not know what the banks are doing with taxpayer money.”
I’ll say it once again. Getting rid of earmarks alone does not reduce spending. Reducing spending and earmarks have to go hand in hand.
One thing is for sure: Every dollar should be accounted for and the American people should be able to see where every cent is spent.
Tyler,
(Icarus, get your drink ready) The Constitution actually requires it.
Daniel N. Adams,
I know. That’s what an earmark is.
“In the United States legislative appropriations process, Congress is required, by the limits specified under Article I, Section 9 of the United States Constitution, to pass legislation directing all appropriations of money drawn from the U.S. Treasury. This provides Congress with the power to earmark funds it appropriates to be spent on specific named projects. The earmarking process has become a regular part of the process of allocating funds within the Federal government.” ~Wikipedia.org
No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time. ~Article 1, Section 9, United States Constitution.
*choked up*
Thank you.
It happens every time someone under 30 quotes the Constitution to me.
Cheers, Icarus.
Paul’s statements before the House on earmarks
I figured we should listen for ourselves instead of letting pundits, Fox News, or bloggers tell us what Paul said.
::drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, chug::
“Seriously, is there any thread Paul-tards couldn’t steer back to their man?”
I seem to remember a few that “they” just labeled “that sports crap” and then moved on.
Icarus, where we gonna go? I’m not a Paultard as in Ron Paul, but what are we going to do?
We get all this Porkulas, we have no hope of having enough sense to vote for against any liquor on Sunday. Why? because I am a dumb @ss, I have no hope of getting anything right.
We get Republicans offering us wedge issues over and over, yet my generation lost lives in Vietnam. We have sons in Afghanistan, I’m not promoting National Democrats. But at some point I have to tell Georgia Republicans to eff off if they keep treating me like an imbecile red headed step child.
You help raise a good point B’ville. Not all Ron Paul supporters are “Paultards”. Many (most?) are just angry people who are fed up, and aren’t hearing any credible alternatives to the status quo.
To answer your direct question, however, I do not have a good answer, because as of now, there isn’t one. It’s one I’m sure we’ll explore in detail here after the session winds down. So, in short, hold that thought. And feel free to remind me about it if it’s not something we address very soon after sine die.
I don’t have time to read over this whole thread. Is this more of that sports crap?
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn172/Hybrid513/am i doin it rite 1/holy_thread_resurrection_batman.jpg
← Previous Comments
Comments on this entry are closed.