Only a week ago, Obama was pressing Democratic leaders in Congress to pare back the earmarks at a private White House meeting.
The president, however, hit a brick wall with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and other Democrats who treasure their right to send taxpayer money to their states and districts for park improvements, university research grants, equipment for police departments and redevelopment projects.
3 comments:
Democrats are hardly alone in their love of earmarks. The epicenter of earmarks is Alaska, not exactly a Democratic stronghold. In any case, parks, universities, police and redevelopment are all good things. We can argue whether earmarks are appropriate ways to do that, but let's not pretend that earmarks are a partisan manifestation.
dcat
Read the article - it discusses both parties love of earmarks. However, the point of the article is also to point out that Obama has back-pedaled from his campaign promise. And he has done so faster than any president in history. The fact that he has done so under pressure from Reid and Pelosi makes it all the more troublseome in my mind.
"And Democrats are not alone in funding pet projects. As the minority party in Congress, Republicans claim roughly 40 percent of earmarks, though McCain and House GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio, among others, refuse them. The largess is likely to help ease the measure's way through the Senate."
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