Coalition of (tea party backed) senators challenges GOP on earmarks

[UpInArms]

Source: Washington Post

Even before the new Congress is sworn in, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and an emboldened coalition of tea-party-backed senators are challenging the Republican Party establishment by reopening a long-simmering debate over congressional earmarks.

GOP senators are planning an internal vote this week on a moratorium proposed by DeMint that would ban Republicans from passing earmarks - lawmakers' fiercely guarded practice of steering federal money to pet projects in their home states.

Earmarks are lampooned so much as pork-barrel spending that they have become seen by some lawmakers as political liabilities, but efforts to end the practice thus far have failed. And DeMint's moratorium, even if it passes, will be a symbolic gesture at best. It would be a non-binding Senate Republican Conference rule, meaning GOP senators could sidestep the rule to insert earmarks into budget appropriation bills.

"Americans want Congress to shut down the earmark favor factory," DeMint, a prominent voice of the tea party, said in a statement last week. "Instead of spending time chasing money for pet projects, lawmakers will be able to focus on balancing the budget, reforming the tax code and repealing the costly health care takeover."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other earmark defenders, who say that banning the practice would not actually decrease the budget, have been canvassing the caucus in recent days lining up votes against DeMint's moratorium.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/13/AR2010111302652.html

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:popcorn:

[Historic NY]

1. Pork good for Republicans but taxes are bad .......well...

McConnell you peckerwood its still our money.

[Celebration]

2. well

It would be nice if DeMint got his way but I won't be betting any money on it.

[w4rma]

3. Song and dance. No teeth. (nt)

[The Green Manalishi]

4. One person's "pork" is someone else's vitally needed infrastructure.

EOM

[jmowreader]

7. Exactly

Like I keep telling people, it is not pork if it's in your district.

I say we let the 'pukes do it. What's gonna happen is, these guys are going to have to go back to their districts in two years and explain to the voters the pledge to get rid of earmarks was more important than the bridge that collapsed because no federal spending went to replace it, the fifteen people who died because the bridge collapsed, the $1 million in reparations to the family of the truck driver who died in the collapse, the 90 people who would have received jobs building the new bridge or the Walmart distribution center and its 290 jobs that was built in the next state over because they have better bridges to drive 40-ton trucks across.

[Mz Pip]

9. I'm all for calling the GOP/teapartiers

on this. Go for it. End earmarks.

I know that CA gets back abaout 75 cents for every dollar it send to the Feds. Our budget might be in a bit better shape if we weren't sending money to Alaska and Alabama and Mississippi.

Seriously. Go for it.

[Tanelorn]

5. Let the GOP /Bagger dance begin

It will be an interesting two years.

[madrchsod]

6. last year the teabaggers in my town held a rally on....

our brand new 4+million dollar river front park that was built with federal,state ,and local taxes...the park has a statue of ronald reagan riding a horse...

never underestimate the stupidity of a teabagger...

[pasto76]

8. so the first thing the teabaggers want to tackle comprises 0.5% of the budget

good work.

[craigmatic]

10. This is symbolism and they'll find a way to use it against dems. I hope it splits their party 1st.

[farmboxer]

11. McConnell's Bible says; "Blessed be the rich, to Hell with the poor/middleclass."

Republicans are extremely cruel, they love to see people suffer. If you are not rich you are subhuman to them. Yes, we are all expendable.