by Capitol Confidential
Senate Republicans think you are stupid. Leaders in the Senate Republican Caucus are opposing a measure by Tea Party Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina to ban earmarks for two years. The elites are angry.
Senate Republican Leaders have led an effort to beat back DeMint’s proposal in an effort to save earmarking. An Earmark is a special project, usually secured by a lobbyist friend of the politician, for a project in a Senator’s home state. See Bridge to Nowhere is an excellent example of an earmark. An earmark is a means for Members of Congress to send federal money to projects favored by the member.
These members are elitists who think the Tea Party movement will tolerate Republicans going back to the free spending ways of the Bush years.
On Tuesday, Senator DeMint is forcing a vote on a proposal to change the rules of the Senate Republican Caucus to ban earmarks for two years. Seems like a proposal that makes sense, yet the elites and lobbyists are angry. Leaders of the party are fighting against DeMint to make sure that they can preserve earmarking.
They just don’t get it and believe that the Tea Party movement is here to serve selfish politics.
There is no greater symbol of “big government” than earmarks — those pesky little things that Members use to reward campaign contributors or send taxpayer money to their states and districts — and that Congressional “leadership” uses to pass huge spending bills. In fact, it was Republicans who used earmarks to grow government during the Bush years. And now, of course, the Pelosi and Reid machine churns out earmarks relentlessly — 15,000 of them last year — many sponsored by Republicans.
This week Boehner and crew will vote to ban earmarks for two years — great — while there is a contentious debate raging in the Senate Republican Conference. The expected Speaker of the House John Boehner gets it and House Republican Leadership is complying with the wishes of the Tea Party movement. Boehner hears the Tea Party movement and is listening to them. That is more than can be said of Senator Mitch McConnell who is fighting the Tea Party movement. McConnell loves his pork more than he likes the Tea Party.
In one corner you have recovering earmarker Jim DeMint, who together with Tom Coburn and a number of other Senators (old and new — including John Cornyn and Rand Paul), have offered a resolution to ban Republican Senators from requesting earmarks for two years — in line with what Boehner and Cantor are doing in the House. Apparently unable to stop sucking at the “trough” of big government for even a short amount of time, Senators McConnell, Lamar Alexander, Jim Inhofe, Thad Cochran, Richard Shelby and Roger Wicker are fighting even the slightest semblance of a slowdown in earmarks.
In defending his right to steal people’s money, Inhofe doesn’t mince words — saying that folks who question why federal taxpayer money is going to Oklahoma — are “brainwashed” or pushing a “phony issue.”
If you care about controlling the size of government, CALL OR WRITE TO THE REPUBLICANS IN THE SENATE (and those that just got elected). Taxpayers Against Earmarks has a great website and is tracking the Senate GOP Conference vote. Their tally is here: Vote Tally. They also have the phone number and email link for every Republican Senator and Senator-Elect.
Some Senate Republicans are laughing at the Tea Party movement and they don’t think you will speak up.
Make Senate Republican Leadership back down. Don’t let big spending Senate Republicans steal all that was gained on Election Day, because of the Tea Party movement. Don’t let them screw you over and spend all of your money.
Big Government
Senate Republicans think you are stupid. Leaders in the Senate Republican Caucus are opposing a measure by Tea Party Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina to ban earmarks for two years. The elites are angry.
Senate Republican Leaders have led an effort to beat back DeMint’s proposal in an effort to save earmarking. An Earmark is a special project, usually secured by a lobbyist friend of the politician, for a project in a Senator’s home state. See Bridge to Nowhere is an excellent example of an earmark. An earmark is a means for Members of Congress to send federal money to projects favored by the member.
These members are elitists who think the Tea Party movement will tolerate Republicans going back to the free spending ways of the Bush years.
On Tuesday, Senator DeMint is forcing a vote on a proposal to change the rules of the Senate Republican Caucus to ban earmarks for two years. Seems like a proposal that makes sense, yet the elites and lobbyists are angry. Leaders of the party are fighting against DeMint to make sure that they can preserve earmarking.
They just don’t get it and believe that the Tea Party movement is here to serve selfish politics.
There is no greater symbol of “big government” than earmarks — those pesky little things that Members use to reward campaign contributors or send taxpayer money to their states and districts — and that Congressional “leadership” uses to pass huge spending bills. In fact, it was Republicans who used earmarks to grow government during the Bush years. And now, of course, the Pelosi and Reid machine churns out earmarks relentlessly — 15,000 of them last year — many sponsored by Republicans.
This week Boehner and crew will vote to ban earmarks for two years — great — while there is a contentious debate raging in the Senate Republican Conference. The expected Speaker of the House John Boehner gets it and House Republican Leadership is complying with the wishes of the Tea Party movement. Boehner hears the Tea Party movement and is listening to them. That is more than can be said of Senator Mitch McConnell who is fighting the Tea Party movement. McConnell loves his pork more than he likes the Tea Party.
In one corner you have recovering earmarker Jim DeMint, who together with Tom Coburn and a number of other Senators (old and new — including John Cornyn and Rand Paul), have offered a resolution to ban Republican Senators from requesting earmarks for two years — in line with what Boehner and Cantor are doing in the House. Apparently unable to stop sucking at the “trough” of big government for even a short amount of time, Senators McConnell, Lamar Alexander, Jim Inhofe, Thad Cochran, Richard Shelby and Roger Wicker are fighting even the slightest semblance of a slowdown in earmarks.
In defending his right to steal people’s money, Inhofe doesn’t mince words — saying that folks who question why federal taxpayer money is going to Oklahoma — are “brainwashed” or pushing a “phony issue.”
If you care about controlling the size of government, CALL OR WRITE TO THE REPUBLICANS IN THE SENATE (and those that just got elected). Taxpayers Against Earmarks has a great website and is tracking the Senate GOP Conference vote. Their tally is here: Vote Tally. They also have the phone number and email link for every Republican Senator and Senator-Elect.
Some Senate Republicans are laughing at the Tea Party movement and they don’t think you will speak up.
Make Senate Republican Leadership back down. Don’t let big spending Senate Republicans steal all that was gained on Election Day, because of the Tea Party movement. Don’t let them screw you over and spend all of your money.
Big Government
