Earmarks

Paul Ryan As Congressman For His District: Typical Politician, Which Should Upset Tea Party Advocates And Conservatives!

Ronald 2 Comments

An investigation of Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan’s record as the First District Representative demonstrates that he is not a Tea Party advocate or consistent conservative in his principles, when it comes to his constituents.

The record shows the following:

Ryan voted for earmarks for his district, while always condemning the concept.

Ryan supported the Auto Industry Bailout, because it affected many of his constituents.

Ryan voted for TARP, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, in 2008, because it had an effect on his district.

Ryan was opposed to the Obama Economic Stimulus legislation, but made sure that his constituents received some of the funding under the law.

So Paul Ryan has said one thing and done another, making him a typical politician, who speaks out of both sides of his mouth!

But if one is a true Tea Party advocate or hard line conservative, Paul Ryan should disillusion them, added on to the flip flopping of Mitt Romney!

But realize, the major reason to back Romney and Ryan is simply they are not Barack Obama!

This is more a personal election issue, than anything else!

But the problem is that, nationally, Barack Obama is well liked, and highly regarded, while the “likability” rating of Romney is very low, the lowest in modern times for a candidate, and even if Paul Ryan is more personable and likeable by comparison, he is not at the level of Barack Obama!

And even if Ryan were to become popular as much as Obama, remember he is the bottom of the ticket, not the top!

The Multiple Problems Of Rick Santorum: Why He Would Be A Nightmare For America!

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Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum comes across as handsome, personable, a good speaker, and willing to look people directly in the eye when he meets them.

But these strengths are outweighed by his many shortcomings, as witness:

Rick Santorum was extremely unpopular among his Republican colleagues in the US House of Representatives and US Senate, from John McCain to Jim DeMint, a wide range within a narrow based party.

Rick Santorum became the biggest promoter of “pork”, known as “earmarks”, and made all the right connections with business people so that he has enriched himself since his defeat in the Senate reelection contest of 2006, where he lost by the massive margin of 17 points, despite his 12 years of Senate seniority.

Rick Santorum has a confrontational, take no prisoners approach to his “enemies”, and has absolutist views on many issues, which means he would not unite the American people, and would cause a bigger rift, a bigger chasm, a bigger division, than has existed under Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. He does not have the personality or nature to compromise, or to promote unity. The political atmosphere would be far worse, much more poisonous in a Santorum Presidency, and antagonistic to his “enemies”, more anti media than anyone since Richard Nixon!

Rick Santorum believes in a muscular foreign policy, and would engage America in more overseas military adventures without any pause, which makes him very dangerous.

Rick Santorum has no concern for the poor or the struggling middle class, as he has demonstrated so often, since he believes that no one is responsible to pay more taxes to help the sick, the poor, the disadvantaged, and that we have no social responsibility to each other. He would be the most right wing candidate since Barry Goldwater, but worse than Goldwater, who was a libertarian in many ways, and would not approve of Santorum’s invocation of “Jesus”, and Santorum’s narrow view of Christianity. Santorum would have no problem going back to a theory of Social Darwinism, prevalent in the Gilded Age of the late 19th century.

Rick Santorum believes there is no right to privacy including his opposition to abortion in all circumstances; his extreme condemnation of gay rights in all of its forms; his opposition even to contraception; and his desire to have divorce made more difficult, forcing unhappy couples to stay together as long as they have children under the age of 18. He also believes that consenting adults do not have the right to consensual sex in their own homes!

Rick Santorum claims to speak for the working class, because of his own blue collar family background, including his grandfather, who migrated from Italy and worked in the coal mines, but really he is personally quite wealthy, and only really has shown political concern for WHITE working class, which he is appealing to, and not concern for African Americans or Hispanics, with his statements and actions attacking any assistance or support of the advancements of these minority groups, which have been left behind.

Rick Santorum showed he was not a “compassionate” conservative as President George W. Bush claimed to be, when he said that “pre-existing” conditions involving health care should be given higher premium rates because their “habits” led to the pre-existing conditions, even when a mother saying her child had developed health issues and could not get insurance, questioned him this week at a campaign rally in New Hampshire. Santorum has no compassion or concern for anyone not wealthy, and this is supposed to be a “good Christian”? This is the true hypocrisy of Rick Santorum, promoting selfishness and greed, not what Jesus Christ promoted! And yet, Santorum claims he is the “JESUS” candidate! What an outrage!

Rick Santorum is dangerous to America, as he would promote a repeal of the New Deal and Great Society; would advocate military interventions overseas; would destroy the safety net that exists for those less fortunate and less healthy; and would promote government intrusion in the private lives of Americans, including their sexual behavior.

This is a prescription for a totalitarian government socially, but laissez faire economically, all in the name of JESUS! Just what the Founding Fathers worked so strongly against! We are NOT a theocracy, and the thought of it is enough to make one terrified!

Newt Gingrich: Flip Flopper Par Excellence!

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Many political observers have pointed out that Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts Governor, is a “Flip Flopper” on almost every issue, which he most certainly is!

But his new major rival, Newt Gingrich, who is surging in the polls, has also proved to be a major “Flip Flopper” par excellence.

He has changed his views on:

1. Climate Change
2. Paul Ryan’s plan for Medicare
3. Mandates for Health Care legislation
4. Libya Policy
5. Education Reform
6. The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)
7. His religious beliefs
8. His Views on Lobbying and Earmarks
9. His opposition to torture
10.His views on the environment

Gingrich has proved that there is no issue that he will not change his views if it will advance his lust for power and influence and public attention. He is a man without principle except his own advancement!

Mainstream Republicans An Endangered Species: Bad Omen For The Future

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The Republican Party, in its mad dash to the far right, is about to consume its few mainstream members in the US Senate.

Maine Senator Olympia Snowe is facing a likely Tea Party opponent, and Utah Senator Orrin Hatch was booed at the recent CPAC convention, despite his solidly conservative voting record over the past 35 years.

Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown has lost the support of the Tea Party, which originally was thrilled by his winning of Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat in 2010, and may also face a primary challenge.

But the repudiation in Indiana of Senator Richard Lugar, the senior Republican and foreign policy expert, by his own party leadership, is a major blow to a Senator who could be called more than a politician, instead a statesman.

Lugar made enemies voting for the START Treaty with Russia, opposing a ban on earmarks, and supporting Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court. He has been called Barack Obama’s favorite Republican.

So Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, not a Tea Party leader, is challenging Lugar, although it is believed that Governor Mitch Daniels and Indiana Congressman Mike Pence may stay neutral in the primary race due on May 8, 2012.

Will Lugar get the message and decide to retire after 36 years? It seems unlikely, but his loss would be a major blow to moderate conservatism and the future of the Republican Party image nationally.

The Budget Crisis And “False” Solutions: Earmarks, Space, And Foreign Aid

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As the debate continues over how to deal with the national deficit and the national debt, we hear simple but false solutions, which demonstrate the total ignorance, or the total demagoguery of those who profess those solutions!

We hear so much about “earmarks”, the awarding of federal money to congressional districts and states, brought about by Congressmen and Senators who are bringing home the “pork” or the “bacon”. We are told that such expenditures are a pure waste of taxpayer money, even though such spending is part of the lifeblood of American politics, the expectation that those who are elected to represent us have a responsibility to promote substantial improvements to the infrastructure, and which help to create economic growth and development. This is, in fact, one of the most important roles of a member of Congress until now, but apparently such earmarks will not be allowed over the next two years, something that will not please voters and citizens of our congressional districts, likely to lead to discontent and possible defeat of those who refuse to do what is the whole basis of the political system!

The point is one would think inordinate amounts of funds go to earmarks, when in actuality, it is only between one and two percent of the entire national budget!

Then we have those who condemn any investment in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the space program, failing to see the scientific advances promoted by such investment. But it is part of the anti-science mentality of many, who however are only too willing to give tax breaks to churches and synagogues and allow clergy to avoid paying taxes. It is part of the KNOW NOTHING mentality, that science is unimportant, next to the all powerful force of organized religion gaining subsidies. And the reality is the space investment of the US government is one half of one percent, as so emphasized by Neil deGrasse Tyson, the astrophysicist and leader at the Hayden Planetarium in New York City.

Additionally, we have complaints that we are giving away taxpayer money to foreign governments, including Israel and Egypt, as well as other nations around the world that we wish to create a stable influence on, to promote American national security and defense, but one must understand there are those who would wish to put America into an isolationist foreign policy. In any case, the total foreign aid budget is no more than one percent annually, but one would get a different impression from those who decry any foreign aid investment.

So while it is fine to waste money on many defense programs, and give tax breaks to the wealthy, many corporations, and religious institutions, we should go ahead and fail to improve the physical plant and infrastructure of the nation, dismiss the importance of promoting science, and take a utopian view of the world and bring ourselves back to pre 1941 mentality!

It is the unfortunate stupidity and ignorance of many that leads to these ridiculous beliefs and promotion of a world view that will set America back to the 19th century! 🙁

Kentucky’s US Senators: Not Good For Kentucky! :(

Ronald 1 Comment

Kentucky, the Bluegrass State, somehow has managed to have elected US Senators who are not good for the state’s population! 🙁

Not only did they have Senator Jim Bunning, the Baseball Hall of Famer, who was considered by many observers, to be one of the absolutely worst Senators the chamber has ever had, who was always hard to work with, and who constantly seemed angry when he was not seen as loony!

But now they have Senator elect Rand Paul, a Tea Party favorite, who is a libertarian all the way, and will likely over time make Kentuckians wish that Jim Bunning was back! Paul has led the move against earmarks, the bringing of projects to a state that is one of the poorest in the nation, and shows no concern about the conditions of coal miners in his state, despite recent coal mine disasters in West Virginia!

And now Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has looked like a genius when compared to Bunning and Paul, has shown himself to be a hypocrite (actually nothing new) as he was a champion ear marker, bringing nearly a billion dollars to his home state over the years, but now switching gears and agreeing to prevent earmarks over the next two years, and therefore undermining his state’s ability to improve its poor economic conditions!

And why has McConnell done this? It is because of pressure from conservative and Tea Party favorite Jim DeMint of South Carolina, who was seen as a rival of McConnell for the leadership of the Senate Republicans!

So in order to keep his job and look in sync with other Republicans, Mitch McConnell shows a lack of courage and principle, except for one thing!

He has made it clear that the Republicans will do everything to undermine President Obama and assure that he is a one term President! And this is already showing by the fact that the scheduled meeting of House and Senate Republicans with Obama at the White House that was due for Thursday has been postponed by McConnell and Speaker to be John Boehner due to “scheduling” problems!

What is that supposed to mean? Why would anyone after arranging an appointment at the White House with the President of the United States suddenly change it? The only good reasons would be death or illness, but neither is the case!

It is simply pure rudeness and disrespect for the President, and a sign that there will be no attempt by the Republicans in Congress to cooperate at all with the President over the next two years!

So what else is new? 🙁

Newly Found Opposition To Earmarks! The Hypocrisy Of Politicians!

Ronald 1 Comment

The biggest rage now is for politicians in Washington to condemn earmarks as corruption, and a waste of taxpayer money!

It is precisely the opposite of the above, as earmarks provide improvements in public services to every state and congressional district, and provide jobs and promote economic growth!

It is a demagogic issue, as those now coming out against earmarks are the ones who have been most engaged in advocating it for their entire congressional careers!

People seem to want services for their district or state, but not for other districts or states! This is greed and selfishness, and it is often forgotten that if a Congressman or Senator does not bring home money for projects in their districts and states, they are likely to be defeated for re-election as they have not “brought home the bacon”!

Citizens want projects done, but not where they have to pay for it! They want others to pay, rather than face the responsibility for paying taxes! In other words, they are hypocrites, as are their politicians who now advocate ending earmarks!

To top it off, earmarks are a measly one percent of the national budget! It is a “drop in the bucket” when one talks about expenditures! It is similar to the argument to stop foreign aid to other nations, which is also only one percent of the budget, but citizens are ignorant of the importance of foreign aid to stabilize other nations in our national interest!

The fastest way to cut the budget is to cut unnecessary defense spending caused by corruption in the corporate world, which promotes cost overruns on unnecessary weapons systems, considering that we already have a defense budget greater than the rest of the world combined!

Cutting earmarks will be a fad that will be short lived, as “pork” is part of the reality of politics, and always will be!

The Truth About Pork Projects And Foreign Aid: Not The Villains Creating Our Budget Deficits!

Ronald 1 Comment

We see over the years a constant attack on foreign aid and pork projects (earmarks) as the major problems preventing a balancing of the federal budget and causing our tremendous deficits.

This is as far from the truth as one can get, as President Obama indicated in a Town Hall meeting on Tuesday. An investigation proves that only one percent of the budget is foreign aid, and earmarks, despite all the complaints and publicity about them, only add up to three tenths of one percent of the federal budget!

Demagogues on the right love to complain about earmarks, and yet it is both parties and all politicians who come to Washington with the intention of accomplishing improvements for their districts and states. But even with that reality, it is less than one third of one percent of the budget, so neither that nor foreign aid to support stability in foreign nations come anywhere near solving or dealing with our national budgetary crisis.

However, fighting two wars at once, neither one of which really makes for national security and kills off so many young men and women, is the real villain in our budgetary crisis! Will we ever learn that what we are doing in Afghanistan and Iraq is not accomplishing anything, except to antagonize that part of the world and bleed us dry, both in manpower and in finances? 🙁