John Adams Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 Here's a small sampling of the pork in the latest budget. pork up Republicans! Way to go Here's what McCain said about all this on MTP this past weekend. (For entire transcript, go here-- BTW, check out the portion of the transcript where McCain talks about Evangelicals in the Republican party.) *** MR. RUSSERT: Congress voted for a $388 billion spending bill. They passed it 65-to-30 in the Senate. You said it's a big, fat turkey. SEN. McCAIN: Well, it's loaded with pork-barrel projects. Since 1990--in 1994, there were 4,000 earmarks. This year there were 14,000 earmarks. This is these special deal projects ranging from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to studying the DNA of bears in Montana. It's outrageous. The system is broken. We need to fix it. We've got to have some kind of way of challenging these earmarks. We've got to have the president perhaps have the line-item veto. We've got to exercise not only overall budgetary control, but stop these earmarks. We're harming agencies like NASA and their ability to carry out their mission because we're diverting so much of the funds to other projects that are unnecessary and wasteful. MR. RUSSERT: Senator, Republicans control the Senate. SEN. McCAIN: Yes. MR. RUSSERT: Republicans control the House. SEN. McCAIN: Yes, sir. MR. RUSSERT: Republicans control the White House. SEN. McCAIN: Yes, sir. MR. RUSSERT: It's a Republican problem. SEN. McCAIN: It certainly is, and we're going to have to fix it. And I believe that part of our base, of the Republican base, is fiscal conservatives and they're very unhappy. I hear from them all the time. MR. RUSSERT: In the House version of this spending bill, there was a provision which said that the Appropriations Committee should have access to taxpayers' tax returns. How did that happen? SEN. McCAIN: What happens here is that they slap these omnibus bills together--as you mentioned, this one's nine bills that we should have passed separately--nobody sees them or reads them. It was a 1,630- page document yesterday that was presented to us sometime in the morning, and we voted on it in the evening. The system is broken, and everybody, of course, wanted to get out of town, understandably. MR. RUSSERT: Why should Congress have access to citizens' tax returns? SEN. McCAIN: According to--Senator Stevens' explanation on the floor last night was that two staffers put in this provision and no one knew about it until another Senator Conrad staffer discovered it. MR. RUSSERT: What was their motive? SEN. McCAIN: That should--you know, I don't know. I can't imagine. But the fact that our system is such that that would ever be inserted and passed by the House of Representatives--if there's ever a graphic example of the broken system that we now have, that certainly has to be it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campy Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 If there's such a thing as an honest politician, John McCain has gotta' be pretty close to one. The more I see and about him, the more I like him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 MR. RUSSERT: It's a Republican problem. 131821[/snapback] its neither a republican nor a democrat problem. its the game in washington. they campaign that they're all for cutting pork. except they won't cut the pork involving their campaign donors and voters back home. in order to get the votes to keep their pork they have to make deals with other senators/congressmen who want their own pork its all about delivering the $$$ to their donors and voters. neither party is at fault, the problem is a byproduct of corporate influence, vote seeking, and all the free money from washington Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callemasiseesem Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 its all about delivering the $$$ to their donors and voters. neither party is at fault, the problem is a byproduct of corporate influence, vote seeking, and all the free money from washington 131841[/snapback] The problem is the voters. Voters love pork when it's being brought back to their district or state. It's all the other pork that's bad. Voters continue to reward this with reelection of incumbants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 Add in the state spending for federal issues.... Here in CT, the Republican Gov. Rell (who took over when Rowland left office amid corruption scandal), yesterday announced that we'd spend $750,000 to come up with arguments for why the sub base at Groton shouldn't be closed. There's going to be mentionings of "importance to the state's economy" blah blah blah.... This is something Rep. Rob Simmons' political future is tied to in Eastern CT and he needs to walk away with the impression of all of the credit. So, his friends help him out behind the scenes with public money, to try to influence military planners who are going to do what they're going to do no matter what. If it were such a bipartisan issue, why couldn't they assign this project to advanced POLS classes at the state's public universities, like UConn? Maybe give students some real-world experience AND save money at the same time. Maybe that makes too much sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 Here's a small sampling of the pork in the latest budget. pork up Republicans! Way to go Here's what McCain said about all this on MTP this past weekend. (For entire transcript, go here-- BTW, check out the portion of the transcript where McCain talks about Evangelicals in the Republican party.) *** MR. RUSSERT: Congress voted for a $388 billion spending bill. They passed it 65-to-30 in the Senate. You said it's a big, fat turkey. SEN. McCAIN: Well, it's loaded with pork-barrel projects. Since 1990--in 1994, there were 4,000 earmarks. This year there were 14,000 earmarks. This is these special deal projects ranging from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to studying the DNA of bears in Montana. It's outrageous. The system is broken. We need to fix it. We've got to have some kind of way of challenging these earmarks. We've got to have the president perhaps have the line-item veto. We've got to exercise not only overall budgetary control, but stop these earmarks. We're harming agencies like NASA and their ability to carry out their mission because we're diverting so much of the funds to other projects that are unnecessary and wasteful. MR. RUSSERT: Senator, Republicans control the Senate. SEN. McCAIN: Yes. MR. RUSSERT: Republicans control the House. SEN. McCAIN: Yes, sir. MR. RUSSERT: Republicans control the White House. SEN. McCAIN: Yes, sir. MR. RUSSERT: It's a Republican problem. SEN. McCAIN: It certainly is, and we're going to have to fix it. And I believe that part of our base, of the Republican base, is fiscal conservatives and they're very unhappy. I hear from them all the time. MR. RUSSERT: In the House version of this spending bill, there was a provision which said that the Appropriations Committee should have access to taxpayers' tax returns. How did that happen? SEN. McCAIN: What happens here is that they slap these omnibus bills together--as you mentioned, this one's nine bills that we should have passed separately--nobody sees them or reads them. It was a 1,630- page document yesterday that was presented to us sometime in the morning, and we voted on it in the evening. The system is broken, and everybody, of course, wanted to get out of town, understandably. MR. RUSSERT: Why should Congress have access to citizens' tax returns? SEN. McCAIN: According to--Senator Stevens' explanation on the floor last night was that two staffers put in this provision and no one knew about it until another Senator Conrad staffer discovered it. MR. RUSSERT: What was their motive? SEN. McCAIN: That should--you know, I don't know. I can't imagine. But the fact that our system is such that that would ever be inserted and passed by the House of Representatives--if there's ever a graphic example of the broken system that we now have, that certainly has to be it. 131821[/snapback] I don't mind funding DNA studies of bears in Montana...especially in comparison to some of the crap the government funds (can I have my $6 in tax money back that I contributed to the Starr report now?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 I don't mind funding DNA studies of bears in Montana...especially in comparison to some of the crap the government funds (can I have my $6 in tax money back that I contributed to the Starr report now?) 131874[/snapback] Yeah, we might find out about the scent attractants or how to create a tastier Griz when we have to go all Jerimiah Johnson.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Adams Posted November 24, 2004 Author Share Posted November 24, 2004 Here in PA, the regional rail line that supports Philly has a 63 million dollar "shortfall" AKA Eff-up. The solution: raise our state gas tax to make it second only to Rhode Island. In the case of PA, it's the Dem. Governor who came up with the plan. God forbid we actually lay some people off and cut service or get more efficient. Wahoo. Thanks to the rest of the state for supporting SEPTA, which is already the most expensive public transportaion system in the country to commute on (yes- I'm a SEPTA commuter). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 In the SF Bay area, the Bay Bridge is the big money pit. It will replace the section of the Bay Bridge that collapsed in the 1989 quake (and you thought the Peace Bridge is taking a long time). First the two mayors Brown (Willie-SF and Jerry-Oakland) wanted a signature bridge (sound familiar?) and to have it put south of the current bridge. Can't be done because the bedrock there is very very deep. That is what caused the current bridge to shake a lot in 89. Then the Navy wouldn't let them do core samples on the property that used to be Admiral Nimitz's home- Had to get Clinton to intervene. They finally started putting in the pilings 2 years ago. A few months ago, they fired the construction company that was constructing the pilings. Currently there are partially finished pilings sticking out of the bay. The original estimate was 2.5 BILLION. The costs are now at 5 BILLION. Our local assemblyman said that it will be covered 1/2 by CalTrans and 1/2 locally (higher taxes and bridge tolls). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 In the SF Bay area, the Bay Bridge is the big money pit. It will replace the section of the Bay Bridge that collapsed in the 1989 quake (and you thought the Peace Bridge is taking a long time). First the two mayors Brown (Willie-SF and Jerry-Oakland) wanted a signature bridge (sound familiar?) and to have it put south of the current bridge. Can't be done because the bedrock there is very very deep. That is what caused the current bridge to shake a lot in 89. Then the Navy wouldn't let them do core samples on the property that used to be Admiral Nimitz's home- Had to get Clinton to intervene. They finally started putting in the pilings 2 years ago. A few months ago, they fired the construction company that was constructing the pilings. Currently there are partially finished pilings sticking out of the bay. The original estimate was 2.5 BILLION. The costs are now at 5 BILLION. Our local assemblyman said that it will be covered 1/2 by CalTrans and 1/2 locally (higher taxes and bridge tolls). 132741[/snapback] In this area, it's the Inter-County Connector. That's the highway they've been studying for thirty years...at this point, I'm convinced they have absolutely no intention of ever building it, simply because there's an entire industry down here devoted to studying it (a few millions a year, EVERY year)...and at this point the economic activity generated by studying it probably exceeds any economic gain they'd get from building the damned thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VABills Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 In this area, it's the Inter-County Connector. That's the highway they've been studying for thirty years...at this point, I'm convinced they have absolutely no intention of ever building it, simply because there's an entire industry down here devoted to studying it (a few millions a year, EVERY year)...and at this point the economic activity generated by studying it probably exceeds any economic gain they'd get from building the damned thing. 132921[/snapback] Well hey they are finally redoing the Wilson bridge and the disaster in Springfield. So maybe someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_BiB_ Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 Well hey they are finally redoing the Wilson bridge and the disaster in Springfield. So maybe someday. 132956[/snapback] Yeah. Love the Wilson Bridge thing. I live about a half mile from the pile drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 I posted it earlier. Has been posted an number of times before here. AZ... Up... To 1.23 for every buck they send to DC. States Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Lamb Posted November 27, 2004 Share Posted November 27, 2004 If there's such a thing as an honest politician, John McCain has gotta' be pretty close to one. The more I see and about him, the more I like him. 131831[/snapback] At these high levels - an honest politician ? Money taints everything. The Keating Five & the Subsequent Savings & Loan Implosion No Senators were ever indicted http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special3...ccainbook5.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted November 27, 2004 Share Posted November 27, 2004 Congress drafted and passed a line-item veto bill in 1996. Clinton eagerly signed it. The so-called "Prince of Pork", Sen. Byrd D-WVa ran to the Supreme Court to get it overturned, which they did. Not surprisingly, the hypocritical Sen. Byrd is now complaining about "pork". I'll bet vampires are Democrats - neither sees anything when they look into a mirror. Link below: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/natio...es/wp062698.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Lamb Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 Congress drafted and passed a line-item veto bill in 1996. Clinton eagerly signed it. The so-called "Prince of Pork", Sen. Byrd D-WVa ran to the Supreme Court to get it overturned, which they did. Not surprisingly, the hypocritical Sen. Byrd is now complaining about "pork". You didn't think they (the Congress) actually meant for it to be used - did you ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 You didn't think they (the Congress) actually meant for it to be used - did you ? 135327[/snapback] Imagine the legislative branch actually policing themselves, instead of being able to demonize the executive for their own shortcomings. Integrity...Catch it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobody Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 If there's such a thing as an honest politician, John McCain has gotta' be pretty close to one. The more I see and about him, the more I like him. 131831[/snapback] Too bad the honest John McCain is always forced into hibernation during the presidential elections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 Too bad the honest John McCain is always forced into hibernation during the presidential elections. 137741[/snapback] McCain is a self-centered resurrection of P.T. Barnum. He's a Hollywood dream - pushes high-minded legislation fraught with unintended consequences. The sidewalk in front of my house is capable of more studious thought than that beauty... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 <homer> mmm, pork </homer> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts