Republican Earmark Hypocrisy

Republican Earmark Hypocrisy [Now WHO Could Have Predicted THIS?]
Who knew that Republicans would abandon their election promises so quickly? This entry was posted in Earmarks, National Politics, US Senate and tagged broken promises, Congress, conservative, earmarks, hypocrisy, John Cornyn, John Thune, politics, republican party, Tea Party. Bookmark the permalink. » Get Skype, call free! ...

Texas Sen. John Cornyn at odds with spending bill because of earmarks
Texas Sen. John Cornyn at odds with spending bill because of Earmarks 09:30 AM CST on Thursday, December 16, 2010 By TODD J. GILLMAN / The Dallas Morning News [email protected] WASHINGTON - Texas' senators sought Wednesday to distance themselves from a $1.1 Trillion spending package that contains hundreds of millions in earmarks they requested, including $20 million for Dallas' Trinity River Project. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, with fellow Republican John Thune of South Dakota, ...

Congress pontificated against earmarks, then then packed bill with pork
Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: Still the prince of pork (AP) More than two dozen senators — most of them Republicans — put hundreds of homestate projects in the $1.3 Trillion bill to fund the Federal Government even though they recently voted to ban so-called Earmarks. The effort to pass the 1,924-page bill collapsed Thursday night after complaints by Conservatives over its complexity and size and the relatively few days to be devoted to debating its merits. Anti-spending tea ...

Earmark Hypocrisy? GOP Leaders Grilled on Spending
Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and John Thune, R-S.D., held a Press Conference today to rip the Democrats' new 1,924-page, $1.1 Trillion omnibus bill for containing $8 billion worth of Earmarks. More Video ...

Senator Coburn Lists Every Bit of Pork In New Omnibus Spending Bill
Drew just mentioned this, and Bennett (Appropriator, UT) attempting to get all the sweet sweet pork he can before leaving office. Coburn's database has all the pork for your inspection. Here are two that Slublog has called out so far: $500,000: Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, Boston, MA, for educational program development, including an endowment Requested by Marky in the House and Kerry in the Senate. From Debbie Stabenow: $800,000:Crim Fitness Foundation, Flint, MI ...

Many Senators Who Voted to Ban Earmarks Also Pushed Pet Projects
WASHINGTON — Dozens of senators who voted to ban the practice of earmarking nevertheless requested nearly $1 billion for pet projects in the spending bill released Tuesday. The latest on President Obama, the new Congress and other news from Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion. The $1.2 Trillion measure includes more than 6,700 Earmarks totaling $8.1 billion, according to data from Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington Watchdog group, including millions from 24 of the ...

Graham: Plan for port deepening needed by spring
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said Friday a plan for deepening the Charleston Harbor must be worked out by spring, or the state's economy will face devastation. The Republican senator called an idea to jumpstart the project without federal money a risky move for a project estimated to cost $350 million or more and said it could cause the Federal Government to drop its commitment to maintain the harbor. Officials say the Army Corps of Engineers needs $400,000 allocated from the...

Graham: Plan for port deepening needed by spring
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said Friday a plan for deepening the Charleston Harbor must be worked out by spring, or the state's economy will face devastation. The Republican senator called an idea to jumpstart the project without federal money a risky move for a project estimated to cost $350 million or more and said it could cause the Federal Government to drop its commitment to maintain the harbor. Officials say the Army Corps of Engineers needs $400,000 allocated from the Federal Government to s...

Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison defend no-votes on DREAM Act
Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison joined with fellow Republicans to block Senate passage of the DREAM Act today, and both defend their no-votes. Cornyn said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid "continues to play politics" with the proposal, which Texas' senators and many other Republican opponents have supported in the past. Cornyn says Border Security and other aspects of Immigration policy must come first. "I am sympathetic to the plight of Children who have no moral culpability...

With $384M In 2010 Pork In Hand, Sen. Wicker Swears Lard Will Be Gone Next Year
If Sens. John Thune (R-SD) and John Cornyn (R-TX) thought they had a rough go of it at their Press Conference yesterday morning, they should be glad they didn't bring Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) along with them. (Reporters raked Thune and Cornyn over the coals for the apparent hypocrisy of criticizing Earmarks in the omnibus bill after "larding it up" with around 70 separate Earmarks of their own.) Wicker, it turns out, requested $384,124,000 in 165 separate Earmarks so far this year, according to ...

Begich: Sorry about those earmarks, Alaska
From Erika Bolstad in Washington D.C. -- Earmarks have taken a hit in recent weeks, and only in Alaska would a senator apologize for not being able to deliver them. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaksa, did just that, though, in a letter to Alaska organizations that had earmarks in an omnibus spending bill that fell apart last night. "I am disappointed, plain and simple, since we have worked in a Bipartisan manner to create a bill that contains projects as requested by nearly every Senator," he wrote. "M...

Earmarks, Spending, and the Scope of the Federal Government
The Washington Post reported yesterday that Republican senators were turning their back on a massive spending bill stuffed full of their own Earmarks. Those earmarks, the Post noted, included quite a few to benefit Mississippi, the home state of Senators Roger Wicker and Thad Cochran: Wicker, along with Cochran, had by then already sponsored earmarks in the spending bill that would fund an airport expansion in Tunica ($1.75 million), new riverwalk lights in Columbus ($300,000), improvements to a...

DREAM Act to be voted on in the Senate today
Today’s the day. Clergy from San Antonio and elsewhere in Texas vowed Thursday to continue pushing for passage of the DREAM Act, despite getting what they characterized as unclear responses from the staff of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, both Texas Republicans, during a visit this week to Washington. A spokeswoman for Hutchison has said the senator will not support the bill because it’s too expansive. [...] During a Conference Call Thursday, the Rev. Lo...

As DREAM Act Fails, Graham Tells Undocumented Youth They Wasted Their Time
Today, the Senate failed to invoke Cloture on the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. Fourty-one mostly Republican senators voted against a bill which would have provided young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. by their parents a path to legalization by pursuing a College Education or serving in the Military. 55 voted in the affirmative. Immediately before the vote failed, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) took the Senate floor to tell the young DREAMers...

US government is still in business - for now
WASHINGTON — The Federal Government is still in business — for now. President Barack Obama signed a bill Saturday morning to fund the Federal Government through Tuesday. Congress passed the measure Friday night. The three-day continuing resolution allows lawmakers to have a weekend at home with their families, but then return to Washington for wrap-up votes in the days before Christmas. House and Senate negotiators will turn their attention to a spending bill to fund the government ...

Fed gov't is still in business - for now
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Government is still in business—for now. President Barack Obama signed a bill Saturday morning to fund the Federal Government through Tuesday. Congress passed the measure Friday night. The three-day continuing resolution allows lawmakers to have a weekend at home with their families, but then return to Washington for wrap-up votes in the days before Christmas. House and Senate negotiators will turn their attention to a spending bill to fund the government th...

Senators vote to ban earmarks _ then grab them
WASHINGTON (AP) - More than two dozen senators, most Republicans, who recently voted to ban homestate projects are claiming hundreds of Earmarks in an almost $1.3 Trillion bill to fund most federal programs and agencies into next fall. Republicans are calling the 1,924-page bill a pork-filled mess and accusing Democrats of trying to jam it through Congress with minimal debate and little if any opportunity to make changes. Some GOP senators voiced outrage but made no effort to dump their own ear...

Senators vote to ban earmarks _ then grab them
Twenty-five senators, most Republicans, who recently voted to ban homestate projects are claiming hundreds of Earmarks in an almost $1.3 Trillion bill to fund most federal programs and agencies until next year. Republicans are calling the 1,924-page bill a pork-filled mess and accusing Democrats of trying to jam it through Congress with minimal debate and little if any opportunity to make changes. Some GOP senators voiced outrage but made no effort to dump their own Earmarks from the Legislation...

Senators vote to ban earmarks _ then grab them
WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty-five senators, most Republicans, who recently voted to ban homestate projects are claiming hundreds of earmarks in an almost $1.3 trillion bill to fund most federal programs and agencies until next year. Republicans are calling the 1,924-page bill a pork-filled mess and accusing Democrats of trying to jam it through Congress with minimal debate and little if any opportunity to make changes. Some GOP senators voiced outrage but made no effort to dump their own earma...

The Failure of the Omnibus and the End of Appropriation
It's impossible to understand what Sen. Harry Reid did tonight, in pulling the omnibus spending bill from the Senate floor, without considering what has happened to the political power of appropriators in 2010. - The chairmen of the House Appropriations, Transportation, Budget, and Armed Services committees either retired or lost their seats. Blanche Lincoln, having taken over the Agriculture committee in the Senate, was defeated. - Republicans buckled and agreed to a Caucus-wide ban on earmark ...

Good Gotcha.
I've long been on record as a critic of a particular kind of gotcha played by many reporters, what we might call "The Russert." This is where the reporter reads the politician something he said some time in the past, or describes something he did some time in the past, and contrasts it with what he's saying or doing today, to charge him with hypocrisy. There's nothing illegitimate about pointing out a politician's hypocrisy, of course, and it's a good thing if politicians fear being called hypoc...

New Poll Shows Obama Favored In 2012 Over Republicans
An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows President Obama leading the 2012 sweepstakes, with 42% saying they’d vote for him, versus 39% who say they’d vote Republican. It gets even better when you identify potential opponents. But putting a name beside the generic Republican slot changes the picture. Mr. Obama leads former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by seven percentage points, 47%-40%. Against Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, a relative unknown but a potential Candidate, the presid...

Obama In Strong Shape Against Palin for 2012
A new poll released Thursday found President Obama with a big lead over Sarah Palin in the 2012 presidential contest, and with smaller leads over two other presidential contenders, confirming other recent polls showing Obama faring especially well against Palin. The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found Obama with a 55 percent to 33 percent lead over Palin, and a 47-percent to 40-percent lead over Romney. The survey also found Obama with a 47-percent to 27-percent lead over the relatively un...

Obama Leads Palin By 22% In WSJ/NBC Poll
Run, Sarah, run! The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found Obama with a 55 percent to 33 percent lead over Palin, and a 47-percent to 40-percent lead over Romney. The survey also found Obama with a 47-percent to 27-percent lead over the relatively unknown South Dakota Senator John Thune. The poll was conducted Dec. 9-13 by Democratic pollster Peter Hart and Republican pollster Bill McInturff among 1,000 adults, and has a 3.1-percent Margin of Error. Sarah Palin is at unfortunate point in Ameri...

Poll: Obama Would Easily Defeat Palin In 2012
In the preparations for the 1964 election, President Kennedy instructed his staff to promote the campaign of Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater. The "Conscience Of A Conservative" was then seen as too extreme for mainstream American politics, and thus easier to beat.  Sarah Palin may play Goldwater to Obama's Kennedy. Like Kennedy, Obama is a charismatic young president with a flair for rhetorical talent, but with few legislative accomplishments. And the White House would prefer to run reelect...