Sen. Grassley Loves Him Some "Porkulus"

Senator Grassley probably thought he was being witty when he labeled parts of the stimulus bill as "porkulus." Though as most politicians like Grassley, he forgets that the Internet has a funny way of recounting the Senator's own pork-barrel spending and Jon Stewart had no problem in pointing that out.

Obey Gets The Message

In case you haven't been paying attention to the news over the budget in the last week or so, ya might not know that the Democrats in Congress caved to the President yet again over Iraq. Not only did they cave, their "compromise" for letting Bush have his way in Iraq was to have $10 billion in pork projects while Bush got $70 billion to have more soldiers die in that god forsaken country. Just the news that Americans want to hear after they elected a Democratic majority to get us out of Iraq.

Thankfully David Obey of Wisconsin realized that people were getting pissed off over the Democratic Congress' actions. Of course he decided to blame Republicans (who always deserve some credit for failing to compromise) for the budget snafu, but at least he was taking a positive step for the nation.

From RawStory:

House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., said he might abandon an effort with moderate Republicans to split the differences between increases sought by Democrats and the strict budget submitted by President Bush in February.

Instead, Obey said, he would rip up the compromise bill and devise a new one using the strict spending ceiling set by Bush — but would reach it by whacking GOP priorities and stripping the measure of billions of dollars in pet projects for lawmakers in both parties.

Obey's remarks to The Associated Press came two days after White House budget director Jim Nussle promised Bush would veto Democrats' omnibus spending bill for exceeding Bush's budget by $18 billion.

Very nice David, but what about the $70 billion that Bush wants to waste in Iraq and Afghanistan? He doesn't want any part in a deal that gives that type of money to Bush's wars but unfortunately he just chairs the committee. If his omnibus bill makes it to the floor, we have to depend on Pelosi and ultimately Reid in the Senate to pass a budget that will stand up to the American people. Reid and Pelosi however, think that the most important person to impress is George Bush. They obviously do not get it.

It isn't unfair to bash our Democratic leaders, either of them have given us no reason to have faith that they will lead us out of Iraq. Until they have the guts to stand up to a failed President, I do not expect them to fulfill their promise to the people that put them in power.

Not So Fast Congressman Young

As Bush blusters and threatens to veto Congressional earmarks, the king of earmarks, Don Young is proud of his own special programs, even saying so on the floor of the House of Representatives. Of course Bush never vetoed any pork for the six years of Republican rule, including Alaska's earmark legend. Putting Bush aside, lets focus on what the honorable Mr. Young had to say.

From CREW:

During a House debate on earmarks, Rep. Don Young (R-AK) spoke on the House floor about his earmark, including the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" and the recent disclosure of a Florida highway, which the New York Times called an "obvious" tradeoff for campaign contributions:

“I was always proud of my earmarks. I believe in earmarks, always have, as long as they are exposed. But don’t you ever call that a scandal,” he said.

Young may not think he's enmeshed in scandal, but he is:

Making the comments was a bold move for Young, who has been facing scrutiny on a number of fronts recently.

Young has close ties to former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is in jail and cooperating with federal prosecutors before facing sentencing on another charge. In April, Mark Zachares, a former Young staffer and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands employee, pleaded guilty to a list of charges stemming from his involvement in the Abramoff scandal. Media reports also have scrutinized his involvement in setting aside earmarks for a pipeline project that benefited a company that employed Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens’s (R) son, Ben.

The boldness of people like Don Young is incredible to watch. The man is acting on borrowed time, yet appears to be confident that the widening scandal will not touch him. Perhaps he might want to chat with his friends Bob Ney, Duke Cunningham and of course Jack Abramoff from their jail cells. They thought they were invincible once too.