From the ‘Meet the New Boss, Same as Worse Than the Old Boss’ Department
Last year, people were all over the Republican-controlled Senate for larding an appropriations bill containing spending for the War on Terror and hurricane relief with (cue Carl Sagan) billions and billions of dollars of pork-barrel spending.
When confronted with the idea that spending on the measure involved would not be allowed to increase, their initial “solution” was to cut everything across the board, obviously shortchanging what had been originally intended to fully fund the War on Terror and hurricane relief (how much waste might have been in those two line items is a topic for another time). Fortunately, that idea was abandoned because John Boehner and others in the House made it crystal-clear that they would not stand for it.
Supposedly this kind of stuff was going to end because of the November 2006 election results. That does not appear to be the case. In fact, given the current situation, it’s arguably worse (HT Tigerhawk and Porkopolis):
Democrats seeking votes for their Iraq withdrawal plan have stuffed the bill it’s in with billions of dollars for farms, flu preparedness, New Orleans levees, home heating and other causes.
Some critics say the Democrats are simply being opportunistic — using a must-pass measure for funding U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to carry items that can’t advance as easily on their own.
At the same time, Democratic leaders are trying to increase support for setting deadlines for ending U.S. military combat in Iraq, which they’ve made part of the larger legislation.
It’s plain that Democrats are unwilling to approve the bill’s $100 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan without the add-ons.
“The president wants to make sure we take care of Iraq, but I think we also have to make sure that we don’t lose sight of what we have to do here at home,” said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill.
Already, money in the bill not directly related to the war exceeds $20 billion.
Tigerhawk characterizes this thusly:
Principle being an apparently insufficient basis for a vote on the future of a war, Democrats are, in effect, buying and selling the lives and limbs of American soldiers and countless Iraqis, the future of Iraq, the security of the Persian Gulf, and, possibly, the success of the long struggle against radical Islam. That is, frankly, disgusting even by Congressional standards.
Senate Republicans who supported the across-the-board abomination last year before the House shook them back to sanity have especially little room for complaining. But that doesn’t mean the rest of us, like Tigerhawk, can’t call it what it is, as he just has.
And so much for “higher standards.”
