1,924 Page Spending Bill--

[detbuch]

Earmarks are not the problem in this bill. They comprise less than 1 percent of the spending. Until Congress abolishes earmarks, both parties will use them. As for the distribution between solely Dem and Repub that can actually be identified as such, it appears, so far, that the strictly Dem earmarks outnumber the Strictly GOP earmarks 2 to 1. But that is not the problem with this Omnibus bill. This is the budget that was supposed to be created some time ago so that it could be studied before approval. But here it is, massive, with no time, supposedly to study, therefore must, like the health care bill, be rammed through in order to find out what's in it, and without the proper time to debate. Since we've gone this far without a budget, lets let the new Congress make their own. In the meantime, any emergency expenditures can be handled by these oh so able and gifted legislators who are so obviously interested in what's best for the Nation.

[scottw]

and the GOP earmarkers are rightly being pummelled by their constituents and many are withdrawing their earmarks...

After his caucus passed a voluntary earmark moratorium last month, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) — perhaps with the offing of co-delegate Bob Bennett fresh in his mind — did something both politically smart and substantively commendable: he withdrew each of his earmark requests from the omnibus.
“People have the right to do whatever they want,” he said. “I just felt my own personal moral obligation to do that.”

What’s putting senators like Thune, Cornyn, and even Republican Leader McConnell in such a tough position on the omnibus is not just that they requested earmarks, but that every earmark in the bill went through the regular committee order. There simply are no surprises in that part of the omnibus, and in many cases senators had months to register protest. Senator Hatch did just that. Why didn’t others?

Thune tells Beutler, simply, that “I guess I hadn’t thought about doing it.” Thune’s office elaborates for me, saying the senator didn’t withdraw his requests (which were made months before the moratorium vote) because he didn’t think the Democrats would have the “audacity” to move on an omnibus in the lame duck. But Thune now says that he will vote to strip out all the earmarks — his included — from the omnibus if given the chance.

and then there's this little gem

Redistribution on steroids
Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Mike Jensen
Rep. Cleaver has proposed a $48 billion earmark When absurdity gives way to hilarity, you must be talking about politics.

In the midst of a colossal global concern for the economic stability of our great nation, Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri's 5th Congressional District representative, has one small earmark on his wish list that deserves some attention.

Cleaver has listed a new earmark -- one of several -- and he promises to "fight for every one." But this is a whopping $48 billion package that must go down as the grandaddy of all earmarks.
Proposed by a gentleman named Lamar Mickens, president of the not-for-profit Quality Day Campus, the $48 billion earmark would funnel money into the inner cities to give money to the poor and thereby produce a much larger consumer class to buy the goods and services produced in this country.

Cleaver's office says this of the proposal:

"The Epicenter is a proposed estimated $48 billion (Phase One) mass scale urban reclamation project for combating, reducing, reversing and/or eliminating poverty within under served communities by utilizing mass scale economic redevelopment to bring about stability and self reliance.

[Fly Rod]

detbuch: "Earmarks are not the problem in this bill."

There is only 20,000 earmarks, not a problem.

[Fly Rod]

I have to laugh at some of the Dems and Gop that have submitted earmarks into a bill that has to be passed by Saturday. Now some of them are saying that they will not vote for the bill, they know that the bill will pass or government would not be able to run.

Why would they not just pull their earmarks out of the bill?

[Piscator]

Originally Posted by Fly Rod

I have to laugh at some of the Dems and Gop that have submitted earmarks into a bill that has to be passed by Saturday. Now some of them are saying that they will not vote for the bill, they know that the bill will pass or government would not be able to run.

Why would they not just pull their earmarks out of the bill?

Check this one out:

They "incorrectly" added Scott Brown's name to an earmark. He saw it and had them remove it. These "earmarks" are out of control. It doesn't get any more "self-interest" than this. Who wrote this 1,924 page bill? How long did it take? How can they actually read 1,924 pages of garbage in such a short period of time? I wonder how many pages this bill would be if all the earmarks were removed. Check it out:

Mass. has $213m stake in earmark fight - The Boston Globe

[scottw]

Originally Posted by Piscator

Who wrote this 1,924 page bill? How long did it take?

definitely wasn't Sarah Palin...she's too stupid...did you know that she mistook a polar bear for a grizzly bear in her last episode?

[Piscator]

Originally Posted by scottw

definitely wasn't Sarah Palin...she's too stupid...did you know that she mistook a polar bear for a grizzly bear in her last episode?

didn't know that, but thanks for the update.

[Fly Rod]

Originally Posted by scottw

definitely wasn't Sarah Palin...she's too stupid...did you know that she mistook a polar bear for a grizzly bear in her last episode?

Here it is Thursday and she is still counting $250,000 for that episode.

[buckman]

Originally Posted by Piscator

Check this one out:

They "incorrectly" added Scott Brown's name to an earmark. He saw it and had them remove it. These "earmarks" are out of control. It doesn't get any more "self-interest" than this. Who wrote this 1,924 page bill? How long did it take? How can they actually read 1,924 pages of garbage in such a short period of time? I wonder how many pages this bill would be if all the earmarks were removed. Check it out:

Mass. has $213m stake in earmark fight - The Boston Globe

More money for the Kennedy's!!!. WTF

[scottw]

Originally Posted by buckman

More money for the Kennedy's!!!. WTF

let me guess, they're planting a tree and naming .....oh, can't do that....