Back and Forth on Earmarks
Earmarks are all the rage right now in Washington. Lots of elected politicians like to talk about how they're against earmarks. Then, when they go home to their districts, they're quick to point out the bridge or road that was built because they "fought for it" or whatever.
This is a part of "Washington." It just is.
But when politicians, specifically a newly elected majority in the House, and a White House who sees everything in the world (pretty much) from a different perspective go back and forth about a topic - even earmarks - I do find it interesting.
Monday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reversed his stance on a ban on earmarks, coming out to say:
"House and Senate Republican leaders are listening to the American people, and are united in support of an earmark ban. An earmark moratorium shows that elected officials are serious about restoring trust between the American people and those elected to represent them. This is a strong first step – though only a first step – towards making the tough choices required to get our country back on track. We hope President Obama and Washington Democrats will show they are serious, and join us in this effort to restore the public trust."
THEN... the White House released this statement from President Obama:
"I welcome Sen. McConnell's decision to join me and members of both parties who support cracking down on wasteful earmark spending, which we can't afford during these tough economic times. As a Senator, I helped eliminate anonymous earmarks, and as President, I've called for new limitations on earmarks and set new, higher standards of transparency and accountability. But we can't stop with earmarks as they represent only part of the problem. In the days and weeks to come, I look forward to working with Democrats and Republicans to not only end earmark spending, but to find other ways to bring down our deficits for our children."
AND NOW... from incoming House Speaker Rep. John Boehner's office, an email blast questions, "Does President Obama Really Support an Earmark Ban?"
Oh, it just never ends...