Tweet
Obama: Pork Happens
Last year, Sen. Barack Obama proposed more than $331 million worth of earmarks to the Appropriations Committee on Illinois's behalf. As CNN says, that was last year. On January 6, 2009, the President-elect pledged to change his ways. He vowed to the American people that the stimulus plan would be pork-free. "We are going to ban all earmarks," he insisted.
What a difference a month--and some public resistance--make. Realizing that his recovery package wasn't headed toward a fairy-tale ending, Obama did what mortal politicians do. He broke his promise. During his speech to the House Democrats' retreat yesterday, Obama returned to politics as usual. "[T]here's the argument, well, this is full of pet projects. When was the last time that we saw a bill of this magnitude move out with no earmarks in it? Not one," he said to applause. "So then you get the argument, well, this is not a stimulus bill--this is a spending bill. What do you think stimulus is?"
In his must-read column today, "The Fierce Urgency of Pork," Charles Krauthammer highlights the President's warning that if Congress doesn't act on the stimulus, the crisis would become "a catastrophe." "So much for the president who in his inaugural address two weeks earlier declared 'we have chosen hope over fear.' Until, that is, you need fear to pass a bill."
Although Republicans have tried to strip some excess from the stimulus, Democrats had a small victory of their own yesterday, defeating Sen. Jim DeMint's (R-S.C.) amendment to ban religious discrimination from the bill by a 43-54 vote. Only Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) deserted the GOP to side with her liberal pals in opposing the provision.
Justice for Obama's Playboy Attorney?
Americans are calling, but is Congress listening? The phone lines have been so busy on Capitol Hill this week that the switchboard cannot handle the volume. FRC's supporters alone sent 15,000 messages after yesterday's alert on David Ogden. Whether their complaints ultimately "get through" to the Senate will be clear when the Judiciary Committee votes on the President's controversial nominee.
Ogden, Obama's choice for second-in-command at the Justice Department, took plenty of heat during his confirmation hearing yesterday for his advocacy of child porn and the adult entertainment industry in general. "I was young then," he explained. The Deputy Attorney General-designate represented Playboy to sue for access to smut at the Library of Congress. He won. Ogden also fought against Internet filters in public libraries, called regulations on child pornographers "terrifying," and tried to defeat parental notification for minors' abortions.
His nomination should signal to voters that this is just the beginning of Obama's campaign to undermine families through the courts. Now is the time to draw the line on extremism. Call your senators today at (202) 224-3121 and tell them you oppose Ogden's nomination. For the latest on all the President's men, log on to www.frcblog.com and read the newest editions of Change Watch, which feature Cass Sunstein, the President's choice for "Regulation Czar," and Secretary of Defense-designate Robert Gates.
Last year, Sen. Barack Obama proposed more than $331 million worth of earmarks to the Appropriations Committee on Illinois's behalf. As CNN says, that was last year. On January 6, 2009, the President-elect pledged to change his ways. He vowed to the American people that the stimulus plan would be pork-free. "We are going to ban all earmarks," he insisted.
What a difference a month--and some public resistance--make. Realizing that his recovery package wasn't headed toward a fairy-tale ending, Obama did what mortal politicians do. He broke his promise. During his speech to the House Democrats' retreat yesterday, Obama returned to politics as usual. "[T]here's the argument, well, this is full of pet projects. When was the last time that we saw a bill of this magnitude move out with no earmarks in it? Not one," he said to applause. "So then you get the argument, well, this is not a stimulus bill--this is a spending bill. What do you think stimulus is?"
In his must-read column today, "The Fierce Urgency of Pork," Charles Krauthammer highlights the President's warning that if Congress doesn't act on the stimulus, the crisis would become "a catastrophe." "So much for the president who in his inaugural address two weeks earlier declared 'we have chosen hope over fear.' Until, that is, you need fear to pass a bill."
Although Republicans have tried to strip some excess from the stimulus, Democrats had a small victory of their own yesterday, defeating Sen. Jim DeMint's (R-S.C.) amendment to ban religious discrimination from the bill by a 43-54 vote. Only Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) deserted the GOP to side with her liberal pals in opposing the provision.
Justice for Obama's Playboy Attorney?
Americans are calling, but is Congress listening? The phone lines have been so busy on Capitol Hill this week that the switchboard cannot handle the volume. FRC's supporters alone sent 15,000 messages after yesterday's alert on David Ogden. Whether their complaints ultimately "get through" to the Senate will be clear when the Judiciary Committee votes on the President's controversial nominee.
Ogden, Obama's choice for second-in-command at the Justice Department, took plenty of heat during his confirmation hearing yesterday for his advocacy of child porn and the adult entertainment industry in general. "I was young then," he explained. The Deputy Attorney General-designate represented Playboy to sue for access to smut at the Library of Congress. He won. Ogden also fought against Internet filters in public libraries, called regulations on child pornographers "terrifying," and tried to defeat parental notification for minors' abortions.
His nomination should signal to voters that this is just the beginning of Obama's campaign to undermine families through the courts. Now is the time to draw the line on extremism. Call your senators today at (202) 224-3121 and tell them you oppose Ogden's nomination. For the latest on all the President's men, log on to www.frcblog.com and read the newest editions of Change Watch, which feature Cass Sunstein, the President's choice for "Regulation Czar," and Secretary of Defense-designate Robert Gates.
Comment