Can we agree all congressmen including McCain have had what the opposition could call pork? It just depends on who is defining it. Yes John McCain has porked (as indicated with links in my previous pot), and Sarah has certainly certainly porked. Inexperienced as she is that is one idea she latched onto with a rapidity that boggles the mind.

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Salty

THANKSGIVING MENUS AND TIPS

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No it doesn't...

Your previous list doesn't cut it...and I'll explain why...

Earmarks...which is UNLIKE your list on McCain...does NOT get voted on in the Senate (the more appropriate term his "softmarks")...

Earmarks are add-ons done AFTER a bill get voted on...Senators and Representatives go up to the congressional leaders and say "Now that we're done voting on stuff, add THIS to the bill before it's made official."...

McCain doesn't do this...

What McCain does is the CORRECT way...The way things were done before the idea of earmarks ever came into existance...

He adds it to the bill BEFORE the floor vote, and lets the rest of the Senatorial contingency vote on it...That way, everyone can debate the pluses and minuses of what McCain put forward, and if the rest of the Senate believes his stuff sucks, they can vote "no" and move on to other things...in the list you've shown, the Senate APPROVED McCain's stuff...

Whether or not you think what he asked for is worth it or not is irrelevant...You can find a million people that agree with it and a million that don't...

What's relevant is that he went through PROPER channels in order to get it...He didn't do any backroom dealings and made his requests part of the public record before a full vote...

Which is the way things SHOULD be done...Unlike earmarks, which get shuffled in AFTERWARD...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

Call it what you want. Johnson armtwisted to get "proper" and "improper" goodies for his neck of the woods.
McCain porked and you know it.

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Salty

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Could you please show us where Gov. Palin has introduced legislation that included pork?? I can show you where she's fought against gov't waste.

Could you show me where either Sen. Obama or Sen. Biden have ever taken any steps to fight pork?? I can show you where Sen.McCain has.

All congresscritters have porked, the question is whether the candidates show any indication of being willing to fight against this or just stick to thier old ways. Sen. McCain seems to have seen the error of his ways, while Sens. Obama and Biden are firing on all 4 cylinders (since I'm sure they wouldn't be driving a gas hogging V8, right redd??) in the pork arena.

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Our nation has not always lived up to its ideals, yet those ideals have never ceased to guide us. They expose our flaws, and lead us to mend them. We are the beneficiaries of the work of the generations before us and it is each generation's responsibility to continue that work. - Laura Bush

God is a conservative -

Ecclesiastes 10:2--"A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left."

Hired lobyists to get money for the bridge to nowhere. If she wanted to cancel it she should have given the money back.

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Salty

THANKSGIVING MENUS AND TIPS

A GREAT PLACE TO SHOP

She could have canceled the multi million dollar road to nowhere that led to the bridge to nowhere but she opted to let it go through...

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"Destiny must be shaped and not left to mere chance."..Spencer Collins

Do you have a source for that assertion. One that shows that her office specifically hired lobbyists for the express purpose of getting funding for this bridge.

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Our nation has not always lived up to its ideals, yet those ideals have never ceased to guide us. They expose our flaws, and lead us to mend them. We are the beneficiaries of the work of the generations before us and it is each generation's responsibility to continue that work. - Laura Bush

God is a conservative -

Ecclesiastes 10:2--"A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left."

Citizens Against Government Waste: CCAGW: BRIDGING THE KNOWLEDGE GAP ON THE "BRIDGE TO NOWHERE"

Any other lies, you'd like to spread, saltwn???

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Our nation has not always lived up to its ideals, yet those ideals have never ceased to guide us. They expose our flaws, and lead us to mend them. We are the beneficiaries of the work of the generations before us and it is each generation's responsibility to continue that work. - Laura Bush

God is a conservative -

Ecclesiastes 10:2--"A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left."

CAGW Names Senator Carl Levin Porker of the Month

Washington, D.C. - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today named Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) its September Porker of the Month for attempting to give earmarks contained in committee reports the force of law. The provision is included in S. 3001, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009.

Currently, earmarks listed in committee reports do not have the force of law; only those included in the statutory language have that status. Traditionally, members of Congress have included earmarks in committee reports knowing they are not the law, but have expected federal agencies to treat those spending items as if they had the force of law. President Bush issued an Executive Order on January 29, 2008 instructing government agencies not to fund any earmarks contained in report language, or based on any non-statutory source, such as phone calls from members of Congress.

This means that beginning with this fiscal year’s authorization and appropriation bills, agencies would be under no obligation to fund earmarks contained in committee or conference reports. In a brazen attempt to gut the executive order, Sen. Levin inserted a provision (Section 1002) into the defense reauthorization bill that would incorporate the earmarks listed in the committee report into the statute itself, making the earmarks “a requirement in law.” The earmarks would be “binding on agency heads in the same manner and to the same extent” as if they were written into the bill.

This provision continues a practice of using committee reports to hide earmarks and make them difficult to eliminate by offering amendments to authorization and appropriations bills. It certainly does not qualify as “reform” of the earmarking process. It would prevent open debate and votes on earmarks and reduce transparency and accountability. The “incorporation” language sets a precedent for other fiscal year 2009 legislation. If it is not removed from the bill, it would demonstrate that the Democratic leadership of Congress has no intent of ever getting earmarks under control.

Considering Chairman Levin's history of requesting earmarks, his bill language is not surprising. In fiscal year 2008, Chairman Levin requested 255 earmarks for a total of $301.4 million, which made him the eleventh biggest porker in the Senate.

The earmarks in S. 3001 total $5.9 billion, and include the following: $6.5 million for expandable light air mobility shelters, $5 million for a hydrokinetic power, and $2 million for thin film amorphous solar arrays. While earmarks generally are a waste of tax dollars, they are most outrageous when included in a bill that is intended to defend the national security of the United States.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) had planned to offer an amendment to strike Section 1002 and preserve the current status of earmarks in committee language so they will continue to be just that language, not the law.

For attempting to circumvent the January 29 Executive Order and make it easier to earmark the taxpayers' money, CAGW names Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) its September 2008 Porker of the Month.

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers, government officials, and political candidates who have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers.

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Our nation has not always lived up to its ideals, yet those ideals have never ceased to guide us. They expose our flaws, and lead us to mend them. We are the beneficiaries of the work of the generations before us and it is each generation's responsibility to continue that work. - Laura Bush

God is a conservative -

Ecclesiastes 10:2--"A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left."

CAGW Names Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid
Porkers of the Month

Washington, D.C. - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today named Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) its August Porkers of the Month for leading a do-nothing Congress into a five week vacation.

Congress left for its traditional August recess after accomplishing nothing. Of the 106 bills enacted since January, 94, or 89 percent were to name government buildings or lands, extend or make technical corrections to existing laws, or passed either by unanimous consent or with less than 10 dissenting votes. The accomplishments included “Frank Sinatra Day,” National Plumbing Industry Week,” and “National Day of the Cowboy.”

The deadline for passing the 12 annual appropriations bills has been deliberately ignored. Only one of the bills has passed the House, and only four others have been approved by the House Appropriations Committee. In the Senate, nine have been approved by the Appropriations Committee but none have reached the floor. There are two reasons for this failure to act. First, the Speaker and Majority Leader appear to be waiting for the presidential election to decide what to do with these bills, hoping that the winner in November would favor higher spending and more earmarks.

Second, the moratorium on offshore drilling expires on September 30, and it is usually renewed through the appropriations process. However, both Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid are opposed to lifting the moratorium. Rather than allowing a vote, they shut down Congress. House Republicans took to the darkened House floor, demanding that Congress go back into session and hold an up-or-down vote to lift the drilling ban.

The Speaker’s first response was to continue her taxpayer-financed vacation to promote her new book. She has since indicated some willingness to consider a vote, but only tied to a larger (and costly) energy package. Majority Leader Reid’s response has been to threaten to shut down the government by refusing to allow any appropriations bills to reach the Senate floor, including a continuing resolution that would allow agencies to operate at the fiscal year 2008 spending levels.

For leaving town after Congress has spent nearly all of its time on frivolous legislation, failing to address critical issues, and threatening a government shutdown, CAGW names Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid its August 2008 Porkers of the Month.

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers, government officials, and political candidates who have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers.

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Our nation has not always lived up to its ideals, yet those ideals have never ceased to guide us. They expose our flaws, and lead us to mend them. We are the beneficiaries of the work of the generations before us and it is each generation's responsibility to continue that work. - Laura Bush

God is a conservative -

Ecclesiastes 10:2--"A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left."