Congressman John Campbell's Blog - Green Eyeshade Blog

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Posted by: John Campbell at 1:51 PM

Today, The Hill reported on several lawmakers happy with current prospects on earmarking….mainly because they stand to increase their share of pork at the trough if more members of congress take no earmark pledges

The average GOP member brought home $10.5 million in earmarks last year. With roughly 36 members abstaining this year, GOP earmarkers are slated to better that mark by about $2 million each, and it shows…

Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-OH) said in the article, “I would hope a hundred of my colleagues would not request earmarks.”

Rep. James Walsh (R-NY) went on to confirm that members stand to receive more money for earmarks by saying, “If there are fewer requests, there should be more money to go around.”

Rep. David Hobson (R-OH) added, “It is not going be to helpful to win back the majority,” Hobson said, arguing that earmarks help members get elected to Congress. Instead, anti-earmark groups like the Club for Growth and the RSC are “eating their own.”

“It is easier to b---h than to govern. It seems the Club for Growth, and the RSC want to complain.”

It is plain as day that we still have many Republicans as well as Democrats who continue to engage in unabashed earmarking.

On a lighter note, Mr. Hobson and Mr. Walsh have both announced retirement plans. Let’s hope their successors recognize the need for change.

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Lucky writes:	Wednesday, July, 16, 2008 2:49 PM
Good Riddance to Idiot Piglets!
Glad to hear that these useless Republicans are exiting stage right. Let the party cleansing begin!
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Pasadena Phil writes:	Wednesday, July, 16, 2008 5:07 PM
November may be a bigger surprise
I realize both parties are spinning voter dissatisfaction to being due to the other party but it is really against the entire system. Dems are trying to stretch the pain until November so as to put all the blame on Republicans who controlled Congress for so long. Republicans are trying to transfer blame by talking up how the Dems have done nothing since they took over and how oil has skyrocketed under their watch. They are both missing the point. This has been a bipartisan problem that continues to this very day. Anyone who has been watching Bernanke and Paulson testifying in Congress for the past week cannot help but be appalled at the utter nonsense and ignorance on display. I wouldn't be so smug if I were a Dem and I would be scrambling to find a new candidate if I were a Rep. This is such a winnable election for a conservative candidate with credentials. McCain is far from being that guy. Let's fix that at the convention in September. Will he step down if conservatives are successful in returning the favor for trying to cram down amnesty, cap and trade and the Gang of 14 on us by cramming down a conservative platform onto him? Without credibility with conservatives nor any credibility with anyone since he can't he even control his own platform, he would have to step down. Let's hope.
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Virginia Patriot writes:	Wednesday, July, 16, 2008 5:17 PM
Nice Dream Phil
I would love it if something like that were to happen, but I won't be holding my breath. The RNC went out of their way to get McCain the nomination, he will be the captain of the GOP Titanic. If he wins, look for him to remake the party. Conservatives need not apply.
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MaineConservative writes:	Wednesday, July, 16, 2008 5:29 PM
Phil, VA Pat
Keep hope alive. I'm afraid I agree with you VA Pat. It's a nice dream but usually dreams end with waking up to reality.
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Virginia Patriot writes:	Wednesday, July, 16, 2008 5:43 PM
Yeah Maine
It is a nice dream that we could have a GOP candidate that we would actually WANT to vote for. The RNC had other plans. They wanted amnesty off the table for this election. They think they can get enough moderate, independent and illegal alien votes to get McCain over the top. I think THEY are dreaming. I'm working on getting the nose holders that I know to let go of their fear and vote third party, so far I'm making pretty good headway. Once they understand that McCain will implement most of the same policies, without serious opposition from the GOP, something Obama would experience, they come around. McCain's doing much of the work for me.
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MaineConservative writes:	Wednesday, July, 16, 2008 6:02 PM
VA Pat
I'm doing the same up here in the Nawth Country. I understand people's hesitancy because I have gone through a similar process - feeling like if I didn't vote for McCain we would end up with Obama, SCOTUS disaster, WOT disaster, blah, blah blah, but realize that, as Obama now continues to gravitate to the center that there is even less difference between the two. We conservatives are still a large, strong and influential group and by sending the message that "none of the above" is preferrable to either of these two liberals we can send a clear message that "We're mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore". Many I talk to feel the same way. I am unafraid and indifferent to either of these liberals and whichever wins, we'll make a comeback. It's actually a liberating feeling.
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Tazzmax writes:	Wednesday, July, 16, 2008 6:47 PM
All I can
count on here in the peoples republic of KaliforniStan, is my family, who I know will vote NOTA. I have three grown kids who live elsewhere,{and their spouses}, will do the same.
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Lolo1 writes:	Wednesday, July, 16, 2008 10:25 PM
The GOP
needs to seriously cleaned up or go quietly into that good night. I could care less about the Dems since they are imploding. What you are seeing in Congress is an infestation of decades of liberals controlling the school system from kindergarten through college. They are all stupid and most especially the GOP. If they cannot make political hay out of the empty promises of Dems, high gas prices, Iraq, and the overall worst congressional approval rating in the history of the country, then they don't deserve anything but the boot. Maybe the GOP should start by kicking out the RINO's and the CINO's and putting some true conservatives that know how to keep their word back in their places. Stop supporting and funding the nitwits!!
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Richard writes:	Thursday, July, 17, 2008 12:46 PM
We have to vote them out!
If we all vote for a 3rd party candidate, at this point short of a communist any outsider will do, and vote out ALL incumbents period! Then those left in office faced with a maverick in the White House and 1/3 freshmen with a mandate for responsible governement ,might get the "deer in the headlights look" that they should have as they consider their primary important goal of their own upcoming election. We can revolutionize this government in a 6 year period by simple firing , insubordinate public servants who fail to be stewards for our interest. But WE need to get over the stigma in our mind of voting for someone outside of our comfort zone, who may not be in one of the 2 clicks we call political parties.
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saurus writes:	Friday, July, 18, 2008 10:36 PM
Words out of my mouth, it is
Hah - I could have saved myself some effort today when I was composing a letter answering the RNC's most recent request for "only $1000" from my meager pension. All I really had to do was copy the comments of the usual contributors here and paste it in. Done! Fascinating to see that what I came up with parallels these comments very closely:)
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Roopsag writes:	Saturday, July, 19, 2008 12:24 PM
Only reasons to vote
There are really only two reasons I am voting for McCain. 1) Obama is such a terrible candidate. The Dems are stuck with him though - because the press is not used to actually vetting a liberal candidate. Obamatons are what I call them. 2) I don't really believe Repubs will cut spending (because they did not when in power), but I believe McCain will. Compassionate government is not compassionate, it is irresponsible (whether from Dems or Repubs). It is fiscal irresponsibility parading as compassion, and entirely leftist (Maybe that is why Libs hate Bush so much - you never find enemies fighting as fiercely as brothers).
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skep41 writes:	Sunday, July, 20, 2008 11:05 AM
Pork Is Nice!
This is chump change. To avoid financial collapse the treasury just 'created' hundreds of billions of dollars which it used to temporarily prop up a banking system faltering because of the insane open hog-call lending policies of those 'privately owned government corporations'. Social Security and Medicare are moving ever closer to bankruptcy and will pull the rest of the Federal Budget into a black hole where we'll dream of the good old pork days. Any one of the proposed 'fixes' for Global Warming will do incalculable damage to the economy and create even more giant deficits for the various levels of government. The big crime here is that these idiots are just blithely poodling along with their little gifts to their campaign contributors and not taking the steps needed to stave off a Soviet Union-style collapse.
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Brandon writes:	Monday, July, 21, 2008 4:04 PM
Not an issue
Earmarks are a non-issue. The dollar amount connected to ear-mark spending is an ice cube in the ocean of government spending. The overseas empire is what needs to be cut - earmarks are meaningless.
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About John Campbell

John Campbell is a member of the House Financial Services Committee, and has taken a leadership role in addressing the country's top economic issues. Campbell serves as a member of the Joint Economic Committee, and House Committee on the Budget. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from UCLA and a Master's Degree in Taxation from USC.