I just finished reviewing a letter with signatures quite surprising (Both for who signed it... and who didn't sign it) wherein 65 REPUBLICAN freshmen House members, including members like Allen West (Who I have been a personal fan of since his rise) put their names to this missive... a letter requesting the return of earmarks.
Currently, House GOP rules state:
GOP rules state that “it is the policy of the House Republican Conference that no member shall request a congressional earmark, limited tax benefit or limited tariff benefit, as such terms have been described in the rules of the House.” House rules say a bill has to list all of the limited tariff benefits in it or carry a certification that there are no such benefits in it.The "reasoning" of the hypocrites?
That’s where supporters think they’ve found a loophole. The benefits aren’t “limited,” they say, because they don’t specify a particular company. If that’s the case, the bill could move to the floor with a certification that it doesn’t include a “limited tariff benefit” — a nifty loophole just big enough to squeeze thousands of earmarks through.This is the parsing of a genuine slimeball like Tim Leavitt or Steve Stuart. The GOP was supposed to be better than that.
How many of these 65 turn coats ran on a platform opposed to this insidious drug of OUR money?
Who didn't sign the letter?
Our own Jaime Herrera.
How bizarre is that? Herrera, who has shown her politics to be somewhat charitably "malleable." But I reviewed every signature on the letter, a pdf located here, and hers is not on it.
I would have bet my dog it would have been there, and it wasn't. I was, and am, stunned, that one of the least likely people I've ever known to take a principled stand would actually do so against the tide of the rest of her class.
There may well be hope for her yet.
Cross posted at Jaime Herrera Watch.
It's good to see you didn't give West a pass on this (and that you praised Herrera). Requesting earmarks whenever "your" Party has power and denying them otherwise is the height of hypocrisy. It makes one doubt anything the hypocrite says.
ReplyDeleteI actually do try and keep it even-handed. One of the reasons I believe myself harsher and more demanding of the Wests of the world is I expect so much more from them.
ReplyDeleteAllen West was elected, in large part, because of tea party support. That he has caved on this issue, unfortunately, means he can cave on anything.
As for Jaime... while, God knows I have my differences with her, I also try and point out where I think she's got it right. Failing to go along with this program must have been difficult for her, and she deserves credit for staying out of this one.
But I also expect a great deal more from her... and she has yet to deliver.
This "governing by press release" nonsense because she's too terrified to face her constituency?
That's unacceptable, and she is a no go at this station.