It would appear that outcome of the most recent election has had very little impact on one Mitch McConnell. And for whatever reason, I just don't think that our buddy Mitch has a firm grasp on the gravity of our present situation, since he seems to have already lost sight of what it was that was accomplished, and why, a little over one week ago. It was then that the Republican Party was provided with a reprieve, of sorts, from the American people, and as such they have now been provided with two short years with which to prove themselves worthy of having their numbers increased in 2012. They must, however, be very cognizant of the fact that will be watched, and watched very closely, over the course of the next 24 months, being permitted very little flexibility in how they go about the conducting of the people’s business. If Republicans are to have any hope of succeeding in being able to build upon what was accomplished on November 2, and to have any chance of winning back the White House, then they are going to need to ensure that they adhere to the will of the people. But we have in Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, someone who is now very busy doing some pretty intense maneuvering behind the scenes as he works to undermine and possibly even defeat a conservative plan that is aimed at restricting earmarks. Now this measure is something that is simply not worth the time and effort being expended by McConnell to ensure its defeat. But his actions tell us something quite different. And in the process we are seeing a setting up of a high-stakes showdown that pits McConnell and his old school allies, against Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and the new breed of conservative Senators whom he helped to get elected. There have been previous occasions where Mitch has voted to support such a ban but only when he's pretty darn sure that there are not enough votes to actually pass it. However, now that it looks like there may be enough votes, McConnell has made a conscious decision to stand firmly against the American people by lobbying furiously behind the scenes in an effort to kill the present earmarks ban. How do you spell hypocrite? M-I-T-C-H M-C-C-O-N-E-L-L, is how I spell it! A number of Senators who voted for the DeMint plan in March are likely to cast “no” votes this time around. For sure we can expect that from McConnell, along with Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and DeMint’s fellow South Carolina senator, Lindsey" The RINO" Graham. “At the end of the day, we cannot allow the harbor and the Port of Charleston to fail,” is what Graham told reporters last week as being his rationale for continuing the practice of earmarks. Look, these guys fail to recognize that what they may very well end up doing here is to cause much more harm to themselves than any good that could be accomplished by some bogus earmark. If nothing else, appearances are important. How is it, exactly, that these individuals wish to be perceived by the voters? If there was any kind of a message sent last week, it is that the American people are tired of business as usual in Congress.
So while his behavior may not be unprecedented, McConnell is, as we speak, conducting a series of one-on-one conversations with both incoming and sitting Senators, and is actively "encouraging" those with whom he speaks to maintain an open mind and not to automatically side with DeMint, regarding the hot button issue of earmarks. You see, it is Demint's plan that calls for a two year moratorium during which time Senate Republicans would unilaterally give up earmarks in the 112th Congress. The taking of such action would send a very strong and very clear message to the voters that, yes, the Republicans do finally get it and they are serious about taking on the current fiscal mess that has been created by the Democrats. Now while Mitch may not be going as far as to actually demand that rank-and-file Republican Senators vote against the DeMint's earmark ban, he’s laying out his concerns that eliminating earmarks would effectively cede Congress’ spending authority to the White House while not making a real dent in the $1 trillion-plus budget deficit. And he is signaling his concern about the awkward politics of the matter, that being, even if the DeMint moratorium does pass, Republican Senators could still push for earmarks, given that the plan is neither binding nor enforceable. But would it not seem to be a rather bad idea to go back on one's word after agreeing to abide by even a non-binding agreement? And what would it say about the character of the individual who would choose to renege on any such agreement? And isn't it character what this should now be all about? What better way is there to go about presenting to the public the very stark differences that exist between the political parties? Senate Democrats could still push for their earmarks, and most probably will, with the specific intent of putting Republicans in the position of having to vote against various popular appropriations bills in order to remain ideologically consistent on the issue. But like I said, this is one of those character issues, either you have it or, you don’t. And if it is anyone who should be made to look as if they are without character or principles and who it is that prefers to continue the same old business as usual, then let it be the Democrats. The Republicans need to be willing to make it very clear, that they are focused on one thing, and one thing only, the steering of our country back to fiscal responsibility.
And to show just how dishonest McConnell is in how he is choosing to go about dealing with what should be, for all intents and purposes, a non-issue, he has yet to publicly oppose the DeMint earmark ban, preferring to, at least for the present time, to sneek around behind the scenes, diligently working to undermine DeMint's proposal. It is this very same proposal that McConnell is working so hard against that has won support from such Republicans, as National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn of Texas, and will be voted on by the GOP Conference next Tuesday. By his keeping a low profile thus far, what McConnell is seeking to do is to avoid an all-out public battle among his GOP colleagues over earmarks before the new Congress starts. He also wants to avoid alienating the Tea Party movement and conservative activists who helped win six Senate seats for Republicans on Election Day. It was these victories that will dramatically strengthen McConnell’s hand as he plans to do battle with the White House over repealing health care reform, retaining Bush-era tax cuts and reining in federal spending. Personally, I think he would be well advised to choose any battles with his fellow Republican Senators a bit more wisely, lest he be accused of having some ulterior motive. Based on previous votes, DeMint’s plan, which is being cosponsored by Tom Coburn, stands a real chance of winning approval by the Republican Conference. Earlier this year when DeMint pushed a moratorium before the full Senate that would apply to both Democrats and Republicans, 25 of his GOP colleagues voted for it. And now, following their midterm rout of Democrats, Republicans will be welcoming a whole new crop of freshmen who criticized earmarks while on the campaign trail, potentially providing eight more votes for a moratorium. That would be more than enough to impose a moratorium in the 47-member Senate Republican Conference. Although, Tea Party supported Rand Paul has been making noise, of late, that has him sounding as if he might be backtracking on his previous statements made throughout his campaign against earmarks. He best be careful lest he desires to be a one term Senator.
McConnell had best tread very lightly here if he doesn't want to find himself on the losing side in the needless policy fight that could very well end up tarnishing the GOP’s Election Day triumph. Insisting that this whole earmark ban is nothing more than a distraction he said, “And this debate doesn't save any money, which is why it's kind of exasperating to some of us who really want to cut spending and get the federal government's discretionary accounts under control,” on CBS’ “Face the Nation” in discussing the earmark controversy. McConnell hasn’t been acting alone in trying to determine the preference of his colleagues. Other members of the Republican leadership team have been very busy making phone calls to “gauge where everybody is," according to one senior GOP aide. It is clear from some Senate GOP insiders that McConnell may in fact be facing an uphill fight in blocking the DeMint resolution. As well he should be! “My guess is that DeMint has the votes to push this through, but McConnell is whipping it hard,” said a Republican leadership aide, speaking of course, on the condition of anonymity. Senator DeMint released a list this past Tuesday, of 10 other Republican Senators who say they’ll back his proposal, including John Cornyn, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, John Ensign of Nevada, Mike Enzi of Wyoming, along with Sens.-elect Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Marco Rubio of Florida, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Lee of Utah, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire. DeMint’s push for a vote next Tuesday has angered some top Senators who want the party to remain united following their decisive victory at the polls on Election Day, rather than see the spotlight shift to what they see as useless battle over an issue that has long created tensions within their conference. Okay, so there's a very easy solution to that little quandary, vote for the DeMint's resolution, and end up killing two birds with one stone. Show a united front while making it obvious that there is a seriousness on the part of the Republican Party to take a stand against needless and wasteful spending. That would be a two-fer that would clearly demonstrate that the priorities of the Republican Party are the priorities of the American people. We are presently embroiled in a battle with a man, our president, who wants to destroy our country. It is a battle that is all about priorities, the Republicans must focus on the sending of the right message to the American people. And the getting rid of earmarks should be a top priority and is one that would definitely send the right message to a very disgruntled and distrustful electorate. However as a cautionary note here, in the wake of the DeMint push, there are Republicans who plan to float other measures next week to show a united front on the spending issue, including one by Cornyn calling on the conference to back a balanced budget amendment. That could provide some Republicans with necessary cover to vote against the DeMint plan.
An apparent ally of McConnell's in this ongoing effort to sideline this whole earmark issue is Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe, one of the most conservative members of the Senate and yet also an unabashed earmarker. In an effort to stymie the efforts of Senator DeMint, the good Senator from Oklahoma plans an all out blitz on conservative talk radio in an effort to make the case that critics have chosen to demagogue the earmark issue in order to score some cheap political points and to create the perception that they’re out to reform the excesses of Congress. “They should quit worrying about this phony issue,” Inhofe told POLITICO, singling out DeMint, Coburn and Arizona Sen. John McCain for criticism, saying that the trio has taken aim at earmarks because it’s a “huge political plus” for them. “The ban doesn’t accomplish anything.” So says Senator Inhofe. Sorry Senator, I could not disagree more! While he called DeMint, McCain and Coburn his friends, Inhofe said they have unfairly focused their efforts on what is essentially a minuscule fraction of the federal deficit to do nothing more than to try to make political hay out of so-called pork-barrel spending. I would have to ask Senator Inhofe, in this day and age can there be any amount of government waste that can be referred to as being minuscule? “And I say that knowing that I will be severely criticized only because people have been brainwashed on this issue,” Inhofe said. Brainwashed? If anyone is trying to brainwash people it's guys like McConnell and Inhofe because of just this sort of ridiculous rhetoric that Americans are hearing from these guys that earmarks don’t end up costing the taxpayers any money. This is something that is blatantly not true. Citizens Against Government Waste, a Congressional watchdog group, has put out a report on wasteful projects from Fiscal Year 2010. They identify $16.5 Billion in pork. A look at some of these projects shows that earmarking does lead to waste. To say that $16.5 Billion is not significant enough to address is not a valid talking point and shows a distinct lack of seriousness regarding the issue of out of control spending. Just take a look at some of the projects identified by CAGW.
Senator Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Representative Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) for $200,000 for design and construction of a small business incubator and multipurpose center in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Representative Harold “Hal” Rogers (R-Ky.) for $10 million for the National Institute for Hometown Security.
Representative Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) for $400,000 for construction and renovation for safety improvements at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Unfortunately, when the vote is held next week by Senate Republicans, it will be by secret ballot, meaning that Senators can vote their conscience without the public knowing for sure which side of the issue they came down on. This is one vote that should be very public and very transparent. They would be doing themselves as huge favor if such a measure were to actually pass unanimously. Because that level of commitment being put on display would go very far in convincing the American people that these folks do get it and are very serious about doing what the American people have asid that they want done. But I seriously doubt that will happen. DeMint believes that there is growing Republican opposition to earmarks, which have become a symbol of wasteful spending in the wake of that now famous, or infamous, Alaskan “Bridge to Nowhere.” “Senator DeMint is working with several of his colleagues to unite Senate Republicans with House Republicans by banning earmarks,” said DeMint spokesman Wesley Denton. “Americans rejected business as usual this election, and the conference vote next week will show them Republicans got the message." Indeed, a number of observers both in and out of the Senate believe the vote will be close. “I don’t know whether it will pass,” said one GOP insider. “McConnell is working against it.” It remains unclear where the full GOP leadership team will come down on the proposal. While McConnell and Alexander are seen as very likely “no” votes, three other members, Senators Jon Kyl of Arizona, John Barrasso of Wyoming and South Dakota's John Thune, have not yet officially declared how they will vote. Thune who had been mentioned as a potential GOP presidential candidate in 2012, has now, apparently decided to forfeit those aspirations, since it appears that he has now joined forces with McConnell, working to garner votes against DeMint’s earmark ban. So I think it pretty safe to say that he's effectively thrown the towel in regarding the possessing of any presidential ambitions. Look, the bottom line here is that if the Republicans wish to portray themselves to the American people as being serious about having learned any lessons from the past, and that they can now be counted on as being the party of fiscal responsibility, then they are going to need to resist efforts to try to rationalize wasteful spending through the use of earmarks. If they wish to be viewed as being the adults in the room, then they're going to have to start acting the part. The whole notion that earmarks are a tool to be used to hold the executive branch accountable is pure nonsense. And it is a premise that should fool no one because the truth of the matter is that often times major spending bills will pass for no other reason than because they contain earmarks. So with the vote on this matter coming next week, we shall see if the Republicans in Washington are listening to the Tea Party and other Americans who expressed an interest in cutting spending last week on Election Day.
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