Posted on 08/08/2007 6:43:04 PM PDT by LdSentinal
Texas congressman and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul — who is campaigning as a critic of congressional overspending — has revealed that he is requesting $400 million worth of earmarks this year.
The Wall Street Journal reports Paul's office says those requests include $8 million for the marketing of wild American shrimp and $2.3 million to pay for research into shrimp fishing.
A spokesman says, "Reducing earmarks does not reduce government spending, and it does not prohibit spending upon those things that are earmarked. What people who push earmark reform are doing is they are particularly misleading the public — and I have to presume it's not by accident."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Shrimp are just little people with soft shells........how dare you insult those who are vertically challenged........
bump
This is starting to get comical. I am not backing anyone yet but you got to share something better than earmarks. Every politician worth his salt tries to benefit his district. RP was doing his job gathering money for his district, Plain and Simple.
any link to the WSJ article???
“Though much attention is focused on the notorious abuses of earmarking, and there are plenty of examples, in fact even if all earmarks were eliminated we would not necessary save a single penny in the federal budget. Because earmarks are funded from spending levels that have been determined before a single earmark is agreed to, with or without earmarks the spending levels remain the same. Eliminating earmarks designated by Members of Congress would simply transfer the funding decision process to federal bureaucrats rather then elected representatives. In an already flawed system, earmarks can at least allow residents of Congressional districts to have a greater role in allocating federal funds - their tax dollars - than if the money is allocated behind locked doors by bureaucrats. So we can be critical of the abuses in the current system but we shouldn’t lose sight of how some reforms may not actually make the system much better.”
http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2007/tst061807.htm
“how dare you insult those who are vertically challenged........”
Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
To live
They got little hands
And little eyes
And they walk around
Tellin’ great big lies
They got little noses
And tiny little teeth
They wear platform shoes
On their nasty little feet
Well, I don’t want no short people
Don’t want no short people
Don’t want no short people
Round here
“What the author fails to point out is that although Ron Paul seeks out the earmarks he routinely votes against the bills containing those earmarks.”
http://www.asmainegoes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=484842
Hey Paulies —
Where is the word “Earmarks” in the Constitution?
I like Paul but I agree with:
“Paul seems to be playing on both sides of the fence. He puts in the requests for the pork which becomes part of the budget. Then he votes against the appropriations bill. He knows that the vast majority of these spending bills will pass regardless of what he does. He can brag to shrimpers about the millions in subsidies which he earmarked for them, but he can also claim to have voted against the subsidies he guaranteed. It is one way to be all things to all people.”
http://freestudents.blogspot.com/2007/07/ron-pauls-personal-pork-projects.html
John McCain and Dennis Kuchinich are entitled to run for the presidency, regardless of their stature (I'm here all night).
I agree with you. See #15.
Whoa hold it - I thought he was keeping himself pure of the tax process by NOT voting for it. He suggested spending millions of dollars then he doesn’t vote for it. How is that helping his district? Hmmmm? I think Ron Paul is misleading his district. And I think it is a kind of BAIT and switch. And when we are talking about bait here - we mean shrimp not worms!!!!!!
Perhaps someone can explain the logic of this statement, since I must be missing something.
If you decrease the number of things you pay for, you don't spend less money? No wonder Congress is so screwed up.
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