Interesting editorial today in the Springfield News, with praise for the Missouri Democrat’s recent stands on earmarks:
“U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill has taken the anti-earmark pledge. ‘I will not participate in the traditional earmark process,’
Missouri
“The statement might put McCaskill in abit of a bind. Earmarks are local spending projects which generally are inserted into spending bills by senators or congressmen without a hearing and with no oversight of the general public. More often than not, these earmarks help special interests, including private businesses, in the elected representative’s district.
“Democrat McCaskill campaigned on reforming the wasteful and politically motivated process by which senators and congressmen traditionally bring home pork to their districts. But when it comes to re-election, senators are often reliant upon the support of those who have fed at the federal trough.
“We hope McCaskill sticks to her word, and we intend to hold her to it. Perhaps this is how real reform of a broken federal system must happen: one senator at a time. In the short term, however, the results might not be good for Missourians.”
McCaskill has been conspicuous on the Democratic side of the aisle in the Senate of late for siding with Sen. Jim DeMint in his efforts to get the Senate to begin abiding by the earmark disclosure process it adopted on a unanimous vote earlier this year.
The new process, which among other things requires public disclosure of earmark requesters, has not gone into effect as yet because the House version is slightly different and a conference committee must work out the differences.
Meanwhile, senators are larding up 2007 and 2008 spending bills with earmarks under the existing process, which has been so abused for so long.
Be sure and read the whole editorial.
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