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You are here: Home / Politics / A Hill To Die On

A Hill To Die On

by John Cole|  October 20, 20058:44 am| 20 Comments

This post is in: Politics

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Mike Krempasky at Red State calls the Coburn Amendment to the Transportation, Housing, & Urban Development appropriations bill a Hill to Die On:

Friends, this is as easy a call as I’ve ever seen. If Republicans aren’t willing to step back from this idiocy in Alaska to fund the needs in Louisiana – they don’t deserve anything more than a snicker next time they try to describe themselves as the party of limited government.

For those of you who are unaware what the Amendment does, it would redirect the $220 million marked for the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ to the rebuilding of the twin spans destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. As Glenn notes, this is a big deal:

The more I think about it, the more I think that the Coburn Amendment is a big deal. It’s setting the precedent whereby members of Congress go after each other’s taxpayer-shafting pork projects rather than turning a blind eye and engaging in logrolling.

Good. And kudos to Coburn, someone I have had little nice to say about in the past. He really has been advancing the ball on the out of control spending fight.

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Reader Interactions

20Comments

  1. 1.

    ape

    October 20, 2005 at 8:49 am

    this seems like a great idea.

    politicians who can’t think of at least 3 dumb wastes of money should be asked to go back and think again. My top 3 in the Uk as they occur to me:

    1) the ‘war on drugs’.
    2) ‘homeopathy’ on the NHS.
    3) keeping mothers in prison for minot crimes. oops. that’s more or less identical with (1). i guess i failed.

  2. 2.

    ET

    October 20, 2005 at 9:02 am

    Speaking as someone who has been on those bridges I gotta give my thanks to Coburn. Getting the Twin Spans up again is only going to make the rebuilding of N.O. and the Gulf Coast that much more efficient.

  3. 3.

    Steve

    October 20, 2005 at 10:24 am

    Hundreds of politicians voluntarily gave up earmarks for their districts to help with Katrina relief. This bill wouldn’t even be necessary if Don Young from Alaska wasn’t such an ass.

  4. 4.

    rilkefan

    October 20, 2005 at 12:32 pm

    Kos is with you.

  5. 5.

    Oberon

    October 20, 2005 at 12:51 pm

    The Republican politicians lost the right to describe themselves as the party of limited goverment…oh about 4 years ago.

    I give this a snowball’s chance in hell of passing, but hopefully I’ll be proven wrong.

  6. 6.

    Geek, Esq.

    October 20, 2005 at 1:47 pm

    Senate Dems should line up behind stand beside Senator Coburn in this struggle.

  7. 7.

    Bernard Yomtov

    October 20, 2005 at 2:29 pm

    I’m all for this, but what makes Krempasky or anyone else think they deserve more than a snicker regardless?

  8. 8.

    rayabacus

    October 20, 2005 at 3:03 pm

    I give this a snowball’s chance in hell of passing, but hopefully I’ll be proven wrong

    I’m afraid you may be correct. However we may get Senators on record. Those that do not back this amendment may be vulnerable, as they should be.

  9. 9.

    Kimmitt

    October 20, 2005 at 3:46 pm

    Yeah, because out of control pork-barrel spending has done Republican senators so much political damage until now.

  10. 10.

    Stormy70

    October 20, 2005 at 4:37 pm

    I called Coryn’s office today to ask him why he voted to kill the amendments. I would love to know the answer. I left a message, so we’ll see. Patty Murray was freaking out about it wasn’t she? All Senators are stupid. It just comes naturally to them.

  11. 11.

    timekeeper

    October 20, 2005 at 4:59 pm

    All Senators are stupid. It just comes naturally to them.

    Yes, but Patty Murray (my state’s senior senator) is better at it than the rest. She is consistently named as the 100th smartest senator by the congressional aides in the annual Congressional Quarterly rankings.

    Murray is a lost cause, and I don’t expect much from Cantwell, either. Anything that can’t be used as a bludgeon against Bush is a non-starter from the left-wing left-coasters.

  12. 12.

    Don Surber

    October 20, 2005 at 6:34 pm

    John, sorry, but this is Highways money. We fought this fight 10 years ago to keep Clinton from spending that 18.4 cents per gallon federal tax on whatever he wants. It is highways money and some of these projects are atrocious, it is worse to turn over another $50 billion per year to the bureaucracy to spend as it wants.
    You like I-68? I do too. Federal highways money
    Like public trabnsportation? Federal highways money supports it

  13. 13.

    Zifnab

    October 20, 2005 at 7:03 pm

    That’s it kids. The votes are in and the Coburn amendment is dead in the water at 15-82. That’s right kids, only 15 Senators have the balls to stand up and kill the hog where she lies. Another three were gracious enough not to vote in the affirmative for a Bridge to Nowhere and Don Young’s Travesty of Fiscal Responsibility.

  14. 14.

    Kimmitt

    October 20, 2005 at 9:29 pm

    Wasn’t there a poison pill in there somewhere that held up a bunch of unrelated money until Katrina money got disbursed? Durbin spoke against the bill, and I find him to be generally quite credible.

  15. 15.

    Tractarian

    October 20, 2005 at 10:24 pm

    Here are your fifteen Yeas.

    Allard (R-CO)
    Allen (R-VA)
    Bayh (D-IN)
    Burr (R-NC)
    Coburn (R-OK)
    Conrad (D-ND)
    DeMint (R-SC)
    DeWine (R-OH)
    Feingold (D-WI)
    Graham (R-SC)
    Kyl (R-AZ)
    Landrieu (D-LA)
    Sessions (R-AL)
    Sununu (R-NH)
    Vitter (R-LA)

  16. 16.

    Oberon

    October 20, 2005 at 10:54 pm

    John, sorry, but this is Highways money. We fought this fight 10 years ago to keep Clinton from spending that 18.4 cents per gallon federal tax on whatever he wants.

    You’re blaming this on the Clenis? Awesome.

  17. 17.

    Shygetz

    October 21, 2005 at 11:16 am

    Oh my God, Senator Burr and I agreed. *hurk*

  18. 18.

    Zifnab

    October 21, 2005 at 11:25 am

    I was hoping for a little love from Obama at least. This is a hard mark against him in my book.

    Just business as usual I guess.

  19. 19.

    Gratefulcub

    October 21, 2005 at 12:26 pm

    What is the reason for voting against this? There has to be something we aren’t aware of. Politically speaking, I think all but the 50 americans living on the alaskan island would support this bill.

    Is it because the legislation targeted one project, instead of reopening discussion on the entire transportation bill?

    i realize that they are protecting something, but what? I know they are protecting their right to bacon, but in what way? Is this one of those slippery slope arguements? “This breaks precedent, and if we pass it, senators will be proposing legislation to attack one senators pork all the time.”

  20. 20.

    Jaybird

    October 23, 2005 at 3:58 pm

    From what I understand, the 50 Americans on the Island ain’t crazy about it either.

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