Thursday, May 10, 2007

Under the cover of "National Defense"

From Matt Lira:

Erick at Red State and CongressDaily have it right; House Democrats are passing midnight earmarks that they've hidden in the Intelligence Appropriations bill. As if this weren't bad enough, House Democrats have refused to disclose most of those earmarks to the public – they have even refused to disclose them to other Members of Congress.

This is the most abusive and potentially the most d
amaging trick the House Democrats have tried this Congress. For all those who oppose earmarks and want to restore fiscal discipline to the process, I simply cannot stress how damaging this will be if it goes unchecked.

The House Democrats' Earmark Sham is a disgrace – so much for the "most honest and open Congress in history."

Here is a link to Red State's post:
http://www.redstate.com/stories/congress/red_alert_on_the_house_floor

Also, while it is a very procedural clip, it is also meaningful. In this clip, Rep. Westmoreland forces the Dems (through clever procedural questions) to go on the record on how they are hiding these earmarks:


Note the evasiveness of the dem "speaker" when called to the carpet by Westmoreland!