Obama Broke His Promise On Earmarks In The Stimulus

• February 10, 2009

Just before he took the oath and became President, Barack Obama promised Americans that there would be no earmarks in his proposed stimulus package:

President-elect Barack Obama has met with his team of economic advisers in Washington and said the government must get its own fiscal house in order. He said new spending in the stimulus package will be carefully monitored, and won’t include earmarks.

NPR’s audio at the link.
Now the stimulus package is (unfortunately) nearing passage in Congress, and it’s chock full of earmarks. Here’s a few examples courtesy of StimulusWatch.org:
A “heritage” trail in Missouri.
A dog park in California.
A convention center in Texas.
Two more dog parks in Maine.
A performing arts center in Las Vegas.
An events center in New Mexico.
A “disc golf” course in Texas.
Little League parking in Puerto Rico.
A bike trail in Indiana.
And on and on.
Now, maybe you think these earmarks are ok. Maybe you think it’s appropriate that the federal government fund dog parks in California and events centers in New Mexico instead, you know, the taxpayers who live in that area and would use these facilities. I don’t agree with that, but let’s set it aside for a moment.
The point is that Obama promised no earmarks in this “stimulus” bill. And in order for him to avoid breaking his promise he’ll have to veto any stimulus bill sent to him with earmarks attached, right?
So I’m sure Obama won’t be signing this “stimulus” bill into law until all the dog parks and events centers and disc golf courses are axed, right? And if he doesn’t, I’m sure our objective, truth-seeking press corps will call him out on breaking his promise, right?
I won’t hold my breath.

Tags: Asshats, Domestic Issues, Politics

http://Array 2Hotel9

Sorry, in a hurry on that last comment.

Nothing to it. No “stimulus” bill, get the fucking Democrats and their fellow traveler RINOs the fuck out of our business. They have fucked up EVERYTHING THEY HAVE EVER TOUCHED, and are no intent on dragging America into their socialist nightmare, which will precipitate a civil war in this country.
Kramer

Obama Broke His Promise On Earmarks In The Stimulus
and your point being….
richNJ

……Obama lied and the economy died……..
2Hotel9

The “stimulus” package IS earmarks, and is totally unaccountable to the people of America.
http://sayanythingblog.com/ likwidshoe

crshedd – if you carry on over 1.2% of the bill, you don’t have a lot to say.

This carries weight only if you ignore all of the other criticisms.
tony

Just because the cat had her kittens in the oven, that don’t make them biscuits.

Agreed.

Look, I’m not advocating for or against the stimulus bill. All I am saying is that none of the projects mentioned above are in the stimulus bill. Not one.

If you want to convince people that the stimulus bill is a bad idea, more power to you. This country needs more honest debate on how it is governed. However, when we go around saying that the bill is filled with funding for “dog parks” and “convention centers”, people won’t take us seriously because a quick search of the bill will show that, these aren’t included. And that damages our credibility when trying to debate matters like this, a debate which is sorely needed.

2hotel9, I know I’m just some anonymous person on this site, and you have no need to justify yourself to me, but it seems like you have some strong thoughts on this issue. What would a bill without earmarks look like to you? Or I guess, if you feel the entire spending bill is earmarks, what would you propose the government do, if anything?
tony

2hotel9, It’s only earmarks in the sense that any budget is entirely earmarks. As in, a set amount of money being divided for specific programs. If that is the definition we are using, then any spending bill or budget is entirely earmarks.

In my opinion, however, when people think of earmarks, they are thinking of projects like “Dog parks in California” or “Heritage Trails in Missouri”. Projects or funding passed by the federal government where the primary benefit is going to only a small portion of the country, typically a specific project in a specific community. I don’t think most people would consider CDBG funding an earmark, as that funding will be used for many projects in many parts of the country.

I will give you that some parts of the current bill in the Senate have the smell of earmarks, such as funding only for D.C. or funding specifically for the Smithsonian Institutions. I am also open to differing interpretations of what would be considered an earmark, and would like to hear your opinion on this.

My points remain however that:
A) None of the above mentioned projects are in the proposed bill
B) Obama does not write legislation.
C) Obama has yet to sign anything
tony

Actually, none of these projects are in the stimulus plan. stimuluswatch.org is a list of proposed projects that the U.S. Conference of Mayors would like to see funded with funds from the stimulus plan. The money would come from CDBG funding. The CDBG is being given generally funding though, not funding earmarked for any particular project. Again, none of these are actually part of the proposed stimulus bill. Could these projects end up being funded with stimulus money? Absolutely. Whether these projects are worth it is another debate, but the fact remains that these projects are not “earmarked” in the stimulus bill.

Don’t believe me? read the FAQ on stimuluswatch.org, or better yet, actually take the time to read the stimulus bill.

Finally, I would like to add that it is a little foolish to say that Obame broke his promise when: A) He is not part of the legislature and does not have any part in writing these laws. and B) He has not signed anything yet, and even if he had, the bill does not have any earmarks in it as of today.
2Hotel9

Sorry, tony, you can spin&twirl; all you wish, the entire “stimulus” bill is earmarks. The. Whole. Thing.
11B40

Greetings:

Somebody needs to come up with an “I WON” version of President Obama’s Leninesque poster.
crshedd

followed the link to stimulus watch. EVERYTHING shown was part of the cdbg (community development block grant). according to factcheck the total for cdbg is $1 billion. out of $800 plus billion. OMG!

cdbg was started by a republican. the senate has the neighborhood stabilization program signed into law by bush, another republican.

Let’s start with the (very few) claims that critics get right. The House version of the stimulus bill does indeed include about $1 billion in funding for the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) program and another $4.2 billion ($2.2 billion in the Senate’s version) in funding for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). Neither program is new: CDBG has been around since President Ford (a Republican) signed it into law in 1974, while the NSP was authorized in 2008 as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act signed into law by President Bush.

http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/does_the_stimulus_bill_include_a_52.html

i’m sorry, i am not too worried about $1 billion out of over $800 billion. show me at least $40-50 billion and we can talk.

if you carry on over 1.2% of the bill, you don’t have a lot to say.
Mickey

Leading economists all over the nation do not believe that more government spending is a way to improve economic performance. More government spending by Hoover and Roosevelt did not pull the United States economy out of the Great Depression in the 1930′s. more government spending did not solve Japan’s “lost decade” in the 1990s. As such, it is a triumph of hope over experience to believe that more government spending will help the U.S, today. To improve the economy, policymakers should focus on reforms that remove impediments to work, saving, investment and production. lower tax rates and a reduction in the burden of government are the best ways of using fiscal policy to boost growth.

CATO INSTITUTE
SHADY

He only lie’s when he opens his big fricken mouth, which is too often!!!
http://SayAnythingBlog.com The_Whistler_ofnd

He was hoping nobody was paying attention.
2Hotel9

Nothing to. A large, round zero.
Pfeh

Obama Broke His Promise On Earmarks In The Stimulus
and your point being….

What’s yours, other than being deliberately obtuse?
2Hotel9

Just because the cat had her kittens in the oven, that don’t make them biscuits. The entire “stimulus” bill is earmarks. Every. Single. Item. It is ever thing on the Democrat/socialist wishlist, and none of it will “stimulate” the economy. It will collapse our economy and precipitate a civil war in this country.

You can call it a purple hooter with chartreuse dinglewackers stuck on it, that don’t change the fact that the whole thing is a big, steaming pile of earmarks.

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Obama Broke His Promise On Earmarks In The Stimulus

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