Shocker: Ron Paul, The Much Heralded “Only True Conservative,” Has Most Earmarks In Spending Bill
More earmarks than any other Republican.
Ron Paul, the Texas congressman who is the darling of the Libertarian Right, has more earmarks in the pork-laden $410-billion spending bill than any other Republican.
That’s not according to the MSM, or the liberal blogosphere. That’s what Fox News is reporting.
In an interview Tuesday night with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto, Paul not only defended his own earmarks, he argued that every penny in the federal budget should be earmarked, to improve transparency.
Here’s the video of Paul with Cavuto:
It’s a bit amazing to hear Paul defend his earmarking as “transparent.” From what we’ve seen from the earmarking process over the last several years, the biggest problem with it isn’t so much that every single project funded is bad but rather that the whole process is such a departure from transparency and accountability as to lead to all sorts of problems with corruption and quid pro quo arrangements.
Paul’s assertion that earmarks are more transparent is just plain nonsense.
And I thought that Paul was supposed to be a strict federalist. Porking up local districts with lots and lots of federal money is hardly in keeping with federalist principle.
I don’t doubt that the Ron Paul faithful, who are every bit as devout in their worship of Paul as Obama’s liberal disciples are of him, will eat up Paul’s spin and continue to defend him just as they always casually forget the fact that he takes money from Nazis and doesn’t return it or even apologize for it, or that he panders to 9/11 conspiracy theorists.
Because when a political leader is elevated to the level of idolatry that Paul enjoys from some, it stops mattering what that leader actually does. Because what he does, for his fawning supporters, is inherently right.
