One of Time's Men of the Year Wants to Believe...A Democrat
Dicey stuff, that. But let's give such an important man a chance to plead his case:
Just One Minute, there Mr. Man of the Year, that doesn't sound so true-blue and wide-eyed to me. Are you implying that transparency might not be the new Appropriations Chair's goal? Seems like that kind of gamble is playing with fire. Earmark reform actually unites the Dems and the Republicans.Far be it from be to attempt to outfox an old Washington fox, but consider this - assuming that, from time to time, members still want stealth earmarks, Obey may be able to offer them a way. Imagine that, as Chairman, Obey puts a few hundred earmarks in a bill under his own name. Only his Congressional friends (and their backers) will know the true beneficiaries. Investigative sleuths such as Justin Rood will suffer from over-disclosure - who will have the resources to track down hundreds of Obey earmarks, only a few of which are actually incendiary? This will become a situation where too much disclosure is no disclosure at all.
Is Obey a saint, a sly old fox, or both? Time may tell.
Let's hope for actual transparency.
2 comments:
Yes, it does unite the disgusted population. But it certainly runs against the way business has been done in Washington, doesn't it?
My guess is that this new Congress is going to look an awful lot like the last one.
Mama,
I agree. And then some. The problem, of course, is that while the Repubs were in power the Dems undermined, dug their feet in and generally made a nuisance of themselves. The Republicans, in contrast, will be compliant and chummy.
Not to mention, some of the worst legislation the Republicans would have liked to pass themselves. So they'll hand the Democrats some easy victories--Social Security, Amnesty for illegals, minimum wage--and make the Dems look positively productive, even with their 3 1/2 day work week.
Makes a girl nauseous!
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