Hillary loves pork projects (earmarks)

EStreetJoe · Feb 14, 2008

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021303635.html?hpid%3Dtopnews&sub=AR

Candidates' Earmarks Worth Millions
By Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 14, 2008; Page A01

Three excerpts from the article:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton helped secure more than $340 million worth
of home-state projects in last year's spending bills, placing her
among the top 10 Senate recipients of what are commonly known as
earmarks, according to a new study by a nonpartisan budget watchdog
group.

Working with her New York colleagues in nearly every case, Clinton
supported almost four times as much spending on earmarked projects as
her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Barack
Obama (Ill.), whose $91 million total placed him in the bottom quarter
of senators who seek earmarks, the study showed.

Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the likely GOP presidential nominee, was one
of five senators to reject earmarks entirely, part of his long-
standing view that such measures prompt needless spending.

As a campaign issue, earmarks highlight significant differences in the
spending philosophies of the top three candidates. Clinton has
repeatedly supported earmarks as a way to bring home money for
projects, while Obama adheres to a policy of using them only to
support public entities.

McCain is using his blanket opposition to earmarked spending as a
regular line of attack against Clinton, even running an Internet ad
mocking her $1 million request for a museum devoted to the Woodstock
music festival. Obama has been criticized for using a 2006 earmark to
secure money for the University of Chicago hospital where his wife
worked until last year.
Click to expand...

The new report showed that Clinton co-sponsored a $1.6 million earmark
to fund technology development by a defense contractor and steered $3
million to the Rochester Institute of Technology for a fuel-cell-
technology program. Another $1.6 million earmark she supported went to
Weidlinger Associates, a New York engineering consulting firm working
on shock testing for naval vessels.

Obama, meanwhile, helped steer $3.4 million to the Rock Island Arsenal
for a military fire and police building, and was the sole sponsor of a
measure seeking $750,000 for an education initiative at Benedictine
University in Illinois.

McCain, who has helped lead efforts to strip some earmarks from Senate
bills, has not focused on the money headed to his home state. Other
Arizona lawmakers secured more than $214 million in pet projects in
fiscal 2008 spending bills.
Click to expand...

Clinton's $342 million total consists almost entirely of projects she
supported with other New York lawmakers. On her own, she secured one
$98,000 earmark.

Her total is unusually large for someone who does not serve on the
Senate Appropriations Committee, where earmarks are doled out, usually
on a members-first basis. Of the 10 largest recipients, Clinton is the
only senator not on the committee, the report found.

Obama's criticism of Washington's insider culture is a linchpin of his
campaign; he supports earmarks only for public entities such as
schools and hospitals. He secured $3.3 million in earmarks through his
own sponsorship, and collected $88 million in concert with other
Illinois lawmakers.
Click to expand...

Simon_Cowbell · Feb 14, 2008

Buh-bye.

poindexter · Feb 14, 2008

Throw it on the Diners Club card. Our grandkids will be happy to pay for it.

Cadet · Feb 14, 2008

And the Bush Administration doesn't?

EStreetJoe · Feb 14, 2008

C'mon Hillary.. $1 million for a Woodstock Museum just so you can say you sent money back to New York? Gimme a break.

Pancamo · Feb 14, 2008

Cadet said:

And the Bush Administration doesn't?
Click to expand...

Fuck earmarks....start a war.

Fudgie the Whale · Feb 14, 2008

EStreetJoe said:

C'mon Hillary.. $1 million for a Woodstock Museum just so you can say you sent money back to New York? Gimme a break.
Click to expand...

Have you ever been to that museum? The gift shop is awesome. Don't take the brown acid that's going around, though. And please get off those towers. We don't want anyone getting hurt.

poindexter · Feb 14, 2008

Cadet said:

And the Bush Administration doesn't?
Click to expand...

Oh, for the love of pete.

Wrong is wrong.

alleyallen · Feb 14, 2008

poindexter said:

Cadet said:

And the Bush Administration doesn't?
Click to expand...

Oh, for the love of pete.

Wrong is wrong.
Click to expand...

You're right in this case. Wrong is wrong. And Hillary is definitely bad in this category, no doubt about it. I can't say that I'm necessarily against McCain's earmark stand, though there's plenty else about him that I'm at absolute odds with. I guess you have to pick and choose who's going to work best to meet your beliefs/needs.

poindexter · Feb 14, 2008

AA, I like how if you agree with me, there is always a qualifier. "I agree with you, *in this case*", or "One of the few times". I just think its funny.

alleyallen · Feb 14, 2008

poindexter said:

AA, I like how if you agree with me, there is always a qualifier. "I agree with you, *in this case*", or "One of the few times". I just think its funny.
Click to expand...

Uhm...ok.

Let me rephrase...

hahaha

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