Thursday, February 16, 2006

Earmark Reform to End Bipartisanship?

Bob Cusack of The Hill makes an assertion that the latest craze of earmark reform will halt bipartisanship. He points out, and it is true, that Democrats and Republicans can agree on one thing: it is great to bring home the bacon. Cusack seems to think that earmark reform will cause a rift between the parties because they will no longer have pork to brag about to their constituents. This would bring about Armageddon apparently.

Cusack mentions that Senators Johnson (D-SD) and Thune (R-SD) faced off in a bitter election in '02, but recently held a joint press conference to sing praises of how much dough they secured for their state.

A local example from Cusack's piece:
Local pressure to bring home the bacon can be intense. The Cincinnati Enquirer wrote that the enacted highway bill is the “mother of all jobs bills” for states. Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) agreed, claiming that the legislation would create “more than 20,000 much-needed jobs in Ohio.” DeWine is facing a difficult reelection race in November.
This is why DeWine is touting all those grants on his website. It isn't his accomplishments as a legislator that he is highlighting, but rather how much pork he's managed to take from the trough.

This the sort of bipartisanship that America really doesn't need. The American taxpayer is being fleeced by bipartisanship of this flavor. If earmark reform destroys it, I won't shed a tear.