Politics makes strange bedfellows
Rep. Nancy Pelosi is getting some well-deserved kudos from some weird places. For example, the Republican-American:
With the Democrats taking over in January, House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi is promising a rule change demolishing the wall of secrecy Congress has built around earmarks. "I'd just as soon do away with (them), but that probably isn't realistic."
Why not? Her proposal is a good first step because anonymity nourishes waste and disclosure reveals which member is greasing which special interests. But earmarks subvert the appropriations process because they become law without benefit of debate, competition or the advice of relevant agencies. In many cases, they wouldn't have a prayer of passage if not for their inclusion into larger bills enjoying more widespread congressional support.
And this from the Bluegrass Institute:
Kentucky’s lawmakers should do in Frankfort what Pelosi has made a priority in Washington – put a name on every slice of pork.
The manner in which lawmakers passed Kentucky’s most recent budget is a stark reminder that a lack of transparency seems to increase politicians’ appetites for spending. House and Senate leaders hammered out the final budget in almost total secrecy, emerging in mid-April to force lawmakers to vote for the whole package.
Legislators were given mere hours to read the massive document before casting their votes. There was no time to question spending decisions.
By making every spending program attributable to the individual lawmaker responsible, appropriate spending priorities may come to dominate the budget process once again.
If properly-labeled pork is what we can expect in a Pelosi-run House, it won't be all bad.
