The stimulus boondoggle

By James Simpson

The Obama administration has moved forward with lighting speed to impose its agenda upon us before anyone can mount an effective opposition. This has obviously been planned for a long time. That we have been so poorly served by our duly elected politicians, especially three Senate Republicans and virtually the entire Democratic Party is discouraging beyond words.

Unless some of these people get a serious dose of moral integrity overnight, Obama's massive spending bill will become law, and we will spiral further downward.

It is now becoming apparent that a large proportion of the bill is nothing more than a massive collection of earmarks (although I told you that would happen few weeks ago.) But it is different in that the lengths they have gone to hide the authorship of those earmarks is unprecedented.

Usually earmarks have the lawmaker's name attached to them, but not in this bill. You have to really search to find the person behind it. But that person is there, when you look hard enough.

There is the pathetic case of the $300 million "golfcart" earmark, only they call them "neighborhood electric vehicles." Is this the beginning of mandated green cars like the Pelosi GTxi?
Since these carts are produced in North Dakota and Byron Dorgan (D-ND) sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, it seems obvious that he would be the source of this particular "stimulus." Or maybe he just happens to be from North Dakota?

Then there is the case of the $2 billion for a "near-zero emissions power plant." The only place one of these was ever considered was, you guessed it, Illinois. But the project was abandoned due to the evolution of newer technologies.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich then tried to restart the project with a half-million dollar lobbying effort paid for by Illinois taxpayers. He's gone now, of course... But the entire Illinois delegation has apparently been trying to get this back on the burner too, so presto chango! There it is. An earmarked $2 billion waste of taxpayer dollars brought to you by No-Earmarks-Obama and the most ethical administration in history.

Where have we heard that before? Oh yes, Nancy Pelosi, who promised, upon ascending to the Speakership that her's would be "the most ethical Congress in history." She's trying to "save the planet" after all.

And before that? Oh yes, when Bill Clinton took office didn't he promise that his would be "the most ethical administration in history?"

Watch what they do, not what they say.