$700 Billion: pork included. Why didn't McCain speak out for or against this bill at the Senate floor? And he should be President?
Whether you are for or against McCain, these latest weeks of action (or inaction) must be puzzling for American political trackers.
Two weeks ago, McCain supposedly suspended his campaign to help work on the bailout plan for the House to vote on. He went to Washington, had some conversations, had photo-ops around the table along with Obama, and then left. The bill didn't pass.
McCain has rallied and spoke against pork barrel spending and financial reform in Washington-just as he's done for a number of years.
Per the
McCain Website:
: "Earmarked dollars have doubled just since 2000, and more than tripled in the last 10 years. This explosion in earmarks led one lobbyist to deride the appropriations committees as favor factories. The time for us to fix this broken process is long overdue." As President, John McCain would shine the disinfecting light of public scrutiny on those who abuse the public purse, use the power of the presidency to restore fiscal responsibility, and exercise the veto pen to enforce it.
The Senate meets to revise the bill, making it a $700 Billion package that includes a little bit of pork. Ok,
a LOT of pork. $200,000 tax breaks for an Oregon wooden arrow company. $128 million in tax relief for race car tracks for what? Both McCain and Obama make their way to the Senate floor so they can cast a vote. Obama speaks, supporting the bill. And McCain? Nothing. Nada. Not a word.
The vote is cast and it was pretty much a done deal since no congressperson wants to look like a doofus by not voting for it. It passes with a 74 to 25 vote. Obama voted "yes" and McCain votes yes.
But why? Let's peel this back abit. The vote is a done deal. 74 people were on their way to saying "yes, let's pass this no matter what, no matter what pork is involved". So why not vote "no" in a stand against pork barrel spending? Why not say "hey, I want this to pass, but this NASCAR tracks and wooden arrows crap is EXACTLY why we don't have bailout money in the first place!" It was going to pass. 74 to 25. Even if Bush wanted to, he couldn't veto that if a re-vote went the same.
If McCain even spoke and said "yes, I'll vote for this, but I don't like the pork. This is a critical time so I have to make that decision" then it would have been a more respectable yes. But he didn't He didn't speak to the people until
after the fact.
It's not Palin's communication I'm worried about; it's McCain's. The sad truth is that pork politics is sometimes the only way to get Senators to vote yay or nay. Developing a better system to hold them accountable can reduce the amount or at least make them justify their decisions.
After all, if McCain wins the election, when he names names of the pork barrel politicians as promised, how will he explain himself turning the other cheek?
