POLITICS: Sensible Rebudgeting from... Tom Coburn?: "That's right, the new ultra-conservative thorn in the side of Senate Democrats, Tom Coburn (R-OK) has added an amendment to appropriations bill HR 3058 that would divert funding from the insanity that is the Alaskan bridge to nowhere and spend it instead on reconstruction efforts in New Orleans. Sound too good to be true? Let's hope not.

We're a little behind Glenn and Michelle - but conservatives have a Hill to Die On - the Coburn Amendment to the Transportation, Housing, & Urban Development appropriations bill (HR 3058)



Make NO mistake - the establishment Republicans are terrified of this bill. The chutzpah of the little people demanding an end to one of the most immoral acts of Congress - earmarked pork spending - has got some in quite the tizzy.



Word is that some are trying to stop the Coburn Amendment from even reaching the floor for a vote.

This amendment will transfer funding from the wasteful pork project, the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ in Alaska, to the repair and reconstruction of the ‘Twin Spans’ bridge in Louisiana. According to published reports, the Alaskan pork project costs $220 million for a 5.9-mile bridge connecting Gravina Island (population 50) to the Alaskan mainland. The cost of the bridge alone would be enough to buy every island resident his own personal Lear jet.

The GOP hasn't exactly acted in a way that anyone could possibly characterize as 'spendthrift' in the past few years, with budget deficits ballooning and balanced budgets a memory of days long past. That Tom Coburn, who in many ways represents the worst of what the current crop of GOP leaders has to offer, is even sensible enough to realize that this is something that needs to be done, should be reason enough to support it. The vote to add the amendment is something to pay attention to; regardless of party affiliation, anyone in the Senate who votes against adding the amendment should be seriously scrutinized by their constituents, both now and when they're up for reelection.

(Written by: legionnaire)

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(Via SuicideGirls: News Wire.)