On September 22 I observed that the root cause of the disaster in New Orleans was an addiction to Pork. Had federal funds been spent as intended, the flooding would have been less severe – or even non-existent. Local politicians diverted federal funds to other projects, even though they knew the potential destruction from a direct hit by a category four hurricane. Pork is just this: spending funds intended for legitimate purposes in order to make local politicians feel good.
Now we see that Representative Tom DeLay has been indicted for misusing campaign contributions. News stories and opinion columns will be dominated by the question of his guilt.
This debate should not distract us from another issue: DeLay’s contribution to the pork delivery system. As a politican, he plays hardball. As David Brooks points out in today’s NYT
The DeLay Era would be marked by one word: partisanship. Far from being a conservative ideologue, DeLay was a traditional Tammany Hall politician who would do whatever it took to put more Republican fannies in House seats. DeLay was never the ruthless tyrant news media reports made him out to be. He's actually a modest, decent and considerate man. But he is willing to sacrifice all else for the team.(Thanks to Tim Worstall for the link.)
The problem isn’t that DeLay is a dedicated Republican, willing to use the rules to help his party win. The problem is that DeLay’s actions make it easier for the politicians to acquire, deliver, and prepare federal Pork. This is the charge that Dick Morris delivers in his column The Real Sin of Tom DeLay
In the reapportionments that followed the 2000 Census, the political parties in almost every state cooperated to draw the district lines to minimize the number of incumbents who would lose their seats. As a result, the number of House incumbents defeated in the post-Census elections has reached an all time low. In the elections following the 1980 census, 42 House members were defeated. In those after the 1990 election, 39 lost their seats. But after the 2000 census, only 16 members were defeated — half by other incumbents drawn into the same districts as a result of the shrinkage of the state population.The result of DeLay's efforts is that the control of the House of Representatives has now been predetermined and taken out of the hands of the voters. No matter what happens nationally, the GOP will control the House until the 2010 reapportionment.
Once in place, our congress-critters (note the gender-neutral term) are secure. It is expensive to challenge an incumbent. It is almost impossible to dislodge a politician with his hands on the pork supply chains.
Stop Supporting Corporations that Donate to the Republicans. Tom Delay is a perfect example.
Go To
http://www.buyblue.org/directory/alpha
Then tell all your friends.
You should especially look into supporting "Progressive" Car Insurance and "Working Assets" Long Distance and Wireless company. They donate heavily to the Democrats.
Posted by: RealityCheckMate | September 30, 2005 at 09:11 PM