Posted by
Always To The Right on Tuesday, December 30, 2008 10:18:04 AM
When Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) first came to power she promised,
“the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history.” She
has since [1] flagrantly and [2] repeatedly broken this promise. It is part of the reason [3] Congress has record low approval ratings. Now President-elect Barack Obama is also making grand promises to create a [4] more open and transparent
government. We hope that, unlike Pelosi, Obama chooses to keep his
promise to the American people. But so far the signs are not
encouraging.
Starting in mid-December [5] Obama’s advisers have huddled with congressional Democrats crafting an economic stimulus plan that is likely to [6] cost the American taxpayers at least $1 trillion. Obama has [7] previously demanded
that the stimulus bill be ready to sign by his January 20th
Inauguration Day. To meet this deadline Pelosi is considering passing
the trillion dollar spending measure without going through the
committee process. Her spokesmen Drew Hammill even claims that the
House already completed all the necessary due diligence on their
trillion dollar gambit last year: “[8] The
House has already laid the groundwork for this package with numerous
hearings and the bipartisan package passed in September.”
Since Pelosi long ago broke her promise to the American people to
govern in an open and transparent manner, the House will probably pass
the trillion dollar spending spree by January 12th without holding a
single hearing. The story is different in the Senate where Minority
Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) still has the 40 senators necessary to
keep Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) somewhat honest. Yesterday
McConnell laid the groundwork for an actual Senate debate on the
matter: “[9] Surely
the Democrat leadership in Congress doesn’t plan to spend a trillion
dollars of taxpayer money — nearly $10,000 in new debt for everyone who
pays federal income tax, charged to the credit card for our children to
pay — without safeguards, without appropriate hearings to scrutinize
how tax dollars are being spent.”
Considering that there are scattered reports leaking around the
country that the Democrats’ trillion dollar spending spree will include
taxpayer money for [10] polar bear exhibits, casino pedestrian bridges, mob museums, and snow-making machines, surely the American people deserve a full inventory of where this trillion dollars will go. We have previously stated [11] our principled opposition to federal spending as a means to stimulate the economy,
but at the absolute minimum the Obama administration should take
Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) up on his request that [12] the entire text of the stimulus bill be available online for a full week before any votes are cast. Otherwise, the very first bill Obama signs will also mark his first broken promise to the American people.
Article printed from The Foundry: http://blog.heritage.org
URL to article: http://blog.heritage.org/2008/12/30/morning-bell-will-obama-ditch-transparency-for-stimulus/
URLs in this post:
[1] flagrantly: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10108.html
[2] repeatedly: http://blog.heritage.org/2008/04/18/morning-bell-more-empty-ethics-promises/
[3] Congress has record low approval ratings: http://www.gallup.com/poll/111937/Congress-Returns-Mostly-Disapproving-Constituency.aspx
[4] more open and transparent: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/technology/
[5] Obama’s advisers have huddled with congressional Democrats: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122902037.html
[6] cost the American taxpayers at least $1 trillion: http://blog.heritage.org/2008/12/22/barack-obamas-faith-based-stimulus/
[7] previously demanded: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/us/politics/19stimulus.html
[8]
The House has already laid the groundwork for this package with
numerous hearings and the bipartisan package passed in September.: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122902037.html
[9]
Surely the Democrat leadership in Congress doesn’t plan to spend a
trillion dollars of taxpayer money — nearly $10,000 in new debt for
everyone who pays federal income tax, charged to the credit card for
our children to pay — without safeguards, without appropriate hearings
to scrutinize how tax dollars are being spent.: http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/1208/McConnell_questions_Obama_stimulus_plan.html
[10] polar bear exhibits, casino pedestrian bridges, mob museums, and snow-making machines: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122902232.html
[11] our principled opposition to federal spending as a means to stimulate the economy: http://blog.heritage.org/2008/12/18/electroshock-therapy-we-dont-believe-in/
[12] the entire text of the stimulus bill be available online for a full week before any votes are cast: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/gop-warns-against-stimulus-rush-2008-12-29.html