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Tom Harkin announces…
I have checked on news from Citizens Against Government Waste. Their website is very interesting and informative- if you have the stomach to read their figures and absorb in yet one more place what our elected officials are doing with taxpayer money to the detriment of America.
http://www.cagw.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=11892
From the Citizens Against Government Waste website:
“CAGW will work with President Obama and anyone else that wants to cut waste, fraud and abuse. But it is simply not credible to promise to cut the deficit in half while Congress and this administration are spending money faster than at any time in history. The combined total of the stimulus and the omnibus will be $1.197 trillion, without adding interest on the debt. Congress has been in session for 30 days, meaning members have agreed to spend $40 billion per day,” Schatz concluded.
Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.
Now news from a formerly named CAGW “Porker of the Month”, Iowa’s Tom Harkin. I give you highlights from Harkin’s website:
Feb. 24- 26, 2009
HARKIN ANNOUNCES:
more than 4 million for Fema Funding…
nearly 8 million for Housing…
nearly $200,000 for UNI…
$350,000 for Des Moines Airport…
more than $27 million for Housing programs…
nearly 19 million for Housing Assistance…
helps secure more than $56 million for Initiatives…
44 million for initiatives…
Also able to secure more than $85 million…
“More than/nearly”- and what he “secured” listed in a span of 3 days.
Tom Harkin, bringing home the bacon/porkulus/spendulus money for Iowans.
It’s what voters want when they elect him over, and over, and over, right?
Tom Harkin in your billfold and in mine. Except, I have not ever voted for this Ultra-Liberal Big Spender. I have a hunch that Our Visiting Senator is just getting warmed up and all Iowa taxpayers will be in for more money coming out of our pay checks. If there is many of us left who work in order to pay for the give aways.
Let me type it again:
“Congress has been in session for 30 days, meaning members have agreed to spend $40 billion per day.”
Harkin:”we gotta get the Fairness Doctrine…”
This is for all the Iowans who voted for Tom Harkin and sent him back to push his liberal ways as our Senator.
In Harkin’s words quoted in this article “we gotta get the Fairness Doctrine back in the law again.”
We do? Ah… has Tom taken a poll of Iowans to see if this is what we want him to push with his precious time spent in Washington, D.C. OR is he out to please his liberal buddies who say they want a “few” progressives on the airwaves?
Harkin has been too busy listening to his own voice. Where has he been these past few weeks of the steady voices of his cronies on the airwaves: Pelosi, Reid, Schumer, Collins, Snowe, to name a few.
As I mentioned, Iowans keep sending this man back to the Senate. Stay tuned for what Liberal Harkin decides to push next.
Sen. Tom Harkin appeared on Press’s show and came out in favor of the Fairness Doctrine.
BILL PRESS: And, thanks for your leadership, thanks for your good work, it’s great to have you there Senator. And, great to have you on the show. Appreciate it.SENATOR TOM HARKIN (D-IA): Well, anytime – just let me know Bill. I love being with you, and thanks again for all you do to get the truth and the facts out there. By the way, I read your Op-Ed in the Washington Post the other day. I ripped it out, I took it into my office and said ‘there you go, we gotta get the Fairness Doctrine back in law again.’
BILL PRESS: Alright, well good for you. You know, we gotta work on that, because they are just shutting down progressive talk from one city after another. All we want is, you know, some balance on the airwaves, that’s all. You know, we’re not going to take any of the conservative voices off the airwaves, but just make sure that there are a few progressives and liberals out there, right?
SENATOR TOM HARKIN (D-IA): Exactly, and that’s why we need the fair — that’s why we need the Fairness Doctrine back.
BILL PRESS: We’ll work on that together. Hey, thanks, Senator! Always good to talk to you.
SENATOR TOM HARKIN (D-IA): Thanks Bill, see you, bye.
Three Turncoats
Maybe it was just my imagination, but Susan Collins, Republican Senator from Maine, seemed mighty nervous when she was giving her speech before her peers yesterday. As well she might be, given the fact that her support of the stimulus bill could effectively guarantee transfer of the largest amount of wealth in history from the private to the government sector.
In deciding to support the bill, Collins claims most of the pork has been removed and seems to think there are enough directives to create jobs and stimulate the economy. Does she really believe this? We will probably never know, nor will we ever know what went on behind closed doors that persuaded Ms. Collins and two other Republican senators to back this bill.
Republican Olympia Snowe (also a woman and also interestingly enough from the state of Maine) and Republican Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania are supporting the “stimulus ” bill as well. However, even with the promises from these three, the Democrats are still so uncertain they can pass the bill that Teddy Kennedy, ill as he is, has been summoned to DC to cast his vote in favor of it. In fact, even Democratic support for the package has been wobbly, as evidenced at one point yesterday by Californian Dianne Feinstein’s refusing to vote for it.
In my opinion, it isn’t over till it’s over. Our U.S. Senators STILL need to hear from us that we hope they are planning to vote against this bill, and why. Evidently phones were ringing off the hook in DC yesterday—I know I had an impossible time getting through– and I doubt if last night the senators had begun to fathom the number of e-mails they received.
Our calls are making a difference as three Republicans–Martinez , Voinovich, and Murkowski– in support of the bill Friday morning came out against it by afternoon. Word yesterday was the Senate planned on a vote last night, then it was going to be Sunday, and now it seems they are putting off the vote till Tuesday, now some are saying late Monday afternoon (conflicting reports!). So obviously the Democrats don’t think they have a clear shot at passing this THING yet, and the longer the vote is postponed, the less chance they may have.
If you haven’t contacted Grassley and Harkin yet, take the time to do so (and especially Harkin who is claiming he hasn’t heard much negative about the bill from Iowans) .
Grassley, Chuck – (R – IA) Class III 135 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-3744 Web Form: grassley.senate.gov/contact.cfm#emailform
Harkin, Tom – (D – IA) Class II 731 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-3254 Web Form: harkin.senate.gov/c/
And certainly contact the three turncoat Republicans mentioned here. Their contact information is:
Collins, Susan M. – (R – ME) Class II 413 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-2523 Web Form: collins.senate.gov/public/continue.cfm?FuseAction=
Contact… Snowe, Olympia J. – (R – ME) Class I 154 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-5344 Web Form: snowe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=
ContactSenat… Specter, Arlen – (R – PA) Class III 711 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-4254 Web Form: specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Co…
And of course it would not hurt to contact Democratic Senators because they also need to know what people think of this…er…whateveritis.
Meanwhile, to keep you up to date, here is a link from Michelle Malkin, who has been pushing, pushing, pushing against this monstrosity: http://tinyurl.com/b23rzn
Tom Harkin enlightens us again: Stimulus Bill
If you have the fortitude to do so, check out Harkin’s latest take on the Stimulus Bill.
All I can say is that Iowan’s keep sending Harkin back to D.C. knowing full well what he will say and do. The words of Tom Harkin remind me of the saying/song “HERE’S YOUR SIGN”. For the record, I voted for Christopher Reed and wish that he was in D.C. now to back up Grassley. At least the article quotes Grassley as calling the bill “porkulus”. Grassley in this instance is talking my language.
And Harkin oinks on and on and on
I found this interesting information on IowaPolitics.com and the oinking of Tom Harkin grew louder in my ears with each paragraph.
I firmly believe that this “crisis” is really just an excuse to spend money. It is growth and expansion of government and our own Tom Harkin is leading the charge to bankrupt us all. Iowa receiving 1.5 billion in stimulus money may sound like heavenly D.C. music to some ears but have you really pondered what YOU will get from this pork?
Harkin says he has not heard “any negative stuff coming in from Iowa.” If this really is a true statement, then Iowans must not care about the debt that will be on the taxpayers. Sure, if welfare is all that matters to our existence, no wonder we are not calling Harkin and burning up his phone lines.
The problem really is that once this borrow, spend trend started I don’t see any stopping point. The long-timers representing us in D.C. seem to have no conscious when it comes to spending our money. They are perfectly happy dreaming up more places to give our money. Government created this “crisis”. Government is continuing the “crisis”. Americans suffer because we are being milked dry. And even as I type our own elected and re-elected and re-elected Tom Harkin is thinking up more ways to share our money.
Read on if you have the fortitude to do so.
Democratic vet Tom Harkin on the Senate Appropriations Committee is pushing money for law enforcement and education to be included. There’s $1 billion for new computers and other technology in schools, $13.9 billion for increases in Pell Grants for needy college students, $16 billion for school renovation and repair, he says. CNN says Harkin even got $75 million for smoking cessation programs.
Harkin told reporters Thursday that “I haven’t heard any negative stuff coming in from Iowa” about the stimulus package, and that he had a group of civic leaders from Grinnell in his office who “felt good about what we put in there.”
Harkin would like to direct an additional $500 million in the bill to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for energy programs in biomass, cellulosic ethanol and wind energy production. Plus he hinted there may be moves afoot he would support to add to spending in the bill. “This is not just a stimulus bill to put someone to work right now,” he said, but to lay the groundwork for long-term recovery.
Not shocked that Harkin is “shocked”
As indicated in the article below Harkin is “shocked” that nary a Republican would vote for the economic stimulus bill, gag, actually the Pelosi (and Harkin, etc.) SPENDING BILL!
I, the taxpayer, am not shocked that Harkin is shocked. This is Harkin being the Harkin that Iowa voters continue to send back to D.C. “I ‘spose” that Harkin thinks the folks back in one of his vacation spots (Iowa) don’t know a pork filled, pull-the-wool-over-the-voters-eyes spending spree when we see one. In the article Harkin sugar coats and brings up the positive ways the money will be spent. No mention about the pork and the debt heaped upon generations.
In thinking that readers of IDA will want to know how “shocked” Harkin really is, I share the Radio Iowa article.
Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat, says he’s shocked the $800-billion economic stimulus bill passed the U.S. House without a single Republican vote. Harkin says it’s surprising with all the people being laid off and conservative economists saying the government needs to do more, not less.
“I ‘spose someone can always say ‘well I found something wrong with the bill’, but I think there’s a heck of a lot more good in it than bad,” Harkin says. Harkin says he hopes the bill picks up more Republican support in the Senate. Republicans raised concerns that millions of dollars are in the bill that won’t do anything to help stimulate the economy.
Harkin says he’s looked at those complaints and thinks “they are off base.” Harkin says the stimulus bill is not just about creating jobs right now, as he says a big part of the bill is “laying the groundwork for solid recovery and transforming our economy and we have to keep that in mind.” Harkin says the measures that change the economy are important.
“So that when we start coming out of this recession or depression, or whatever it is we are in, that we’re going to have a stronger basis, and that could mean a lot of things,” Harkin says. He says it means healthier people, so we’re more productive, smarter kids using higher technology in the classroom, community colleges having better equipment to retrain people for the new jobs of the future. Harkin says the vote on the stimulus bill is a repeat of what happened before.
Harkin says it reminds him of 1993 when every Republican voted against President Clinton’s economic plan, saying the sky was going to fall and it would lead to massive unemployment. Harkin says the country was instead able to pay down the national debt and recover. Harkin says the Senate stimulus bill had bipartisan support when it passed out of the appropriations committee, and he hopes the final bill will see that support.
Senator Charles Grassley has called the Stimulus Bill a “gravy train.” This causes me to remember that Harkin is in love with pork and if the bill passes, he will have gravy on the menu as well!
Joe the Bus Driver
The recent coming out of the closet of Joe the Plumber’s real feelings about McCain’s support of the $700 billion bailout have been the most refreshing thing out of his short political career. He’s got a new book out and he stated in an interview that “he wanted to get off the bus” after asking McCain why he supported the bailout.
I am going to confess that by November 4th I was so sick of hearing about JTP that it wouldn’t bother me if I ever heard from him again. I don’t want to be too hard on the guy since it was not his plan that asking one question would propel him into the national spotlight and it wasn’t really him I was nauseated with. It was more the fact that the JTP issue was McCain’s last desperate attempt at an economic message and he beat it to death.
I will also throw it out there that Joe’s opinions of McCain seem quite opportunistic due to the fact that his book was not yet finished when we knew the election results. Would Joe be saying the same thing about McCain if he had won? I don’t know what is in Joe’s heart, but I sure hope he is sincere because he may have just backed his wheels over John McCain in order to sell books. Just a thought.
Thoughts on the current auto bailout.
Thank you Congressman King and Latham for your “no” votes. You guys have been rock solid on this. May the voters continue to bless you.
It looks like the Senate is going to be a stubborn one to convince. Even Give the Dough Grassley is hesitant about voting for the auto bailout. Well, so is Harkin so that’s not saying much. I would love to believe that these two (or at least Grassley) will vote “no”, but I realize that all it will take is some pork and they will most likely say “yes”.
Whining from the yes voters of the rescue plan
Way back on Page 6A of the Thursday edition of the Des Moines Register is an article that caught my attention. Changes frustrate Iowans who OK’d initial rescue plan.
What a concept- “frustrate”!
Frustrate is just one of the emotions that I felt when Iowa lawmakers voted YES on the rescue/Great American Sellout Bill.
So now we have Harkin, Grassley, Boswell, Loebsack, and Braley whining about what has happened and what they “thought” would happen when they went against the wishes of Iowa voters and voted the way they wanted to vote. Loebsack, Braley, and Boswell are pointing their liberal fingers at the “administration.”
Hey, guys, since you aren’t big enough or have the good character to admit that you rushed to please your party leadership (Pelosi, Reid, Frank, etc.) let me point out here that when you choose to play the blame game, you are at the top of the list of those to blame! You now have opened the door for any group who wants to rush through with both hands held out for a share of the tax payer’s money.
The final sentence in the article was the important to me!
Iowa‘s other two House members, Republicans Tom Latham and Steve King, voted against the bailout.
Iowa taxpayers and voters are paying close attention to this issue, even to the news on a Page 6. We have good memories and we know lack of good judgment when we see it. Better yet, we value and appreciate the Latham’s and King’s of the country who stood up and voted NO not once but twice! If more of our elected officials had had the guts and patience to say NO, we would not be watching the steady stream of those wanting a hand out.
All but two of Iowa’s lawmakers caved in for whatever the reason and no amount of whining and blaming will be enough to take away the frustration and anger that will continue to build with voters.
And Iowan’s beware- in an article next to the one I have written about here is an article “Democrats, automakers press for bailout.”
“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., hope for quick passage of the auto bailout during a session that begins on Monday.”
Here we go again- another quickie vote. More debt heaped on us. “Frustrate” is only one word for what we feel about what our elected officials are doing to us. Because they can.
