July 30, 2009

The Loneliness of the Anti-Earmark Crusader

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While we’re on the subject of earmarks…the Post has a discouraging snippet in a piece about defense pork that shows just how tough it is to get rid of even the most ludicrous projects. The piece notes that Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) has vowed to try and remove 540 earmarks for no-bid contracts from the defense budget bill. The catch? “His prior earmark-stripping efforts have succeeded only once in dozens of attempts, and never on defense spending.”

Update: The House is debating Flake’s amendments now (he’s offered one for every no-bid earmark). You can follow along on Twitter if you’d like a blow-by-blow on all 540 of them. They’re up to 315 right now…

 

 

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Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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