Comments on Advance Indiana™: Lugar Opposes Placing Moratorium On Earmarks

Earmarks dilute the intention and merit of legisla...

2010-11-16T21:56:11.302-05:00

Earmarks dilute the intention and merit of legislation. Instead of affirming or voting against something, we get voting because of some "bonus coupon" that's attached to the bottom. Not something that stands on it's own merit, but something to garner enough votes from the "other guy". Pretty soon the other guy needs something big passed and tacks something onto his legislation. Lo and behold, many years and double-digit trillions in debt, deficit, and obligations later- here we are! Who has been our Indiana senator coinciding with this evolution?

The inexperience of President Obama and Mayor Ballard costs us dearly? Yeah, I'll buy that. But, with due respect to his work on nuclear disarmament, we're now in the midst of a fiscal Three Mile Island.

What help has the years of "moderation" by Senator Lugar been for that?

Frankly, I want to puke every time I see Andre Car...

2010-11-16T20:37:48.684-05:00

Frankly, I want to puke every time I see Andre Carson standing up at a press conference to brag about some earmark he got for something for the city. If I were going to run against Lugar, I would lay the blame for a lot of this crap at his doorsteps. Before Lugar became mayor, Indianapolis mayors did not look to the federal government for handouts. Lugar changed that in a big way. He chased federal dollars like nobody's business. Go back and check who was Nixon's favorite mayor and a big supporter of federal revenue sharing, an idea conceived by a Republican president and wholeheartedly embraced by Mayor Lugar. It really kicked off this whole idea of looking to D.C. to fund things that before had always been funded at the state and local level and, naturally, caused the federal budget to balloon. Nixon originally just wanted to give the money away without strings attached. It was only a matter of time before Washington managed to reach into every aspect of our lives by dictating how those monies had to be spent.

Lugar = RINO He's favors the LOST: http://en...

2010-11-16T20:17:05.687-05:00

Lugar = RINO

He's favors the LOST:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Convention_on_the_Law_of_the_Sea

...which is as BIG GOVernment as it gets.

The problem is the agencies count on the earmarks ...

2010-11-16T20:15:31.321-05:00

The problem is the agencies count on the earmarks being in the budget so they build room in their budgets to cover their spending priorities so the earmarks don't water down their priorities. It's a vicious cycle.

Lugar understands the way things work and refuses ...

2010-11-16T19:20:03.902-05:00

Lugar understands the way things work and refuses to play along with this charade on earmarks being promoted by the tea party.

Sigh...you write this as if you believe that endin...

2010-11-16T19:12:08.772-05:00

Sigh...you write this as if you believe that ending earmarks will prevent the money from being spent. It won't.

If the ALREADY APPROPRIATED money is not directed to a specific project, the money will be spent at the discretion of the agency to which it was appropriated. There would be ZERO change in spending.

Personally, I'd prefer to see the monies directed by the Executive Branch, but that's because I'm a Democrat. In the couple of years I've been reading you, I don't recall such an obvious distortion of facts.