A hotly contested Republican seat on the House Appropriations Committee will go to Rep. Jo Bonner of Alabama, rebuffing a desperate plea from a cash-starved Rep. Dave Reichert that “I need a seat now.”
Coming off a disappointing pathetic fundraising quarter in which the two-term incumbent now trails challenger Darcy Burner $607K to $463K in cash on hand, Reichert had hoped an Appropriations seat would fill his campaign coffers with earmark goodies, while bringing home some bacon to hungry 8th CD voters, and argued that he needed the assignment to help secure his slipping hold on the district. Apparently, House Republican leaders don’t think he’s worth saving.
Also jilted in a bid for appropriations was NRCC chair, Rep. Tom Cole, the man Reichert will have to rely on for party cash. We’ll see if Cole, rumored to be miffed at Reichert’s challenge, comes through for Dave in the clutch, the way the NRCC did big-time back in the closing weeks of both the 2004 and 2006 campaigns.
Deputy Dawg got his paws smacked, eh?
Serves the goon right. It’s going to be quite entertaining watching him twist and turn in the wind as the election comes closer.
Now that the leadership has served notice that he’s lower than pond scum on their Christmas list, his death spiral into obscurity will be fun to watch.
So the Republicans who have recently decided they hate Congressional ‘pork’ (not counting the last 6 years) wanted one of their members to get post just SO he could use this position to give out Federal money (projects) in exchange for campaign contributions? That’s the stated reason for him WANTING this post right?
Forget the hypocrisy of bitching about pork while trying to use it yourself, this is the sort of thing that MAKES money in politics not just a “free speech issue”. This is why big money in politics is corrupting. When it starts to require HUGE money to run, politicians start doing things like this, and using government money/power/projects as ‘favors’ for fund raisers, instead of for truly needed useful functions for the public.
Should we look for Sound Transit’s funding to get pulled to pay for ornamental plantings around all the TVA power dams?
ArtFart @ 3
Jo Bonner represents the 1st district of Alabama, which is centered around Mobile, on the Gulf Coast in the very southern part of the state. Maybe more funds will be directed to Hurricane Katrina relief? Although the TVA does have a number of dams and facilities in the northern part of the state.
The seat would have been meaningless to the region as it is already represented by Norm Dicks, who after all was the one that helped get money to pay for Mt. Rainier facilities and road repairs while Reichert did nothing for the park even though it is in his district.
Reichert simply wanted to have another medal he could pin on his lapel for the upcoming campaign. His 419th influential ranking in the House will surely stay that way.
When you think about it, Bonner was a much more logical choice than Reichert. Bonner is one of the brighter lights in the Republican party in the House. He has a lot of political experience and seems to be pretty effective as a member. And Republicans are stronger in his district — Bonner was re-elected in 2006 with 68% of the vote. So, in numerous ways, it is better for the Republicans to have Bonner on the Appropriations Committee and better for the House of Representatives to advance his prospects over Reichert’s.
HA Fucking HA!
I agree with post @ 2, money corrupts politicians. Publicly funded elections and nothing else. Everyone gets an equal cut and the constituents get an equal seat at the table.
Here’s a good one. Too good to pass up:
Bravo!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....85816.html
Interesting that I just got an email about how Reichert is going to be at a meeting of the local chapter of the National Association of Office and Industrial Parks.
Fascinating, too, how they claim that the “perspective of a Democrat will also be represented”…
—–
2008 – It’s a Dynamic Political Climate!
*Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
*Washington Athletic Club – 1325 Sixth Avenue, Seattle 98101
7:00am, Registration and Networking; 7:30 – 9:00am, Breakfast and Program*
CLICK HERE to Register
*With a lame duck president, hotly-contested races in both the Republican and Democratic parties for the presidency, and a likely do-over of one of the closest battles in history for Governor all occurring in 2008, this month we will be hearing from representatives of both parties on the current national and local political climate.
Joining us will be Republican Dave Reichert, the 8th District Congressman. With over 30 years of law enforcement experience including eight years as Sheriff, Reichert was elected to Congress in 2004. During his first term, Reichert was rated the 2nd most powerful Washington State US Representative by Congress.org and was only the 6th freshman representative in history to be named chairman of a subcommittee.
Reichert was reelected in November of 2006 and now in his second term, Dave is ranking member of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment. He is considered one of the House of Representative’s experts on port security.
A native of Minnesota, Reichert has lived in Washington since 1951 and is a graduate of Concordia Lutheran College in Portland, Oregon. He currently lives in Auburn with his wife of 35 years.
The perspective of a Democrat will also be represented.
Thank You to Our Sponsors!!
*
United Reprographics
Wright Runstad & Company*
* In order to ensure your seat, reservations and cancellations must be made by Monday, February 18th. Phone reservations are considered firm and no-shows *WILL BE BILLED!* *All payments MUST be received before the event date!
@2
Ted Stevens (R- Bridge to nowhere) is once again the king of pork.
http://ap.google.com/article/A.....wD8UPQ2U01
Only 18 Lawmakers Shunned Pet Projects
By ANDREW TAYLOR – 21 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Only a dozen House members and half as many senators declined to play in Congress’ pork barrel playground last year by refusing to ask for home state projects, a Washington-based watchdog group disclosed Wednesday.
Their more than 500 colleagues easily filled the gap, obtaining more than $18 billion worth of these so-called earmarks, according to a database assembled by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a budget watchdog group that advocates sharply curbing the practice.
A familiar club of old-school lawmakers on the pork-dispensing appropriations committees send home the lion’s share of the loot, with the most adroit earmarkers obtaining well more than $100 per resident in projects and grants for their states.
The champion is Republican Ted Stevens, who has represented Alaska in the Senate for 40 years and is a former Appropriations Committee chairman who obtained the lion’s share of the $345 million in earmarks his state is getting this year. Alaska’s earmarks in 2008 amount to $506 for every resident of the state.
Even the Builders have given up on the Republicans:
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/.....lenews_wsj
Pope @ 5: Didn’t I hear in yesterday’s news that the Republican governor of Mississipi had prevailed upon the Bush Administration to give him permission to use Katrina Relief funds to build a highway near the new Toyota plant in that state? The plant isn’t close to the Katrina impact zone.
It seems that while lots of residents are still living in trailers, most of the money the federal government has dedicated to Katrinia relief has actually gone towards infrastructure to support the new casinos and hotels being built along the coastline. This new strategy takes it further, sending the money even further north to support big business, and skipping over entirely the residents in between.
And today we hear that FEMA has finally agreed that the travel trailers these people have been living in for the past few years are, in fact, toxic (a fact that they have previously denied heretofore). So they are going to establish a deadline for residents to move out of the trailers. But since the Katrina money is being spent on highways to support big business, where are they going to live?
Maybe, with a Mississipi congressman on the appropriations committee, they are expecting more money to replace that which they are spending elsewhere?
rhp6033 @ 12
Somehow I suspect that the folks who would be benefited by the Katrina housing funds are not folks who support Haley Barbour or any other Republicans in very large numbers at all in Mississippi. The money being diverted — $25 million for the highway in northern Mississippi (not Katrina impacted) and $600 million for port expansion (obviously in the Katrina zone, but an entirely different use of money) — was supposed to have been used to rebuild and repair housing damaged or destroyed by Katrina. Unfortunately, the bill actually passed by Congress gave the Bush administration too much flexibility to divert the funds to other purposes.
Michael: Heilary Clinton per the WAPO: “Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton helped secure more than $342 million worth of home-state projects in last year’s spending bills, placing her among the top 10 Senate recipients of what are commonly known as earmarks, according to a new study by a nonpartisan budget watchdog group.”
In the fiscal 2008 defense-spending bill alone, Clinton successfully attached 26 earmarks worth $148 million.
Barack Obama – $91 Million
John McCain – $0.00
What’s so interesting here is Heilary does not sit on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
@14
The state of Alaska has 670,053 people in it and has senators from a party that claims to be anti-earmark.
New York has a population of 19,306,183 and has senators from a party that doesn’t claim to be anti-earmark.
And Alaska beats out New York for earmarks?
http://quickfacts.census.gov
anonymous coward in Seattle: “A native of Minnesota, Reichert has lived in Washington since 1951 and is a graduate of Concordia Lutheran College in Portland, Oregon.”
Reichert is an embarrassment to good Lutherans, Minnesotans, and Oregonians. Given his pedigree, his stupidity is hard to explain.
“David G. Reichert was born in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, in 1950, the oldest of seven children and grandson of the town marshal. His family moved to Washington State in 1951, living first in Renton and later in Kent, where Reichert attended Kent Meridian High School. He graduated from Concordia Lutheran College in Portland, Oregon, where he played football and met his wife of more than 35 years, Julie. The Reicherts currently live in Auburn and have three grown children, Angela, Tabitha and Daniel, and six grandchildren.”
http://www.house.gov/reichert/biography.shtml
My understanding is that Dave Reichert only has an Associate of Arts degree from Concordia. I have seen website which refer to it as “AA in Social Work”, see e.g.: “In 1970, Reichert earned an AA Social Work in 1970 from Concordia Lutheran College in Portland, Oregon[4] where he also played on the football team.” (Wikipedia, link omitted to avoid spam filter)
However, Concordia doesn’t currently (and may not have back then) offer an AA in anything other than General Studies. On the other hand, I haven’t see the specific “AA in Social Work” on either his official or campaign websites.
Still, this tells you something. Most people don’t go to a four year university with the goal of only earning an AA degree. Especially not to a prestigious private university, even if they also happen to be on the football team.
And claiming to have “graduated from Concordia Lutheran College”, while perhaps technically correct, is somewhat misleading. Most people reading this would think Reichert at least had a four year degree, rather than stopping his education after only two years.
Jo Bonner is at least smarter than Dave Reichert. Bonner was able to earn a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Alabama in 1982.
Incidentally, Pete von Reichbauer also has a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Alabama, which he earned in the late 1960’s. For whatever reason, von Reichbauer has been the only member of the King County Council who has never claimed to have a college degree in his official biographies and campaign materials. Seven of the other eight members of the King County Council also have bachelor’s degrees, in addition to von Reichbauer.
And while we are talking about higher education (and Alabama), my grandfather was appointed to the state college board in Alabama — which at the time oversaw all of the state’s public instituions of higher education — back around 1960, when he only had a high school diploma himself.
Why would a member of the minority party get earmarks for his district? Shouldn’t congress cut spending? The president told us we can’t afford food stamps for the hungry or tax rebates for veterans and the elderly. If the federal government’s finances are that desperate, then it seems to me GOP earmarks should be eliminated first. After all, when they ran congress, they gave themselves enough earmarks for the next 50 years.
I can see why a right winger looking at this thread would want to change the subject.
Roger…guess you are a right winger now …what happened o you ?
14 – The commenter can’t spell Senator Clinton’s first name correctly.
Oh, it’s PuddyStupid.
Nevermind.
@20 How do you figure that?
@20 (continued) I’ve been called a lot of vile things, and usually take it in stride, but this takes the cake.
So I’m going to have to endure at least 2 years of Dumbass Darcy. Yuck.
@14
Ted Stevens represents a state with 670,053 people in it.
HRC represents a state with a population of 19,306,183.
I guess I should congratulate senator Stevens as he got his people $506 dollars per person. HRC only got her peeps around 13 cents a person.
A: Earmarks, $18 billion
B: Federal Government discretionary budget (excludes Soc. Security, Medicare, unemployment ins., interest) $1.114 trillion.
A divided by B = 1.5%