Freshmen Democrats Break Pork Pledge
Freshmen Democrats Break Pork Pledge Score at Bottom of Club for Growth RePORK Card
Washington – Many Freshmen Democrats were elected to Congress on pledges of fiscal responsibility and promises to oppose wasteful pork projects. Only seven months into their freshmen term, many of these congressmen have reneged on their pledges faster than you can say “sausage factory.”
The Club for Growth has compiled a RePORK Card of all House members’ votes on the 50 anti-pork amendments offered during the appropriations process (viewable here). As the RePORK Card demonstrates, the average Freshmen Democrats voted for pork as often as the Democratic Party as a whole—scoring an average of 2%. In stark contrast, the average score for Freshmen Republicans was 78%.
Some of the Democrats who broke anti-pork promises include:
Nancy Boyda (KS-2): Running against Republican Jim Ryun in 2006, Boyda wrote on her campaign website: “Congress must never waste a single taxpayer dime on needless spending . . . Wasteful spending has increased exponentially in recent years.” Boyda received a humiliating score of 0% on the 2007 RePORK Card, voting against every single anti-pork amendment. Apparently, Nancy Boyda thinks $50,000 for the Mule and Packers Museum in California is not a waste of taxpayer dollars.
Heath Shuler (NC-11): In his race to unseat Republican Representative Charles Taylor, the former football player attacked the incumbent Republican for his “irresponsible” earmarks (Wall Street Journal, 10/11/06) and said that “the people of North Carolina deserve better” (US Fed News Service, 10/11/06). Shuler scored a 0% on the Club’s RePORK Card, voting for such “irresponsible” earmarks as the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine and the American Jazz Museum in Missouri.
Nick Lampson (TX-22): Running in 2006, Nick Lampson declared on his campaign website: “We have terrible waste in our government that can be addressed right now. We shouldn't be spending on pork projects like bridges to nowhere in Alaska and a tea pot museum in North Carolina. We must set priorities and stick to them.” Seven months later, Rep. Lampson scored an abysmal 0% on the Club for Growth’s RePORK Card. Would Lampson like to explain why $300,000 for the On Location Entertainment Industry Craft and Technician Training project in California doesn’t constitute “waste in our government?”
Tim Mahoney (FL-16): According to his campaign website, Rep. Tim Mahoney campaigned on wide-sweeping ethics reform that included a platform to “Cut the Pork.” If Rep. Mahoney is really interested in cutting pork, he might want to explain why he voted against 48 anti-pork amendments.
Harry Mitchell (AZ-5): Rep. Mitchell beat the fiscal responsibility drum on his 2006 campaign website: “Unfortunately, fiscal irresponsibility and pork-barrel spending has Washington swimming in red ink . . . In Congress, I will promote fiscal policy that is both responsible and accountable, just as I did at the local level.” That’s funny, because Rep. Mitchell scored a meager 2% on the 2007 RePORK Card. Arizona taxpayers are trying to figure out how earmarks for the Kansas Regional Prisons Museum and the Houston Zoo qualify as “responsible and accountable.”
“It is clear that many Democratic Freshmen were willing to say just about anything on the campaign trail in order to get elected,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “It is easy to make pledges of fiscal responsibility, but clearly, it is a lot easier to break those pledges. Luckily, taxpayers can look up their representatives on the RePORK Card and see which congressmen are living up to their promises of fiscal responsibility.”
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