Cincinnati-area Congressman John Boehner was elected House majority leader by his fellow Republicans this afternoon. It's been rightly pointed out that Boehner has accepted campaign contributions from a number of lobbying groups.
But, something that hasn't gotten as much play is that Boehner has always been an implacable foe of earmarks, those appropriations inserted into pieces of legislation that contain unnecessary pork barrel spending. Boehner has been so opposed to earmarks that he has refused to get them for his congressional district, often creating problems for him with fellow Republicans there. He deserves props for his courage and consistency on this issue, I think.
Check out this article about Boehner from 2004.
2 comments:
A Republican standing up against earmarks in the DeLay era is a remarkable leader.
I've received email today from various organizations, such as the Jewish Democratic Council, complaining about Boehner, I need to read more about the new House Leader, I guess.
Blunt was Delay's righthand man. It's also great that Repubs bypassed him.
Deborah:
I'd be interested in knowing what the Jewish Democratic Council has against Boehner.
Frankly, I think that any member of Congress who stands against earmarks is remarkable, irrespective of their party affiliation.
Mark
Post a Comment