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Originally Posted by dc_dux
I find Ron Paul's position on earmarks to be just a tad hypocritical and dishonest.
He claims earmarks are unconstitutional on the grounds that they do not support the "general welfare", yet in the fiscal 08 appropriation bills, he submitted 65 requests for earmarks for projects in his district (last year the average was under 60).
So he submits earmark requests from constitutents with barely a review of their merit; then votes against the appropriation bills on principle, knowing full well that the bills will pass with his earmarks included.
If he truly believes earmarks are unconstitutional, then he should reject them all. But turning down funding requests from constitutents for projects like marketing wild shrimp, renovation of an old theater, bridge repair, hospital research, etc...might hurt his reelection.
I do give him credit, along with Barak Obama, Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo, for making their earmark requests public. The other candidates have not.
But Is he really that much different?
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I think he's just caught between a rock and a hard place. Is it really fair for his constituents to get screwed over? Ideally his district would be able to spend their money how they see fit, but for some reason the Feds think they have to micro manage state affairs. I guess he just feels they should get some of that money back.
I highly doubt any of this will hurt his re-election at all, especially with all the support his been getting nationally. His house seat isn't going anywhere.