Are the Democrats Even Fucking Trying Anymore?

So I'm watching CNN and they did a piece on the Ouzinke, Alaska airport boondoggle. Typical example of a gigantic waste of 14.7 million of stimulus money.* Sorry, fellow DKos'ers, CNN is not in cahoots with the GOP to bring down Obama by misrepresenting totally valid infrastructure spending. This project actually is garbage. They're building a completely unnecessary airstrip (the town's second) for a tiny village of 200 people. Townspeople concede the new airstrip will barely even be used since it's farther away from the village and they've been using the current one without incident for over 30 years. It's in the same vain as the Bridge to Nowhere - though it only wastes 14 million instead of wasting 400 million.

The Bridge to Nowhere though, as hideously wasteful as it was, was the result of a logical political calculus. Republican Sen. Stevens and Rep. Young shamelessly looted the federal treasury to gain favor with their constituents. They traded their yay votes on an appropriations bill for a massive porky gift. The Republicans broke all kinds of pork records during W's reign, this was the way they did business.

Unsavory? Sure, but at least it made fucking sense.

Contrast it to the stimulus bill. The Republicans (along with a few Dems) voted against it across the board. "Wasteful... porkulous... simultaneously too large and not stimulative enough..." - but THEY STILL GOT THEIR PET PORK PROJECTS! **

Two out of Alaska's three representatives are Republican and of course they voted against the Stimulus bill but an at worst egregious and at best dubious 14.7 million project for a second airstrip for 200 people still gets through!

The Republicans, having one of the smallest minorities in a long time, should have close to zero leverage. The Democrats don't even need to buy their votes to pass anything.

But the Democrats are still giving Republicans pet pork projects in exchange for... NOTHING! (Not even votes they don't need!) Oh wait not nothing, in exchange for the right to be dragged over the coals and called big wasteful tax and spenders. In exchange for the right the be the poster children for wasteful spending and fiscal recklessness. The Republicans get to take the fiscally responsible high ground voting against the Stimulus while simultaneously reaping its political benefits. Is it any wonder the Democrats are setup to be massacred in 2010?

* Local Alaskan Op-Ed on the project

** WSJ Article about stimulus spending in GOP districts



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