Kratovil And Bartlett Use Smoke And Mirrors
Dec 15, 2009 Political
Maryland Congressmen Frank Kratovil (D – MD1) and Roscoe Bartlett (R – MD6) voted against the year end spending bill that contained millions of dollars in earmarks. They are touting themselves as champions of the people who are fiscally responsible.
The only problem is that this is all smoke and mirrors. Both of these Congressmen requested earmarks and those were inserted in the bill. They then voted against the bill knowing that it would pass and they would get what they requested while pretending that they were against it from the start.
If these two boneheads were actually responsible they would not have requested ANY earmarks. We are in tough financial times and while I am opposed to the earmark process all together, it is especially important not to request them when our economy is in dire straits.
Kratovil is my Congressman and I have a few words for him. You are out pal. Andy Harris is going to beat you in 2010. You rode the Obama coattails in on the anybody but Bush gravy train along with the turncoat Gilchrest supporting you in 2008 but MD1 is a Conservative district. The people here do not want you and you are going home as a one term Congressman.
You sealed your fate with this sham maneuver designed to trick people into thinking you are concerned about the budget. You and Bartlett played a parlor game with your vote and while you will tout your tough stance and principled position I will be out in the community working hard to defeat you. Gilchrest ignored me and he went home. You are on your way.
Those of you in MD6, please find a few good, responsible candidates to challenge Bartlett. He played the same game as Kratovil and he did it with the intent of deceiving you. Both of these men knew the bill would pass without their votes and they inserted earmarks knowing full well the bill would pass. Here is the hypocrisy from Kratovil:
Kratovil, in a statement, said that while the package included “many deserving programs and projects,” it failed to reflect the “tough choices” needed to control federal spending.
Frank, the tough choices are to NOT add earmarks. It is not a tough choice to vote no if you know the bill will pass and you will get what you wanted in the first place. The Democrats who voted against this bill are from conservative districts so their NO vote was cover for them (and I am sure they had earmarks as well). This is a game and it is Congress openly saying that the American public is stupid.
For those of you in Maryland who are out of work or having trouble making ends meet, Kratovil had 36 MILLION dollars in earmark requests (Bartlett had more than 16 MILLION dollars worth). It is always easy to spend someone else’s money. In this case, Kratovil is spending money we do not have, something he said we should make the tough choice not to do.
If either of these men had scruples or the courage of their convictions (or at least the convictions they claim to have) they would not have inserted any earmarks.
Source:
Baltimore Sun
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