Snooki Noem screamin’ out of both sides of her mouth (H/T – Helga)

l3wis

13 years ago

Just like her buddy Ironic Johnny Thune-Bag, Noem bellies up to the trough

Freshman Republicans Lobby Federal Agencies For Millions Amid Spending Critiques

As lawmakers prepare to cut trillions of dollars from the budget as a condition to raising the nation’s debt ceiling, the story of the Cates Landing project underscores the dilemma that faces many members of the Republican-run House and the freshmen class in particular. Federal spending is derided as nothing short of a threat to the country’s future — unless, of course, it happens to be directed at that congressman’s home district.

Sara Sendek, a spokesman for Fincher, noted that the $13 million grant request was actually made by his predecessor, Rep. Jon Tanner (D-Tenn.). Even so, she added, “Congressman Fincher does support this project.”

As for the why: “He believes government does play a role in creating an environment that attracts private investment and job growth. This project does exactly that,” she said. “It is very important for Tennessee’s economy and for the country’s economy. So it was absolutely worthwhile.”

Such an explanation sounds like something out of the mouth of a Keynesian economist, rather than the musings of a congressman whoÂ proudly touts his support from the Tea Party movement. But Fincher is hardly alone. A Freedom of Information Act request of the communications between freshmen House members and federal agencies reveals that, in private, GOP lawmakers have pressed for tens of millions of dollars in federal help for their districts, even while decrying federal spending in front of the national press corps.

And then Snooki steps in . . .As much as the spending requests raise questions about the ideological consistency of the freshmen Republican class, they also underscore the arguments Democrats have been making during the height of deficit-reduction debate: The government plays a vital role in activities that the private sector often avoids.

This, undoubtedly, was what compelled freshmen Reps. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.), Scott Tipton (R-Colo.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.) toÂ co-sign an April 6 letter to the Department of Agriculture requesting that unused funds be spent helping the Rocky Mountain Region combat a bark beetle epidemic. It also seemed to be the thought process behind another letter Noem wrote to the Agriculture Department, demanding that South Dakota get its fair share of federal funds for wildfire damage control. Noem’s office did not return a request for comment.

Whether these members can turn around and make that argument that, for all their anti-spending bluster, the money they have requested is both legitimate and necessary may prove a tricky — though not impossible — task. Securing a contract for a defense company in one’s home district or getting a grant to build a new port are tried and true measures of securing voter support. And so long as the expenses are justified as legitimate and job-creating, even members of the Tea Party seem willing to limit their concerns to the practice of securing the money and not the money itself.

“Obviously there is going to be infrastructure spending, and one of the jobs of a Representative is to represent their district,” said Mark Meckler, co-founder of Tea Party Patriots. “I would say that we should be paying close attention to this process of petitioning federal agencies [for money] â€¦ But I don’t think anybody is saying that when the federal government is spending money, that no congressman should try to fund projects his district needs. I think what they are saying is we don’t want egregious, crazy, pork barrel spending.”