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A Word from A Republican Lobbyist

By Larry Johnson on April 22, 2008 at 1:56 PM in Economy, Employment, Housing & Housing Crisis, Lobbyists, PACs & Lobbying Groups, Workers

I have friends who are lobbyists. Some are Republicans. Some are Democrats. I got this today from a friend on the Republican side of the aisle. I think it is instructive:

Today oil prices hit yet another record high. Food prices are soaring. In the United States, stores are beginning to ration the sale of rice, flour and cooking oil due to food shortages. The dollar continues weaken and inflation continues to grow and only threatens to get worse. 80,000 Americans lost their jobs last month, and tens of thousands of layoffs have already been announced this month. We are in the midst of a housing crisis, a mortgage crisis, and a credit and financial crisis. The Fed had to step in and rescue one of the country’s largest investment banks. Homeowners have had their home equity lines of credit shut down. Inventories are up. You can’t pick up the Wall Street Journal each week without seeing the words “recession, depression, or crisis.” The War on Terror is far from won and we continue to suffer major setbacks in Afghanistan. The US military continues to weaken, and the Army and Marine Corps are enlisting convicted felons in order to fill their ranks. People across this country from all demographics are genuinely frightened. Yet, the only thing the House Republicans can talk about is an earmark moratorium. Eliminating earmarks tomorrow won’t solve any of these problems. Arguably, it could make some of them worse. We all know this is a gimmick. Earmark money is not “new” money put in spending bills, so what programs are they going to cut from Bush’s request to create money for a proposed stimulus check? The time for gimmicks has passed. The country has real problems and needs real leaders with real solutions. How many more House seats do they need to lose in order for them to figure this out? Wasn’t the loss of Hastert’s seat a clear signal of what awaits them in November if they don’t start offering the country a real agenda?

I agree with my friend.  Earmarks, in and of themselves, are not evil.  I believe in full disclosure.  My friend’s point is that the Congress, particularly the Republicans, are fiddling while our nation burns.  Think any of these things will be issues in the fall?