Posted by Tina
Ron Paul argues for earmarks, by Johanna Neuman FOX News
‘It’s like a tax credit,’ the Texas libertarian tells Fox News. ‘If I can give my district any money back, I encourage that.’ *** Reporting from Washington — Ron Paul, the Texas congressman who is the darling of the libertarian right, has more earmarks in the pork-laden $410-billion spending bill than any other Republican. *** Paul, a fiscal watchdog who said he voted against the bill because he believes federal spending is out of control, acknowledged that $73 million in the bill passed by his colleagues “might be” going to his district on Texas’ Gulf Coast for things like the intra-coastal waterway, the Texas City channel and Wallisville Lake. But he was fine with that. *** “The principle of the earmark is our responsibility. We’re supposed to — it’s like a — a tax credit. And I vote for all tax credits, no matter how silly they might seem. If I can give you any of your money back, I vote for it. So if I can give my district any money back, I encourage that. But because the budget is out of control, I haven’t voted for an appropriation in years — if ever. . . . I don’t think the federal government should be doing it. But if they’re going to allot the money, I have a responsibility to represent my people. If they say, Hey, look, put in a highway for the district, I put it in.
So what do you think guys, lame excuse or reasonable position for a representative of the people?