Monday, October 03, 2005

I Know What You're Doin'

Two rightwing hacks, Instayokel and the New Zealand Bear, have gone into a politically clever business:

Identify some wasteful spending in your state or (even better) Congressional District. Put up a blog post on it. Go to N.Z. Bear’s new PorkBusters page and list the pork, and add a link to your post.

Then call your Senators and Representative and ask them if they’re willing to support having that program cut or — failing that — what else they’re willing to cut in order to fund Katrina relief. (Be polite, identify yourself as a local blogger and let them know you’re going to post the response on your blog). Post the results. Then go back to NZ Bear’s page and post a link to your followup blog post.

The result should be a pretty good resource of dubious spending, and Congressional comments thereon, for review by blogs, members of the media, etc. And maybe even members of Congress looking for wasteful spending…


How very noble. No one likes wasteful guvment spending, after all. And this is after Katrina and Rita; every little bit counts, does it not?

Right.

The true motive of these hacktastic jackasses is transparent. It's a grassroots diversion.

The truth is that the deficit is in the toilet because of Iraq, tax cuts, and gifts to the pharmaceutical and energy sectors. With it being politically suicidal (and that should be a hint, wingnuts, how unpopular your philosophy really is) to choose the typical Republican response to the hurricanes -- doing nothing -- spending's gonna skyrocket from its already intolerable levels. These two wingnuts know what's coming.

Thus "porkbusters", a silly distraction so that the truly wasteful policies favored by wingnuttery do not change. In other words, "Billions For Big Oil, The Upper Class, And Military Contractors, Not One Cent For Infrastructure Or Social Programs."

It's an old trick, really. I can give an example from my area. Most of the big farmers are wealthy, white and Republican. They constantly complain about that scourge, "Government Spending", and its result, taxes. Okay, I say, please return the thousands you got this year in subsidies while refraining from sending your children to public schools, using public roads, and consulting with the county agent (for starters). After the mushroom cloud, the rage and aploplexy, comes an incoherent rant in which (it's inevitable) the true wastes are denounced and blame is diverted. People -- black people, yes yes -- on welfare are the real problems, and don't you say my subsidies are welfare because by God I work for a livin.

Same with Instayokel and The Bear Who Shits In The Woods: What are you talkin about, Iraq and the Upper Class Tax Cut when you've got this here bridge to nowhere they're building! Don't look at the President, look at Congress!

Harry Reid has already recieved a negative rating from the hacks:

Harry sent a letter that included this: .."the Executive Branch also needs to do a better job of managing projects.


Ummhmm.

Genuine porkbusting's a fine hobby; when it's initiated by pigfuckers is when I get suspicious.