75 ordspråk av Keith Ashdown
Keith Ashdown
Most other lobbyists would give up their second lung to get that kind of access. It's not always illegal, but it's definitely a strategy of influence that's unparalleled.
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Murtha walks on water. If you want anything done on the committee, you go to Murtha. Murtha is the reason why the [defense appropriations] bill gets done each year.
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One of the challenges of defense earmarks -- when you get initial bill 3 or 4 percent has a location tied to the earmark, then look at 535 releases and triangulate to figure out where the money is going.
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Our Iraq presence isn't going away; the only thing going away is the people watching how the money is being spent. If you don't have anyone watching it, the precedent is that the money will be wasted.
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Pigs will fly before we cut this pork. I don't know how we'll make this happen.
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Senators are betting that pandering to the public with billions in election-year promises will pay off more than they lose by cutting the fiscal conservatives in their own party off at the knees.
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The fact is, there are not the checks and balances to make sure the money is spent well.
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The last thing on people's minds are these good investments. We are making terrible decisions on where money goes.
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The only issue will be how is Congress going to react.
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The only thing I think can happen is that (Congress enacts) a very large, across-the-board cut, ... and nobody is talking about that. Every major program has an 800-pound gorilla protecting it.
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The other reason you see Murtha get so much is because Young does not ask for very much.
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The secrecy is awful. We've created a system where we choose how government spends money based on the strength of your politician and not the need of your district.
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There are probably thousands of businesses that need this type of help, but this happens to be in the back yard of the lawmaker who runs the subcommittee.
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There are thousands of quid pro quos that occur daily in the halls of Congress. Earmarking is the quo. It's what lawmakers can offer to lobbyists in exchange for political contributions and whatever else. It's part of the puzzle.
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There are very few things that I read that kick me in the gut. This is beyond my wildest guess of how bad it actually is — how bad, how long and how nobody knew about it, ... I don't think Democrats or Republicans win on this. It basically makes people detest Congress even more and deters voter turnout.
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