Bonner | MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

Alabama’s Jo Bonner appointed to House Appropriations Committee

That would be MY representative, Jo Bonner. This is good news for conservatives, because Rep. Bonner has seen the light since the 2006 election.

The conventional view in Washington is that members seek a slot on the Appropriations Committee in the hope of steering more money to their districts. Congressman Bonner undoubtedly will look after the interests of his district — after all, that’s an important part of his job.

However, he can’t put parochial concerns before the national interest in prudent budgeting. If he does put pork first, he will compound the federal government’s budget woes and help consign his party to minority status for the foreseeable future.

From all indications, Congressman Bonner understands his new responsibilities. He issued a statement supporting the Republican leadership’s call for a moratorium on earmarks — local projects inserted in the budget without debate or a full vote in the House and the Senate. He also promised to “serve as a vigilant guardian of the taxpayers’ money, helping to expose and eliminate wasteful or questionable spending.”

Critics of congressional pork note that the congressman has contributed his share to wasteful, pork barrel spending. But, unlike some of his Republican colleagues, he seems to have learned a lesson from the party’s stinging defeat in the 2006 election.

Last year, for instance, Congressman Bonner voted to uphold President Bush’s veto of a pork-stuffed appropriations bill. With that vote, which he said he cast in “a greater effort to help restrain federal spending,” Mr. Bonner helped shoot down two projects for his own district.

He correctly observed that Republicans lost control of Congress because they didn’t control spending. Too many GOP leaders succumbed to the temptations associated with the power to distribute federal dollars. Some of them fell into outright corruption, directing earmarks to special interests in exchange for bribes.

Jo Bonner is a man of his word, and this portends a dim future for porkers in Congress. (Thanks to Quin Hillyer for the link to the al.com piece.)

From Bonner’s statement following the appointment:

“This appointment to the House Appropriations Committee means even more to me when you take into account the many outstanding colleagues the Steering Committee had from which to choose. Just being considered along with friends like Tom Cole, Henry Brown, Dave Reichert, Marilyn Musgrave, Jeff Flake, and Mike Turner has been an honor in itself.

“The current earmark process has become a symbol of a broken Washington. I sought this seat on the Appropriations Committee because I believe the time for change and reform – especially of the appropriations process and the much scrutinized subject of earmarks – is now. My first priority as a member of the committee will be to serve as a vigilant guardian of the taxpayers’ money, helping to expose and eliminate wasteful or questionable spending. Towards that end, I have strongly supported the efforts of House Republican leadership to reform the current earmark process and eliminate wasteful spending.

“I support my leaders’ call for a moratorium on all earmarks while a bipartisan select committee identifies ways to eliminate pork barrel spending. Speaker Pelosi has the power to bring the earmark process to an immediate halt. Until she does, I will use my seat on this committee to ensure there is full accountability and transparency on the Appropriations Committee in the spending decisions it makes.

“By entrusting me with this position, the Steering Committee has charged me with helping to reform the earmark process and restoring fiscal credibility to Washington. I won’t let them down.”

With a “vigilant guardian of the taxpayers’ money” on Appropriations and if we elect John McCain as President, we can get some real change in the budgetary process. Not just rhetorical change, REAL change for the better.

In fairness, there are other conservatives who aren’t happy about this; they were pushing for Jeff Flake for the committee appointment (not that I opposed him) and say Rep. Bonner is a porker. I think it’s only fair to give Jo Bonner a chance to show he’s serious about earmark reform, and support him as long as he supports the taxpayers’ best interests. I don’t think hammering him for past transgressions* is productive. As the Mobile Register’s editorial said, he has recently “shot down two projects in his own district” (my district!), so that says quite a bit in itself. Bonner is known as a man of his word, and as his constituent, I’ll be paying attention, as will his critics. I don’t expect to be disappointed.

* One man’s cancer research center is another man’s “pork,” I guess. Same goes for hurricane relief. You know what they say, all politics is local.