Saturday, April 26, 2008

Pueblo Chieftain Highlights Mark Udall's New, Temporary Decision to Fight Earmarks

The Pueblo Chieftain today lauds Boulder liberal Rep. Mark Udall:
Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, a Republican seeking re-election in the 4th District, and Rep. Mark Udall, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate, are joining the “no-earmark” movement. As Rep. Udall notes, Congress needs to adopt clear rules so that all budget amendments are identified by sponsor and cannot be added to House-Senate conference reports....

Note that neither of them is opposing spending targeted for local projects. Rather, they support a more open process of passing those spending proposals.
A few other relevant things to note:

1. Mark Udall is a latecomer to the no-earmark movement, and still doesn't have the clear, principled stand that his opponent Bob Schaffer has had for the past decade.
2. Mark Udall has said he doesn't plan to carry his no-earmarks pledge into the U.S. Senate, essentially admitting that it's a temporary political ploy to help him win office.
3. Mark Udall, Colorado's biggest purveyor of pork, has given seven-figure earmark contracts to a Boulder company that was a large contributor to his Congressional campaign.

So I guess it's nice that Mark Udall has decided to join the movement against earmarks, though it goes against the grain of his career and he admits it's only temporary.

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