A Politician’s Rare Moment Of Candor
The Politico reports on the reaction of Alaska Congressman Don Young to efforts by Congressional Republicans to cut back on pork to his state:
Rep. Don Young attacked his fellow Republicans on the House floor Wednesday, as he defended education funds allocated to his home state of Alaska.
“You want my money, my money,” Young stridently declared before warning conservatives that “those who bite me will be bitten back.”
It’s rare that a politician speaks in public what they will never admit to, that they consider your tax dollars and mine to be theirs to do with as they wish. Apparently, Congressman Young was so outraged by what his fellow Republicans did that he forgot that you shouldn’t say what you’re thinking all the time.
Then, it got better, as Young continued his rant:
During his brief tirade Wednesday, Young suggested Republicans lost their majority because Garrett, whom he did not specifically name, and others had challenged spending during the GOP’s tenure. He also had disparaging things to say about the great state of New Jersey — home to the Sopranos and Bon Jovi.
Leaving aside for the moment Young’s attack on the state of my birth, his theory basically boils down to the argument that the GOP lost control of Congress because they didn’t spend enough money on wasteful pork.
And just in case you forgot who Young is:
Young, who used to chair the House Transportation Committee, is responsible for the so-called “Bridge to Nowhere,” a proposed span connecting Ketchikan, Alaska, with the tiny island of Gravina that would have cost $315 million — and eventually came to symbolize profligate spending under Republican rule.
No wonder he’s so upset.
