Under normal circumstances, most folks find Rep. Randy Forbes to be a solid conservative, but in the latest Federal Omnibus bill, Forbes is part of the GOP’s 40% problem.
As most of you know by now, there are nearly 9000 earmarks in the next omnibus bill, and 40% of them are from the GOP. This point creates an inconvenient problem for fiscal conservatives who are trying to take back their party after eight years in the wilderness under the Bush Administration.
When House Republicans voted en masse against the last federal bailout bill, which included Forbes, it looked as if the GOP was moving forward to regaining the trust of conservatives.
Then, this week’s bombshell that 40% of the earmarks on the omnibus bill belong to the GOP, caused a lot of that good will to erode, as well as the GOP’s credibility.
So what was worth earmarking in the 4th CD?
More transit? Education? Modeling and simulation?
Nope.
A cool million for the Great Dismal Swamp.
According to a Forbes release:
$898,000 for the Dismal Swamp Canal Route. The funds will be used to continue to operate low level water control structures, navigation locks, bridges, and canals and to perform critical backlog maintenance.
$59,000 for a feasibility study of the Dismal Swamp and Dismal Swamp Canal. The funding will allow the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a study of flooding related to the Dismal Swamp Canal.
My question to the congressman: how much revenue does the City of Chesapeake and the 4th District generate per year from the boats that traverse the canal? Is it worth $1 million? How much comes back to the district for tourism?
Admittedly, this can be a tough decision, but when Republicans and conservatives are trying to send a message that this is the party to protect jobs, stimulate economic growth, and become less dependent on government, flushing fat into the brackish water of the swamp stinks.
