Harry Reid: Pork-Barrel Spending is his Main Priority

Out-of-touch Democrats want to deceive Americans with the old left-wing switchero - legislation with a warm and fuzzy name which will allow them to pick your pocket when you mistakenly think it will help prices at the pump (a big priority for most folks these days). This is Harry Reid's version of that old Robert Redford movie about the big con, aptly named, "The Sting." Thank Senator Coburn for bringing bug spray to the party.

Harry Reid’s Priorities

Gas prices are at record highs, and Congress’ approval ratings are at record lows. As Congress prepares to leave Washington for the month-long August recess, Senate liberals have done nothing constructive to lower gas prices or boost domestic oil production. (By the way, Senator McCain has a new ad targeting Barack Obama for your pain at the pump. You can see it here. Click on the tab for “TV AD: Pump.”)

But, yesterday on the Senate floor, Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid proposed a massive piece of legislation titled “Advancing America’s Priorities.” If you think this is a good bill designed to reduce gas prices or make America energy independent, think again.

The bill is nearly 400 pages long. It contains three dozen spending bills that would create more than 30 new federal programs and calls for at least $11 billion in increased federal spending. Clearly, Harry Reid has his own priorities – like growing the government and spending more of your hard-earned tax dollars.

Thankfully, Senator Tom Coburn objected to the bill’s introduction. Senator Coburn is one of the best friends American taxpayers have on Capitol Hill. For months now, Senator Coburn has unapologetically held up more than 70 bills stuffed with special interest pork-barrel spending projects. Senator Coburn believes that every bill should be paid for by cutting spending elsewhere in the bloated federal bureaucracy.

If these bills were debated one at a time, Senator Coburn would likely succeed in demonstrating how frivolous much of this proposed spending is. (Remember the Bridge to Nowhere?) And that’s exactly why Harry Reid has bundled them together. As a package, the Senate leadership may succeed in steamrolling Senator Coburn and other fiscal conservatives. Keep in mind, my friends, what it says about the priorities of Senate Democrats that they have chosen in the final days of this month to debate more spending rather than solving our energy crisis before going on a month-long recess!

ACTION ITEM: If you believe your senators should put the principle of fiscal discipline ahead of pork-barrel spending, take action now by clicking this link to send a message to your senators urging them to oppose Harry Reid’s unnecessary spending.

Gary Bauer
Campaign for Working Families