House Republicans don't wanna be on Appropriations

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speedracer

Banned
I know this is a story that no one really gives a shit about, but it's one that really honest to god illustrates how completely full of shit I think the Republicans/Tea Parties are on cutting the budget.

The Appropriations Committee is one of the (if not the) most powerful committees. You're (essentially) in charge of the budget. That means you can cut it or you can bring home the bacon to your district. If you really wanted to make a difference on the budget, you'd be foaming at the mouth to get on it.

Naturally, no one wants on.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/45250.html#ixzz15Zb4N3N6
A band of conservative rebels has taken over the House, vowing to slash spending, cut the deficit and kill earmarks.

And of course they’d love a seat on the powerhouse Appropriations Committee so they can translate their campaign zeal into action, right?

Not really.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) was asked to be an appropriator and said thanks, but no thanks. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), a tea party favorite, turned down a shot at Appropriations, which controls all discretionary spending. So did conservatives like Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), an ambitious newcomer who will lead the influential Republican Study Committee.

Indeed, the Appropriations Committee just doesn’t seem to be the plum assignment it once was, and the line is short for new recruits to join a panel where the longtime focus on bringing home earmarks and other goodies will shift to finding $100 billion in spending cuts. Even conservative reformers who do get assigned to the committee are likely to be stymied once their appropriations bills reach the floor and get amended to death, then potentially earmarked into oblivion by a Democratic Senate.

“Anybody who’s a Republican right now, come June, is going to be accused of hating seniors, hating education, hating children, hating clean air and probably hating the military and farmers, too,” said Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), a fiscal conservative who is lobbying to become chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. “So much of the work is going to be appropriations related. There’s going to be a lot of tough votes. So some people may want to shy away from the committee. I understand it.”

Kingston said he’s approached Bachmann, King and Westmoreland about the committee, and they all told him they weren’t interested.

That leaves Republican leaders in a dilemma: How do they live up to the tea-party-driven effort to slash spending if the committee that controls the purse is still dominated by old bulls and senior lawmakers who are only grudgingly giving up earmarks?
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Um, they don't?
 
Isn't this pretty much the best example of how many politicians work in this country? It's all bluster and talk, but no action.
 
It's easy, if they aren't on the committee, they can just bash the democrats who are for not cutting spending etc. Then they can pressure them to cut things, which they'll probably do, all without even being on the committee.
 
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