Ron Paul: McCain's earmark opposition just 'grandstanding' David Edwards and Muriel Kane

Published: Wednesday March 11, 2009





Print This Email This Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) has been known for years as a leading earmarker, despite his criticisms of government spending, and no Republican member of the House of Representatives had more earmarks in the recently-passed omnibus spending bill.



However, when called on his earmarking ways by Fox News host Neil Cavuto, Paul was unrepentant. He even charged that Sen. John McCain, who has recently been the leading critic of earmarks, "totally misunderstands -- that's grandstanding."



Paul explained that he actually approves of earmarks because they force Congress to specify how funds are to be allocated. "We should earmark every penny," Paul suggested. "The whole idea that you vote against an earmark -- you don't save a penny. That just goes to the administration and they get to allocate the funds. ... The most important thing is to have transparency."



"It just strikes people as a little weird," Cavuto insisted. "You champion and rail against government waste. ... But yet your constituents are going to benefit to the tune of more than 73 million dollars in various projects from this package."



"It's like a tax credit," Paul replied. "If I can give you any of your money back, I vote for it. So if I can give my district any money back, I encourage that.... I don't think the federal government should be doing it, but if they're going to allot the money, I have a responsibility to represent my people."



Paul's outlook appears to mirror that of Sen. Lindsay Graham, who recently called on President Obama to veto the spending bill because of its earmarks but simultaneously insisted, "I think I should have the ability as a United States senator to direct money back to my state as long as it's transparent and it makes sense."



"It's better to spend it on a bridge here than spend it on a bridge in Iraq," Paul concluded.



A full transcript of the Paul interview is available here.



This video is from Fox's Your World with Neil Cavuto, broadcast Mar. 10, 2009.









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