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A LIBERAL CASE FOR PORK? In September, TNR�s Brad Plumer argued �the liberal case for pork.� Call it vote buying if you will, but today, The Washington Post reports that House Democrats are tempting Iraq fence-sitters by adding $21 billion in domestic appropriations to the $124 billion war bill that sets an August 2008 deadline for pulling American troops out of Iraq. Waiting another year-and-a-half to remove our troops from harm�s way is less than ideal for many progressives, but Pelosi is waging a bare-knuckled fight just to get a veto-proof majority to support this bill. It puts Louisiana Republicans in the awkward position, for example, of either supporting redeployment or voting against tens of billion dollars in funding for Hurricane Katrina relief and flood prevention. The Post reports:
For Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), there is $25 million for spinach growers hurt by last year's E. coli scare. For three conservative Democrats in Georgia, there is $75 million for peanut storage. For lawmakers from the bone-dry West, there is $500 million for wildfire suppression. An additional $120 million is earmarked for shrimp and Atlantic menhaden fishermen.I like the way Pelosi is playing this one.--Dana Goldstein
