Inconsistent Ron Paul

Here is a sterling example of why I find Congressman Ron Paul to be so very frustrating. One on hand you have this brilliant speech from the floor of the House yesterday morning.



Then you have his unfortunate appearance on Neal Cavuto's show on Tuesday where he defended the practice of earmarks.

Ron Paul, the Texas congressman who is the darling of the libertarian right, has more earmarks in the pork-laden $410-billion spending bill than any other Republican.

That's not according to the MSM, or the liberal blogosphere. That's what Fox News is reporting.

In an interview Tuesday night with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto, Paul not only defended his own earmarks, he argued that every penny in the federal budget should be earmarked, to improve transparency.

Paul, a fiscal watchdog who said he voted against the bill because he believes federal spending is out of control, acknowledged that $73 million in the bill passed by his colleagues "might be" going to his district on Texas' Gulf Coast for things like the intra-coastal waterway, the Texas City channel and Wallisville Lake. But he was fine with that.

"The principle of the earmark is our responsibility. We're supposed to -- it's like a -- a tax credit. And I vote for all tax credits, no matter how silly they might seem. 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. But because the budget is out of control, I haven't voted for an appropriation in years -- if ever. . . .

This coming from the man that last fall campaigned AGAINST earmarks...who said that he would never vote FOR earmarks!

Even worse was his trying to defend earmarks for "transparency sake"...

"If you don't earmark something, then somebody else spends it and there's no transparency."

I know more than a few Ron Paul supporters who are going to be very disappointed by this turn of events, but I am not too overly surprised. As with then Senator Obama, I told many of my Ron Payl supporting friends to look at the record and not at the rhetoric. While I admire the Congressman when it comes to his small government votes in the past, it simply can not be ignored that Congressman Paul has openly taken stands against earmarks all the while loading bills chiocke full of pork for his home district. That is simply not a principled stand. If you find earmarks to be good, then openly support them, ask for them and vote for them. If you find them to be odeous, then do not ask for them and do not vote for them. Back up your talk with your actions Congressman. THAT is the real principled way of doing business.