Bachus Blames Bureaucrats for Pork Politics

I've posted before on Sushi Bashing Spencer Bachus (R-Vestavia Hills) and his increasing power in the U.S. House. Representative Bachus hates raw fish yet he loves pork! Mary Orndorff of The Birmingham News gives us "Alabamians in Congress adept at securing cash" and "Earmarks' backers say U.S. law is on their side" with her colleague Tom Scarritt opining, rightly so I'd add, that "Earmarking should be open process". Ms. Orndoff quotes Mr. Bachus as,

"Either a bureaucrat is going to make a decision how to spend it or your elected member of Congress. I guarantee you're going to do better with your elected representative that lives in your district and listens to you every day and knows what your needs are."

Bureaucrat? Listens every day? Knows what your needs are? Even your beloved President Bu$h (see addendum below) admits earmarking practices "avoid the discipline of competitive or merit-based reviews". Yet you defend legitimate questions with a slap at "bureaucrats"! Reminds me of George Wallace and his rants against pointy headed briefcase carrying intellectuals and those limo liberals and ... It does seem that Bachus, like much of the modern GOP, has little trust in government. Maybe he's like Grover Norquist who wants to get government small enough to drown in a bathtub. Or like that paragon of virtue Tom DeLay and his good friend Black Jack Abramoff. Or Barbara Bu$h. Or Dubyah's Uncle Bucky Bu$h. Government is good when you and yours are involved but otherwise it is bureaucracy run wild.

The idea of public service is simply foreign to this group. You send some money home to make sure folks stay off your case, laud your efforts with free press to assure you'll remain in power even though your district is reather non-competitive, accumulate big business/banking money and soon you will probably Chair the Finance Committee, let your senior staffer Warren Tryon play "Mayor of Capital Hill", likely scratch another's back when they need a favor (and on Finance you'll surely get some requests) and ... You'll come back home and blame the Leftist for taxing and spending recklessly. When questioned about a real concern however you just blame the bureaucrats. Priceless! Peace ... or War!

Addendum - I'd just as soon cut off a leg as to see Bu$hCo with the power to drop a "line item" veto on anybody that dares cross him. We know Rovian tactics are about dirty tricks on enemies and strong arming allies when they deviate the slightest from the White House spin. If they are so hard on their "friends" imagine what they do their enemies!