Ahh...pork, my favorite!, part II

Woohoo! The opposite political party is doing something useful, albeit reluctantly! A10 today (Review and Outlook): "Divided They Cut." This article tried to follow the Democrat logic...

• "Whatever the argument over Iraq, Democrats campaigned loudly as more responsible fiscal stewards and promised to scrub down Capitol Hill. Now back in power, however, they are reverting to their tax and spending habits." Hmmm...makes you worried, right? Read on!
  
• "Mr. Bush is exercising his veto power, and Democrats don't seem to have the votes for overrides. On Thursday, Congress failed to reverse Mr. Bush's rejection of the overstuffed Labor-HHS-Education appropriation. If divided government ends up producing spending restraint, it will be a rare moment of fiscal virtue." Ironic...can a Congress divided against itself stand for America?
• "There's a lesson here in the importance of the Presidency, since Congress obviously won't police itself. Mr. Bush's great mistake was that he never said no to Republican spending monarchs like Jerry Lewis and Roy Blunt. If he's now curbing Democrats David Obey and Kent Conrad, Mr. Bush is doing what he should have done all along." Rats. At least Bush is reforming now.
• "Democrats say their increases are urgent for pent-up domestic priorities, but that doesn't square with the pork. Typical is a $3 million earmark inserted by South Carolina Democrat James E. Clyburn -- in the defense appropriation signed this week by Mr. Bush -- for youth programs at the James E. Clyburn Golf Center. Also typical is $301,500 for the International Peace Garden, in Dunsieth, North Dakota, courtesy of Mr. Conrad." Yeah, we really need more, better, younger golfers. Just the thing to help the working man.
• "Then there's the Democrats' favorite game of three-card monte, that military spending in Iraq and the larger war on terror is somehow displacing domestic social programs. But Iraq hardly presents some unique or overwhelming fiscal burden. As a percentage of the total federal budget, the U.S. is spending relatively little on defense, even including the Iraq supplemental currently jammed up in Congressional feuding." Yes, money is limited, not infinite, and a bigger slice of the pie may necessitate the shrinking of other slices. But the "war" slice is shrinking...go figure.
• "Democrats are planning to suture together the remaining appropriations into an "omnibus" bill that will split the $22 billion difference between Congress and Mr. Bush. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says that surgery would involve "some tremendously difficult cuts." We can only imagine." Hey, another reference to surgery (see previous post)! And you can't beat that last sentence.