College Republican Federation of Virginia

We at the CRFV are proudly linking to a national College Republican blog, CR Nation. This blog quite recently got off its feet and has been on a conservative rampage since.

To the point, Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and wonder boy of the Democratic takeover in 2006, wrote an editorial in the NY Times stating:

“Democrats never promised to eliminate earmarks. We promised to reform them”.

CR Nation comments Democrats deceived the public about their zeal for earmark reform. I can only assume that CR Nation believes the Democratic sponsored 2007 ethics legislation is a far cry from the campaign promises of Democrats in ‘06. This is probably true, but the legislation Congress just passed appears to be a breakthrough for anti-pork advocates.

The bill Congress passed by overwhelming margins would allow the public to view the sponsors of congressional earmarks on the Internet. Bloggers will be going crazy over this stuff!

Eliminating earmarks wholesale seems a bit utopian to me. Rep. Emanuel’s focus appears to be on reforming the system by forcing more transparency. This good government measure should increase responsibility, especially for those who use pork as a way to increase their electoral fortunes.

There are of course many more steps that must be taken to reform the earmark system, but this is a move in the right direction. For now, GOP Senators Coburn and DeMint are taking the lead in stopping pork.