Not Worth The Paper It Was Written On
A few days ago, I blogged about how 35 Senators signed a letter to President Bush letting him know that they would support his veto of the war supplemental if he chose to do it. In the letter, the senators wrote that "should the final bill presented to you exceed the total amount you requested, forcing you to veto the bill, we will vote to sustain your veto".
Brave words. Courageous words. The only problem is that 13 senators who signed the letter may not mean what they say...they voted to keep the $700 million "Railroad to Nowhere", which is part of the bill. In other words, how can you proudly announce your support for a veto that would condemn pork, while simultaneously filling the bill up with pork?
Here are the duplicitous senators who voted to keep the railroad funding AND signed the veto letter. If smoke is coming out of your ears about this, send their offices an email letting them know how you feel.
| Senators | Senators |
| Alexander (TN) | Grassley (IA) |
| Allard (CO) | Gregg (NH) |
| Bennett (UT) | Hatch (UT) |
| Bond (MO) | Martinez (FL) |
| Craig (ID) | McConnell (KY) |
| Crapo (ID) | Warner (VA) |
| Frist (TN) |
And for the record, I've heard chatter on the Hill that Bush didn't explicitly denounce the Railroad to Nowhere so the senators were consistent in signing the letter while supporting the railroad. Well, for the record, here is what Bush said in his veto threat letter (PDF):
The Administration strongly objects to the $700 million included in the Senate bill to relocate the privately owned rail line that runs along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The CSX Corporation, using its own resources, has already repaired damage to the line, and trains are now running. Relocating the tracks would represent a substantial investment beyond pre-disaster conditions and would improperly require U.S. taxpayers to pay for private sector infrastructure.
That's pretty explicit.
