PULLED PORK
This title is a
trick, and I bet you fell for it. Sure, it conjures up images of backyard
barbecues and a landscape with colors beyond white and gray. We all know now
that spring has been temporarily delayed, another meteorological low blow
that us New Englanders are used to. However, my "pork" reference was
inspired by my attending a John McCain Town Hall meeting on Saturday
morning. I had been plowing snow since about 4:00 the following afternoon,
and had plenty left to do, but was too interested to let the opportunity
pass. Although I was sleep-deprived, unshaven and a general mess, I went
anyway.
My lack of sleep may have played a role in my reaction to some of the
subject matter. I have made no secret of my admiration of John McCain and
while I don't agree with him on everything, I like his style and I trust
him. I have read his books and followed his career. My greatest admiration
for his political service has been his decades-long watch dogging of
pork-barrel spending. These are the so-called "earmark" bills that are
tucked innocuously into larger spending appropriations brought forward by
Congress. He mentioned, his temper showing, the latest shameful attempts at
pocket-lining that were part of a defense spending bill. Try a couple of
these on for size. How about 72 million dollars for peanut storage? Also, a
paltry 5 million to study bear DNA. McCain remarked that he wasn't sure if
it was a paternity issue or an infertility matter. Let's set aside 12
million to study the reproductive habits of shrimp. I can't describe the
feeling of relief that swept over me finally knowing that this pressing
mystery will finally be addressed.
Any political junkie knows that President after President has tried to
secure the "line-item veto" that would allow the President to strike these
non-essential and mostly laughable expenses from a larger bill. In other
words, to leave the money for the useful part of a bill, and strip out these
other expenses which are typically an attempt by a Senator or Congressman to
bring home some bacon to his base. In other words, a juicy steak for the
people back home who voted for him. In other cases these spending bills have
gone directly to relatives of government officials, who buy a clipboard, a
highlighter and a notebook and get right to work watching shrimp get
naughty. President Reagan tried harder than anyone in recent history to get
the line-item veto, but to no avail. Of course, it's no surprise because
this is an important link in the power and influence chain that is so
important to our elected officials. It is so corrupt, and so flagrantly in
contrast to what these people are supposed to be doing...serving their
country and the people who elected them, that it boggles the mind. It is yet
another embarrassing testament to the complacency of the American public
that we continue to allow it, and consider it an insurmountable evil.
As I listened to the list of theft that our elected leaders are currently
engaged in, I began to think. I thought about my twenty-five years operating
a small business, and how hard I have worked. Sacrificing family time,
vacations, full weekends and a host of other things, trying to live my
little American dream. I thought about how, on this very day, I had started
work at 7:00 a.m. the previous day, driving a trailer truck all day. By 4:00
I was in my snowplow and out
to attend to my commercial accounts, working through the night, without
dinner or seeing my children. I stopped at 10:00a.m. long enough to attend
this political rally, and then right back to work, finally finishing around
5:00 p.m. The money I made, after expenses, might be a mortgage payment at
best. And then I think about the spending practices of the federal
government. It's lucky I fell asleep, or I might be the next one strapping
dynamite to my chest.
We should all be marching in the streets with torches, demanding change. I
don't know if it can, or ever will be changed, but we have arrived at a
crossroads in this country. Of that, I am sure. I can tell you another
thing...at that moment on Saturday morning, McCain would have had my vote on
this one issue alone. Are you the guy that's going to pull the pork? That's
all I need to know.