To Ensure Defeat, GOP Porkers Ugly Up Reform Bill

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You’d think that it would be pretty easy to pass a lobbying reform bill that accomplishes nothing. But as I reported before, the Republicans have been forced to pull the bill, because they don’t have the votes to push it forward.

Here’s the sticking point: one measure of the bill (the only with any real teeth) reforms the way earmarks are inserted into appropriations bills. But Republican appropriators don’t like it, so House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) has mounted a revolt with their help. He says they won’t vote for the bill unless the reform is broadened to other forms of earmarks – pork comes in a variety of forms and can be tacked on to other kinds of bills besides appropriations.

That sounds like a good idea, right? It doesn’t make sense to target one form of earmark, but leave the others untouched. But of course, the broader the reform, the more Republicans would be affected, making the reform bill even less popular.

So is Lewis doing this for the high-minded reason of ensuring stronger reform legislation? Or is this a canny effort to tank earmark reform altogether? As he well knows, the leadership needs every vote they can get, since Democrats plan to vote against it.

Republicans apparently think they won’t be penalized at all in November for passing a weak bill – they say voters don’t care. So don’t be surprised if they solve this problem the easy way: just kill the controversial reform.

Update: Here’s the AP’s version of today’s debacle. Republicans are now in a closed-door meeting, trying to get the votes together.

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