Judy Feder's Hypocrisy on Earmarks
The Democrats' candidate for Congress in the 10th District, Judy Feder, has challenged incumbent Frank Wolf on appropriations earmarks. A fair challenge. A lot of people don't like earmarks. They smack of government by campaign contribution.
However, at the very same time, Feder criticizes Wolf for not obtaining an earmark for the proposed Tysons Corner tunnel for Dulles Rail. This is inconsistent and hypocritical. Moreover, the entire Silver Line project is filled with the very politics of campaign contributions that Feder purports to oppose. Clearly, one of the biggest recipients of campaign contributions from West Group, its executives and other Tysons Corner landowners is our Governor Tim Kaine. The last time I looked, Kaine was still a Democrat.
The evidence, the Final EIS for Dulles Rail that was submitted, in December 2004, by the Commonwealth of Virginia (under then-Governor Mark Warner (D)), shows that Dulles Rail will not provide any substantial reduction in traffic volumes. (Table 6.2-2) But Governor Kaine still wants taxpayers and Toll Road to pay $4 billion (before cost overruns) to pay for this. Why? Certainly, the biggest beneficiary of this taxpayer largesse is the biggest landowner at Tysons -- West Group. West Group and its executives made huge contributions to Kaine's campaign. Is our Governor supporting this gigantic expenditure from taxpayers and Toll Road users as a pay-back for the contributions? If not, why is he doing this? Why does Judy Feder think that this is OK?
To his credit, Governor Kaine rejected West Group chief Gerald Halpin's request to build the tunnel regardless of the financial consequences. But Judy Feder thinks that this is wrong. She thinks that Congressman Wolf should have obtained legislation that would override the Federal Transit Administration's cost-benefit guidelines. In short, Feder thinks Wolf should have effectively obtained an earmark for the Tysons tunnel that doesn't benefit commuters. This is not even a case of tax and spend -- it's tax and waste to subsidize big campaign contributors.
This is illogical and hypocritical. Shame on you Judy Feder.
I welcome a response from Feder's campaign. But I caution that such response must address Table 6.2-2 from the Final EIS that shows construction of the Silver Line will not provide any significant traffic relief. (I'll delete any response that fails to address this key issue with data and numbers. The citizens of Fairfax County, be they Democrats, Republicans or Independents, deserve answers based on facts and data and not mere puffing (e.g., smart growth, walkable communities)). If there are new data that show otherwise, please provide it.
However, at the very same time, Feder criticizes Wolf for not obtaining an earmark for the proposed Tysons Corner tunnel for Dulles Rail. This is inconsistent and hypocritical. Moreover, the entire Silver Line project is filled with the very politics of campaign contributions that Feder purports to oppose. Clearly, one of the biggest recipients of campaign contributions from West Group, its executives and other Tysons Corner landowners is our Governor Tim Kaine. The last time I looked, Kaine was still a Democrat.
The evidence, the Final EIS for Dulles Rail that was submitted, in December 2004, by the Commonwealth of Virginia (under then-Governor Mark Warner (D)), shows that Dulles Rail will not provide any substantial reduction in traffic volumes. (Table 6.2-2) But Governor Kaine still wants taxpayers and Toll Road to pay $4 billion (before cost overruns) to pay for this. Why? Certainly, the biggest beneficiary of this taxpayer largesse is the biggest landowner at Tysons -- West Group. West Group and its executives made huge contributions to Kaine's campaign. Is our Governor supporting this gigantic expenditure from taxpayers and Toll Road users as a pay-back for the contributions? If not, why is he doing this? Why does Judy Feder think that this is OK?
To his credit, Governor Kaine rejected West Group chief Gerald Halpin's request to build the tunnel regardless of the financial consequences. But Judy Feder thinks that this is wrong. She thinks that Congressman Wolf should have obtained legislation that would override the Federal Transit Administration's cost-benefit guidelines. In short, Feder thinks Wolf should have effectively obtained an earmark for the Tysons tunnel that doesn't benefit commuters. This is not even a case of tax and spend -- it's tax and waste to subsidize big campaign contributors.
This is illogical and hypocritical. Shame on you Judy Feder.
I welcome a response from Feder's campaign. But I caution that such response must address Table 6.2-2 from the Final EIS that shows construction of the Silver Line will not provide any significant traffic relief. (I'll delete any response that fails to address this key issue with data and numbers. The citizens of Fairfax County, be they Democrats, Republicans or Independents, deserve answers based on facts and data and not mere puffing (e.g., smart growth, walkable communities)). If there are new data that show otherwise, please provide it.
posted by Toomanytaxes at 10:37 AM
1 Comments:
Actually, Judy Feder criticized Frank Wolf for failing to make his earmark requests public and for voting against an internal rule change that would require legislators to publicly attach their name to earmark requests.
In other words, your entire claim against Judy Feder in this post is just flat out wrong. Your premise that she challenged Frank Wolf over his use of earmarks is just flat out wrong. Which in turn makes your conclusion that she is a hypocrite for supporting Tyson's Tunnel completely wrong.
Feder's attack on Wolf was for failing to support good government and for failing to allow a little sunlight to shine on the process. It wasn't about one earmark or another, it was about transparent government. We all deserve to know who wants to spend our money and why.
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