Then� respectfully, what was your point?

knowing that earlier this week Lott absolutely unashamedly put a knife in the heart of legislation designed to drag earmarking out into the light and then turned around and made a public statement saying he was �Damned tired� of all these people trying to stop pork-barrel spending�

Bingo, give that man a cigar!

As for the lobbying, it is lobbying for things I think is goog: more competition. More competition generally means lower prices, which is good for consumers. It also means lower economic profits (i.e. rents--note for the person not familiar with the term rents, they are a bad thing generally) and smaller or no deadweight loss.

It isn't that I support any and all lobbying, but that the lobbying that was done by CAGW was good lobbying.

When one of the most corrupt and sinister women in the world becomes President of the United States because we�ve abandoned our true principles and sold out our conservative base - then maybe people will clean house and the Right will move back to w here it belongs.

Sounds like your problem isn't with my post, but with what appears to be your political party. Thankfully, I'm not a Republican.

Nor a Democrat.

You post a piece titled Republican Swine, with a picture of Trent Lott suckling at the trough - knowing that earlier this week Lott absolutely unashamedly put a knife in the heart of legislation designed to drag earmarking out into the light and then turned around and made a public statement saying he was "Damned tired" of all these people trying to stop pork-barrel spending...

Then... when a reader posts a comment that clearly exposes this organization as a K-Street front - you say "Okay with me."?

This is why Republicans and the GOP are going to get SHELLACKED this November.

By allowing us to become the party of Greed and Free Trade Extremism we've given up our claim on being the party of the authentic grass-roots conservatism and the individual.

Instead we've become the Party of WalMart.

This November we're going to pay for it with both houses of congress and the presidency.

When one of the most corrupt and sinister women in the world becomes President of the United States because we've abandoned our true principles and sold out our conservative base - then maybe people will clean house and the Right will move back to w here it belongs.

-Mac-

It is pretty well established that Pork Barrel spending took off after the 2001.

As for the lobbying, looks good to me. I'm generally opposed to restrictions on trade.

The nonprofit Citizens Against Government Waste calls itself America's No. 1 taxpayer watchdog, and the group's annual "Pig Book" detailing the government's most wasteful spending programs has been praised by Arizona Republican Senator John McCain. But it turns out the group also acts as a lobbying firm with paying clients � including Mexican Avocado Growers, who paid $100,000 to lobby against restrictions on avocado imports and the tobacco companies, which paid at least $245,000 to urge the federal government not to regulate the industry.

The St. Petersburg Times reports that 22 percent of CAGW's funding comes from corporations, but the group's president refused to reveal who it represents, and argues that the lobbying campaigns are consistent with the group's anti-regulation mission.

You'll pardon me if I don't accept their statements on face value, alone.