Word: boehner
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...earmarks. The once rare but now common practice of earmarking specific amounts of money for individual pork projects in hard-to-stop conference reports has given rise to a new class of lobbyist that specializes in the no-fingerprints line items. John Boehner, the Ohioan who wants to be House majority leader, backs this change, but so far it faces long odds. Chance of passage...
...message that could be summed up as "We don't know Jack." Members are rushing to disavow any connection to Abramoff or stressing to reporters how little they knew him, and donating money he gave them to charity. When Hastert announced his plans for lobbying reform, Boehner initially suggested that no new rules were needed but quickly reversed course as members of Congress emphasized that he would have to support the reforms to get their votes in the leadership race. Both Boehner and Blunt are getting lots of questions from members about their exact connections to Abramoff and other lobbyists...
Trying to get the vote of one member, Blunt said, "I like to go golfing, but I pay for it myself every single time," a reference to Abramoff-orchestrated trips DeLay and other lawmakers have taken that have landed them in trouble. Boehner has done the same. "I told John I had two questions," says LaHood, who is backing Boehner. "Are there going to be any Abramoff scandals or corruption? He told me he had never met Abramoff. And then second, Would Boehner support lobbying and ethics reform? And he said, 'Absolutely...
Shadegg is not linked to lobbyists as much as the other two candidates, but he lacks the depth of support among colleagues that Blunt and Boehner established long before this race started. In the system that House Republicans have set up, members of Congress rise to leadership positions in part because of their ability to raise campaign cash. Aspiring leaders, who are often so popular in their own districts that they don't even have opponents, still raise millions of dollars so that they can give the money to others in tough races. They often raise this money through fund...
...three candidates have suggested that they would support earmark limits, a favorite McCain cause. Only Boehner has been specific about what he would change, saying he would try to prevent federal dollars from going to private entities for exclusively private purposes. This still wouldn't stop wasteful spending on unneeded bridges and other projects. But one plan would identify the sponsors of earmarks and force members to defend them, eliminating the many mysterious entries that now bristle in the budget. Blunt defends earmarks but has proposed tracking those who request them and how the money is spent. Boehner and Shadegg...