Trent Lott is sick of Porkbusters
"I'll just say this about the so-called porkbusters. I'm getting damn tired of hearing from them. They have been nothing but trouble ever since Katrina," he said. "We in Mississippi have not asked for more than we deserve. We've been very reasonable."
What's got him so defensive?
The high-octane Mississippi Senate delegation is using a mammoth bill funding hurricane relief and the war in Iraq to have taxpayers foot the $700 million bill for a rail line along Mississippi's Gulf Coast.
But there's a catch. The track in question, owned by CSX Transportation and damaged by Hurricane Katrina, has already been repaired at a cost of $300 million.
Now, Mississippi GOP Sens. Thad Cochran and Trent Lott want to tear up the just-rebuilt track _ which divides virtually every city and town along the state's coast _ and use the land to build a much-needed highway along the congested coastline.
If Republicans wonder why it is that they are in political trouble with the "base", one need look no further then right here (though one could point to that Bridge to Nowhere if one wanted).
Democrats don't have the same problem. Their base simply wants America emasculated and turned into New France; social safety net and all.
After all, no one in Vermont is complaining about the Vermont delegation's contribution to pork-barrel spending.
Well, hardly anyone.
