McCain’s Plan To Cut Earmarks Would Eliminate Aid To Israel
McCain’s Plan To Cut Earmarks Would Eliminate Aid To Israel
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has long portrayed himself as a staunch supporter of Israel. “Obvioiusly,” McCain has said, “I have been a very strong proponent to the State of Israel.” He recently told the Jewish Journal that if elected president, he would “hit the ground running” and immediately get involved in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
It is astounding then that McCain has essentially vowed to eliminate U.S. funding assistance for Israel. In a speech yesterday on the economy, McCain said that as president, he will eliminate pork barrel spending, otherwise known as “earmarks”:
If that authority is entrusted to me, I will use the veto as needed, and as the Founders intended. I will veto every bill with earmarks, until the Congress stops sending bills with earmarks. I will seek a constitutionally valid line-item veto to end the practice once and for all.
Today on MSNBC, McCain cited “$65 billion” in earmarks “that’s already on the books” that he would cut. Watch it:
McCain does not identify the $65 billion in earmarks. In a conference call with reporters yesterday, McCain economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin said that McCain’s plan to eliminate earmarks uses the Congressional Research Service’s (CRS) definition of the term. According to an analysis by Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Scott Lilly, that CRS report identifies $52 billion per year which qualifies as earmark spending (Read the analysis here).
The problem is that the CRS — the group Holtz-Eakin cited as the basis for McCain’s earmark elimination plan — says that U.S. aid to Israel is considered an earmark:
Several special characteristics of the practice of earmarking in Foreign Operations bills are worth noting. Some observers define earmarks in a more limited way, identifying only provisions that direct spending for items not requested by the Administration or in excess of levels proposed for activities or countries. Although many Foreign Operations earmarks fall within this more narrow definition, congressional directives specifying spending amounts that are the same as shown in the Administration’s illustrative listing for country distributions also are regarded as earmarks. Annual earmarks for economic and military aid to Israel and Egypt are examples of such directives.
So is McCain’s plan to cut earmarks a pledge to eliminate all aid to Israel?
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I detect another flip flop coming.
April 16th, 2008 at 5:26 pmIf it eliminates aid to Israel then I’m all for it.
April 16th, 2008 at 5:27 pmGawd, that would be great. But I still wouldn’t vote for John Sidney McCain III. or IV or V…
April 16th, 2008 at 5:27 pmSo is McCain’s plan to cut earmarks a pledge to eliminate all aid to Israel?
As ifffffffff……………..
Like McStupid would ever jeopardize his relationship with his BFF in the likes of Joe Lieberman that way ?
April 16th, 2008 at 5:27 pmLeave the false straw man arguments to the right. We don’t need them to prove McCain is a liar and an idiot. To maintain aid to Israel would just require a bill with that specific intent.
Blowing away earmarks doesn’t mean Israel can’t get aid.
If X then Y does not translate to If Y then X. It’s a basic premeise of logic.
April 16th, 2008 at 5:29 pmMcCain will make an exception to Israel. Because Israel really needs more US aid than Africa and South America combined (excluding Egypt and Colombia)
April 16th, 2008 at 5:30 pmWouldn’t it be great if one of the slimy, gutless MSM worms who call themselves journalists would actually ask him that? Imagine the dumb look on his face. It would be priceless.
April 16th, 2008 at 5:33 pmWell, if hell freezes over and he gets elected, he won’t do any such a thing. where has he been for the last 7 years?
Additionally, line item veto is unconstitutional…..big surprise he wants it.
April 16th, 2008 at 5:39 pmFred at #1 said it perfectly. When McSame wakes up from his nap, one of his aides will remind him as to what he said. Immediately McSame will blame the librul press and claim his words were taken out of context. Nothing to see here - move along now. McSame does get some things right - like his kewl recipies, YumYum.
April 16th, 2008 at 5:41 pmNope, that earmark didn’t have rainbow sprinkles, gotta veto that one…
April 16th, 2008 at 5:43 pmShould I chalk it up as McCain being ignorant of the effect of his campaign ideas
-OR-
That he’ll say anything as a campaign promise
April 16th, 2008 at 5:43 pmThinkProgress: The all McCain all the time blog.
**yawn**
What about Hillary!? What about Obama!? They say dumb things too!
April 16th, 2008 at 5:44 pmI don’t understand how that’s an earmark. The level of direct cash transfer to countries is specified in the Congressional budget request in accordance with whatever bilateral agreement we have in place with the receipent country. How does that fit the definition of an earmark?
April 16th, 2008 at 5:47 pmWhat about Hillary!? What about Obama!? They say dumb things too!
Hillary? Obama? Never heard of them :)
April 16th, 2008 at 5:47 pmStratRat Says:
What about Hillary!? What about Obama!? They say dumb things too!
Hillary? Obama? Never heard of them :)
April 16th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Exactly…
April 16th, 2008 at 5:48 pmlol mccain must be trying to woo prog voters.
April 16th, 2008 at 5:49 pmWe have democratic contenders? What is Zooey smoki– er, studying?
April 16th, 2008 at 6:02 pmStratRat,
April 16th, 2008 at 6:03 pmWhat about the Cccccchhhhhhiiiiiillllddddrrrreeeeeennnnnn!
Klem Kiddilehopper Says:
StratRat,
What about the Cccccchhhhhhiiiiiillllddddrrrreeeeeennnnnn!
Never heard of them either. OT: I miss Red Skelton.
April 16th, 2008 at 6:05 pmTranslation: I will veto every bill with Democratic earmarks, until the Democratic Congress stops sending bills with earmarks. However, if they are reich-wing earmarks, that’s another story all together.
April 16th, 2008 at 6:05 pmI don’t believe it..
April 16th, 2008 at 6:07 pmIsrael aid is getting bigger and bigger…
With mentors like Lieberman and Podhoretz(we must bomb Iran man)that are advising McWar, this remains simply a McCain talk.
Nobody in the Congress has the guts to touch this Israeli entitlement.
McCain’s hopes of being elected will be derailed if he tries to touch this issue…
I agree with him…but it remains to be seen.
well, i’ll be damned. that’s something i would support whole-heartedly. i am disgusted that this country is held hostage to aipac — in treasure and the sons and daughters of americans sacrificed on that belligerent country’s behalf.
it’s about time.
April 16th, 2008 at 6:15 pmlinda Says:
come on Linda, you don’t believe it do you?
April 16th, 2008 at 6:25 pmMcCain has finally admitted he has CRS. I suspect, however, his version of CRS comes from Can’t Remember Shit. The man says he will hit the ground running. At his age, and I speak from experience, the only things that will be running are his mouth and bowels (sporadically).
April 16th, 2008 at 6:25 pmCrusty Old Bastard Says:
McCain has finally admitted he has CRS. I suspect, however, his version of CRS comes from Can’t Remember Shit. The man says he will hit the ground running. At his age, and I speak from experience, the only things that will be running are his mouth and bowels (sporadically).
Let’s give McSame some credit. Maybe the noise coming out of his bowels makes more sense than the noise coming out of his mouth. It could happen.
April 16th, 2008 at 6:28 pmThe really sad part of this is he doesn’t even realize, most likely, that he would be eliminating aid to Israel in effect. He has admitted himself he doesn’t know anything about economics. Whether he is lying to Israel, who knows? But what would probably happen is, when the next bill that has money in it for Israel,that would be the time he won’t use his line item Veto. Which makes him a liar either way.
He is truly a head case, in need of a very good doctor.
April 16th, 2008 at 6:29 pmGreat! Now we can afford single-payer health care for all!
April 16th, 2008 at 6:33 pmGood grief. No it isn’t. Until we invaded Iraq, Israel was #1 on our foreign economic and military assistance, even though there are several countries that do much worse than Israel in terms of security and economic prosperity.
What has this gotten us? The luxury of Israel building illegal settlements, the security to defend these settlements from Palestinian attack and Palestinian resentment.
You can read more about these issues from a 2005 CRS brief (pdf), the latest such report on Israeli aid I’m aware of.
Some excerpts from the report:
April 16th, 2008 at 6:38 pmShould I feel special, that John Sidney McCain III is pandering to Me?
April 16th, 2008 at 6:40 pmRUCerious Says:
Should I feel special, that John Sidney McCain III is pandering to Me?
No, he will get around to the rest of us shortly. But, do enjoy it while you can :)
April 16th, 2008 at 6:45 pmFYI: As usual, because of the undue influence of a “special” group of people, the Huffington Post link to this article is not allowing free expression and discourse on their comments section. Nice to see there are still “untarnished” sites which allow a different opinion to be posted than only those that are politically correct.
April 16th, 2008 at 6:45 pm> So is McCain’s plan to cut earmarks a pledge to eliminate
> all aid to Israel?
Ha… thats funny…hey, Israel deserves our money just as much as oil companies deserve our subsidies..
April 16th, 2008 at 6:55 pmSo is McCain’s plan to cut earmarks a pledge to eliminate all aid to Israel?
McCain doesn’t do earmarks. Shoemarks on his chin… now, that’s a different story.
April 16th, 2008 at 7:21 pmfred…
/snark off…
;)
April 16th, 2008 at 7:30 pmIf McCain were to be elected, there is no way he would end earmarks. His Republican brethren would not allow him to do that. Besides, there is nothing wrong with many of the “earmarks”. Most go to worthy projects. I do agree that we need to stop the practice of attaching earmarks to bills that have nothing to do with the earmarks. I believe that Congress should pass a law saying that a bill can only have one single subject. There are many other nefarious things that can be slipped into bills that have nothing to do with earmarks. Then Congress could have maybe two sessions a year for “appropriation spending” and this would be where congress people would ask for the pork they want to take back to their district. Full disclosure on every “earmark” will also be helpful.
April 16th, 2008 at 7:31 pmFred Says:
Additionally, line item veto is unconstitutional…..big surprise he wants it.
Says the Supreme Court. I suspect he is hoping he will be elected and then be able to pack the Supreme Court to get the result he wants.
I hope the Democrats hit hard on the Supreme Court in this election cycle. Heaven help this country if McCain is elected and is able to appoint a couple of more Supremes.
April 16th, 2008 at 7:39 pmFirst the Muslems, then engages Haggy then go the Catholics, Doesn’t show up to the Faith and Values Forum , there goes the Christian Right and now the Jews. Do Athesests get offended? hmmm
April 16th, 2008 at 8:08 pmCut US aid to Israel.The US should stop pandering to Israel and it`s destructive policies.Cut off aid and stop the loan guarantees.Demand peace and fair settlement with the Palestinians and extract the US from Israel`s damaging,harmful,negative, apartheid policies.Israel is not a third world country. It is a theocracy that uses US monetary aid, which requires no accountability,to oppress the Palestinians, perpetuate apartheid,and build settlements in the occupied territories.Israeli policies are not longer in line with US policies,and,as a result are making the US more of a target than ever in the Islamic world.If Israel cannot exist without the U.S. giving them billions of dollars every year,then the Israels need to pack their bags and move on. Each year US aid to Israel gives each man, woman, and child the equivalent of over $1500.00 each while cutting programs in the US due to “funding”.Why on earth are American taxpayers forced to give billions of dollars yearly to Israel when our own people are homeless or soon to be, have no jobs, no healthcare.There is no justification for forcing the U.S. public to pay for health care,education, and housing for the Israelis while our own people go without.
April 16th, 2008 at 9:10 pmI think TP is being unfair to McCain on the question of funding for Israel.
The criticisms of his overall economic plan, however, are spot on. My question: do Clinton or Obama have better plans? Aren’t we choosing between tax and spend from Democrats, and cut taxes and cut spending from Republicans?
Either is better than Bush’s policy: cut taxes and spend!
Newsprism
April 16th, 2008 at 9:25 pmwhoa nelly!!! - did i read that right? - 52 billion per year to israel??? - for what??? - what does giving money to them do for america? - i mean,they haven’t exactly stood by bush and surged with petraeus in iraq to help police a religious civil war - in the last 5 years the usa has given them 260 billion - i’d be asking these pricks to return a bit of love!!
April 16th, 2008 at 9:50 pmGOOD !!
_AIO_
April 17th, 2008 at 4:58 amTP: moderation of my post?
WTF? You’d better check the historical records before yanking my post.
FACT: June, 1967 Israeli aircraft repeatedly strafed and bombed the USS Liberty in the Mediterranean causing numerous casualties- dead and wounded.
THAT is what I was referring to. or is TP’s policy is to prohibit any and all criticism of Israel or its policies?
April 17th, 2008 at 11:24 amIt IS about time we cut our colony Israel loose. Let those people go! If this is truly McCain position I plan to vote for him for president. Every single bullet that nails a Palestinian child has USA printed on it. Our staunch support of Israel has reaped the US nothing but scorn in the Mid East. What have we received in return?
April 17th, 2008 at 12:39 pmGood
Let’s have a political discussion about that.
Prof.
April 17th, 2008 at 1:02 pm