War-Funding Puzzlement

War-Funding Puzzlement
By Fred Thompson

The House’s emergency war-funding bill contains several conditions on how the
war should be run. They’ll never become law but they “send signals” they say.
They’re big on sending signals in Washington. But what I was really surprised to
find in the bill was what looked like $25 billion in pure pork. Since a lot
of the people who voted for the bill campaigned against pork, I was
puzzled.
I’m puzzled there’s $283 million for dairy farmers in an emergency
war-funding bill. But there’s also $74 million for peanut farmers so, I figured
our soldiers are eating a lot of peanut-butter sandwiches; they need more milk
to wash them down with.Hey, I’m trying to keep an open mind, here, okay?But I
also wondered why the bill gives $25 million to spinach producers. Our troops
should certainly eat their vegetables, but unless it turns out that there’s a
scientific basis for that Popeye spinach thing, I don’t get it.I’m also trying
to figure out what $400 million for rural schools has to do with the war —
unless that money produces students smart enough to explain why this bill
includes over $300,000 for the widows of two ex-House members, and $80
million for low-income rent subsidies.There’s a lot in the bill I don’t
understand, but this sort of makes sense. There’s $50 million for repairs to the
plant that supplies electrical power to the Capitol — where Congress works. To
fund and win the war, Congress does need electricity at least to do its job.Ah,
I get it. This bill isn’t just about funding the war for democracy and freedom
in Iraq. It’s a political statement. And it’s about buying enough votes with
pork in order to make that statement. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing, if
Congress did have its power cut off every once in a while.

Fred Thompson is an actor and former United States senator from Tennessee.© PAUL HARVEY SHOW, ABC RADIO NETWORKS

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