[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j8JY6IisXY&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
A post Thanksgiving party at Hidden Valley in Irvine was the scene of a thank you party for supporters of Beth Krom’s candidacy for CD-48. The party was very well attended and had the air of a campaign event. Many of those in attendance believe in Beth Krom and her record as a public servant. And just about everyone I spoke with at the event has a different theory on how to get voters in Orange County to stop voting against their best interests.
Voters returned John Campbell to Congress and guaranteed we won’t get a dime in federal earmarks for anything notable. This is an interesting apprach by Campbell since banning federal earmarks will have a harmful effect on the defense industry in California and could potentially weaken national security.
From the LA Times story: “More than $3 billion in earmarks — or money directed to specific projects — flowed into California this year for defense work, much of it funneled to Southland aerospace companies.
But with the federal government staring at a staggering $1.4-trillion deficit, the so-called pork-barrel spending has drawn fire from critics who see earmarks as a symbol of pay-to-play politics and wasteful government spending.
…
Fueled by earmarks from local lawmakers such as Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R- Santa Clarita) and Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands), the maker of the Predator, Poway-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., has grown from an eight-employee firm to one of the nation’s top drone developers, with 4,500 workers.
“People look down upon earmarks now, but they’re a very important part of the defense industry,” McKeon said in a Times interview last summer about the Predator drone. “We wouldn’t have the Predator without it.”
But McKeon, who has steered tens of millions of dollars to defense companies in his district, said he now supports a ban on earmarks because the government can’t afford them anymore.”
Wow, how about that. A federal earmark helping a small firm grown from 8 employees to 4,500 and building drones used in battle that protect our soliders’ lives. Is this wastesful government spending? You be the judge.
While I am personally sorry Beth won’t be representing us in Washington, I know her voice will contineu to speak out for Irvine and Orange County as a member of the Irvine City Council. We’re proud of the campaign Beth waged — one based on issues, ethics and principal.