Mitt Romney Backed Earmarks As Governor -- Attacks Santorum for Earmarks?

One of the biggest attack jobs by Romney against Santorum has been on earmarks, but the investigative journalists from Associated Press have discovered as Governor of Massachusetts, Mr. Romney was a huge supporter of earmarks for his state.  Believe the word is hypocrite!  When your whole campaign is based on a scorched earth policy against your opponents, you had better be sure that you don't live in a glass house.

Most people's resentment toward earmarks is not the project but the process.  If a project is needed in a state, they should all have to go through the budgeting process and not be approved as part of a bill that is not related to the project.  The earmarks that are boondoggles would never make it out of committee if they were part of the regular budget bill process while necessary projects funding would be approved.  We support having no earmarks and all funding has to go through the budget process.

Flip flop Romney has one more flip flop to add to his list -- he was for earmarks as Governor and against them as a candidate.  Seems Romney and his campaign have forgotten about the internet and the ability of people to go back and see his records even if he destroyed all the hard drives of people in his Administration. Guess he figured since he was running for President he would leave no evidence behind.  Like I said yesterday, he looks more Nixonian the more information we get about Romney.

Mitt Romney Backed Earmarks As Governor
ANDREW MIGA 02/12/12 08:46 AM ET Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney takes a hard line against congressional earmarks, but the GOP presidential front-runner had a more favorable view of federal pork-barrel spending when he was governor of Massachusetts. 

Under his leadership, Massachusetts sought tens of millions of dollars in earmarks for transportation projects through the state's congressional delegation. 

A prime example was the $30 million that the Romney administration requested to renovate the historic Longfellow Bridge that spans the Charles River between Cambridge and Boston. The landmark is seen in many movies and television shows. 

Romney's transportation secretary, Daniel A. Grabauskas, asked the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to include the money in a transportation spending bill. That bill was full of thousands of earmarks that sparked public furor and became a symbol for Washington's out-of-control spending when Congress passed it in 2005. 

In a letter June 17, 2004, to the transportation panel's chief of staff that was obtained by The Associated Press, Grabauskas said federal money for the Longfellow Bridge could be provided as part of the "bridge program, a new mega-project or an outside earmark, or a combination of the three." Grabauskas did not immediately respond to phone messages from AP seeking comment. 

A Romney campaign spokeswoman would not respond to questions about how many earmarks the Romney administration asked for, the amount of money involved and the particular projects. 

"Every state budget in the country is dependent on federal funding, and every governor in the country makes requests for funding, but governors do not get to decide how Congress appropriates money," said Andrea Saul, a Romney spokeswoman. 

"Gov. Romney supports a permanent ban on earmarks, which are symbols of what's wrong with Washington." 

When Romney was governor and his state was desperately seeking federal dollars to repair crumbling roads and bridges, his administration suggested earmarks for projects to lawmakers on Capitol Hill who were in a position to request the money. 

Romney officials specified projects they wanted included as earmarks in the transportation bill to members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation as the measure moved through Congress, said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.

The Romney administration was crystal clear on earmarks and what they wanted," McGovern said. "They sent us a letter specifically asking for money to be earmarked for projects."   

Excerpt:  Read More at the Huffington Post