MARY LANDRIEU LASHES OUT ON SENATE FLOOR FOR HER LOUISIANA PORK BILL

250 BILLION DOLLARS ! This is how much Senator Mary Landrieu (D) LA is demanding that the Senate appropriate to the state of Louisiana for the recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Contrast that with Governor Haley Barbour from the neighboring state of Mississippi who announced that he would need no more than 50 billion and more than likely closer to 30 billion for his states recovery. Why such a dramatic difference ? Both states were devastated by the storms. Granted New Orleans is a larger city than Biloxi and Gulfport and Louisiana was affected more by Rita than Mississippi, but does this alone explain a 200 billion dollar difference in recovery requests or is there more than meets the eye? The actual difference has nothing to do with the devastation or the recovery that is needed, the difference is that Landrieu is taking advantage of the storm and Barbour is not. Governor Barbour's request is based on actual dollars needed for clean up, reconstruction and loses due to the storms. Landrieu's request has so much political pork barrel projects in it that it actually oinks ! Just as the corruption in Louisiana contributed greatly to the aftermath and the levy system being unprepared, Landrieu is following suite with pork barrel spending to take advantage of the generous spirit that is felt toward the Gulf Coast because of the storms. She has everything from alligator relocation to replacing statues and projects that are not even in the areas affected by the storms. Her temper tantrum displayed on the Senate floor is a result of the Senate questioning her request and she is using this as an opportunity to accuse the Republican majority of not caring for the people of her state by not issuing a blank check at her request. 250 billion dollars is more than the estimates for the recovery of the entire coastal area affected by Katrina which includes Alabama, Mississippi AND Louisiana! Yet Landrieu is demanding that the Senate without debate, without question and without fiscal responsibility open up the pocket books of the American people and give in to her pork barrel spending demands. Leave it to a liberal to take advantage of a terrible situation in order to attempt to steal from the American people and politicize the suffering of her own constituency!

Ken Taylor