Political language lesson
Thursday, August 23, 2007
WHEN Rep. Jerry Moran came to town last week, he brought good news — the U.S. House of Representatives has approved federal money for the ailing National Teachers Hall of Fame.
In the greater scheme of things, $150,000 is not much money. In the federal scheme of things, it is invisible. But it may be enough money to start the hall of fame on the road to recovery. The hall of fame, Emporia State University and the city are grateful.
Moran, an amiable and hard-working representative of his district, has done his job well. He has brought home the bacon.
But it is bacon only in Emporia. Such is the political mood of the nation that, outside this small corner of the republic, the money for the hall of fame is not bacon, but plain old pork.
It used to be the pork was fairly special stuff in Washington. The epithet was reserved for the contracts and dollars politicians spread around to keep their friends happy — especially their friends with money. Pork was underhanded use of federal money to curry favor. Now it is just the use of federal money for any purpose.
Pork is like obscenity — people think they know it when they see it. Sen. Robert Byrd has poured so much federal money into his home state that West Virginia may be renamed in his honor, once he dies. Might as well, every second road, bridge and building in the state is already named for him.
Then there is the “bridge to nowhere,” Sen. Ted Stevens’ proposal to spend $315 million for a bridge to connect Ketchikan, Alaska, to a neighboring undeveloped island. The proposed bridge became the symbol of pork-barrel spending two years ago when it was cited by Sen. John McCain and others as an example of conspicuous waste of federal money.
Is Byrd feeding at the public trough or did West Virginia need every one of those roads, bridges and buildings? Is Stevens throwing public money into the wind, or does Ketchikan really need that bridge?
The definition of pork has broadened so much that it is difficult to tell.
These days, any federal money spent in a community, state or congressional district is likely to be called pork by outsiders. People in Illinois may look at a bill to help orphans in Missouri and call it pork. But they’ll see a bill to provide an undemanding job for an Illinois senator’s brother-in-law as hickory smoked thick-cut bacon.
One of things members of Congress are elected to do is to spend public money to accomplish worthy ends. Honoring some of the nation’s best teachers is a worthy thing to do.
We say the $150,000 is bacon, and we say thank you.