How dumb do they think we are?

If you didn’t catch Newt Gingrich’s speech at CPAC, I encourage you to search the internet for it. He posed the question that most Americans are asking themselves - how dumb do they think we are? The former speaker states “To suggest to us that he is opposed to earmarks when the very next day the Democrats are going to bring up a bill with 8,000 earmarks in it… I was startled that he was saying to us he was opposed to earmarks [but not those 8,000 earmarks]. So I said to myself I wonder how dumb do they think we are that we wouldn’t notice 8,000 earmarks?”

Obama proclaimed during the campaign “we need earmark reform and when I'm president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely." This is interesting since the president does not have the line item veto but I guess someone forgot to tell him.
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) chimed in on the subject by saying to FNC Host Neil Cavuto “well it depends on your definition of earmarks”? WHAT?? I’m not surprised that democrats are using this argument again (remember President Clinton, “well it depends on the meaning of what is “is”). Well to set the record straight, I looked it up earmarks. According to Wikipedia, “in US politics, an earmark is a congressional provision that directs approved funds to be spent on specific projects or that directs specific exemptions from taxes or mandated fees. Typically, a legislator seeks to insert earmarks that direct a specified amount of money to a particular organization or project in his/her home state or district.”

Despite his “we need earmark reform” rhetoric, Obama has pledged to sign the $410 billion omnibus spending bill filled with almost 9,000 earmarks totaling some $5.5 billion. The president states that these earmarks are left over from the Bush years, so what! If you wanted to clean up the bill Mr. President, then you, Pelosi and Reid could have done so. We aren’t stupid.

Trying to tell us that all this spending is to stimulate the economy is a bunch of bull. This is the democrats way of finally getting to spend the money they have been chomping at the bit to put into place. Now some earmarks could be argued are necessary but in this economic crisis (Obama’s favorite word), they can wait. Some are down right ridiculous. I mean really do we need to spend $1.8 million to study swine odor or $6 million to study termites? I mean please.

If this recession is going to make responsible Americans live within their means, than it is high time the government do the same. To Congress, I say stop it. We are tired of the spending and the bailouts which aren’t doing anything but get us further into debt and we aren't going to take it anymore.