In these matters, Republicans must be holier than the pope. And while President Bush has been doing the Lord's work with his newfound veto pen, he must continue to wage war on earmarks if the GOP is to cleanse the political memory of Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff and Randy "Duke" Cunningham.
Think of it: This behemoth spending bill was porked-up with such essential items as rodent control in Alaska ($113,000), olive fruit-fly research in France ($213,000), a hunting and fishing museum in Pennsylvania ($200,000), a bike trail in Minnesota ($700,000), a post office museum in Las Vegas ($200,000) and a $2 million monument to Rep. Charlie Rangel in New York.
Senators like Jim DeMint, Tom Coburn and John McCain are working hard to clean up the earmark process. But the ball's in the president's court. Either through executive order, recission authority or apportionment of funds, Bush can elevate both the fiscal fortunes of the nation and the political fortunes of his party.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told me in a CNBC interview that elected politicians are more knowledgeable about spending people's money than faceless bureaucrats. And while McConnell has done a terrific job maintaining conservative policies in the Senate, he is wrong on this topic. The earmarks shouldn't be made. And the money shouldn't be spent. Period.
McConnell is nevertheless correct that passage of this omnibus spending bill is a defeat for the tax-and-spend-happy Democrats. Republicans also can take credit for outmaneuvering the Democrats on a patch for the AMT. The Democrats were made to waive the pay-as-you-go budget rule that might have forced tax increases on businesses and investment pools. Stopping this tax hike is a singular GOP achievement, while the AMT will now be indexed for inflation, thereby sparing over 20 million taxpayers.
Looking ahead, the economy also would benefit from a corporate tax cut for both large and small businesses, including corporate capital gains. The U.S. dollar would reap the rewards, as new investment would flow in from the world. Several recent studies also show that businesses would pass on tax-cost savings to the workforce, thereby bolstering wages and ultimately creating new jobs.
Hokey ideas for temporary tax rebates? They should be ignored. But if the president and Republicans are successful at wiping out earmarks, holding down spending and passing a bold corporate tax cut, Goldilocks will be nourished and sustained. And come November 2008, Republicans might be back in the driver's seat.