Congresswoman Confesses: We Bribe Voters With Their Own Money

From The Politico, we have Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-MI) admitting what we all knew, but you seldom see a congressman confess: earmarks are simply a way for politicians to bribe the voters with their own money.

“The disparity of earmarks, and the lack of inclusion of any CBC members in this listing, is disconcerting, to say the very least,” Kilpatrick wrote.

She went on to say the Black Caucus understood that not everybody would receive the same amount in earmark funding. Appropriators generally receive more, as do lawmakers facing tight reelection races who need good publicity back home.

“Inherently, we understand that this earmark process is not equitable,” she wrote. But she still hoped that more earmarks would be doled out to black lawmakers who have competitive reelection contests. “There are a few examples of where your help could significantly assist a few members in highly contested races,” she wrote.