If his exceedingly narrow margin over Sean Parnell holds up, Don
Young may have been helped by a late endorsement by Ron Paul, who praised the
Alaska congressman for his opposition to environmental extremists.
Paul finished third in the Alaska caucuses (once polling even
better) and his supporters have had some impact within the state
GOP. I've always given Paul a pass for his appetite for earmarks
because he has consistently voted for actual spending reductions
and against unconstitutional appropriations bills, and because I
think earmarks as a fiscal conservative issue are wildly
overrated.
But if earmarks played even a small role in the Good Doctor's
support for an obnoxious big spender like Young, it is as a good an
argument for the unhealthy incentives created by the earmarking
process as any I've seen. Relatedly, when I interviewed Tom
DeLay recently I mentioned Paul. The Hammer replied, "I love Ron
Paul! Who do you think helped him with all his earmarks?"
topics:
Earmarks, Environment, Constitution, Alaska
