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Whenever I hear about the return of earmarks and the hope that it will help ease our polarized politics, I think of Sen. Ben Nelson from NE and the “cornhusker Kickback.” Back in 2009, Dems needed his vote for Obamacare, so he used that leverage to get a deal for NE..
Nebraska would get a carve out on the Medicaid expansion deal so that NE’s share would be covered by the fed. government forever. This is the kind of deal that, like earmarks, would seem to be a win-win. D’s get the vote, Nebraskans get a deal on Medicaid. Done and Done. Except..
Nelson got hammered at home and in DC for this back room deal. People in NE didn’t give him credit for using his power to get them something other states didn’t get. And, it eventually was stripped from the final bill.
The lesson: the ‘earmarks are cure gridlock’ ship has sailed. All politics are national. And, the person in the WH also matters more than the deal that gets cut. If you are a Dem in a blue state and the POTUS is an R. Won’t work. And, vice versa.
Politics is now an existential fight for who gets to define America. That fight will not be won or lost on getting more money for bridges or highway off-ramps. —-FIN —
